For All You Foodies: Scandinavia Edition
I’ll jump straight to the chase; I may or may not have eaten reindeer. (Don’t lie, you all know you’ve been wondering). But I find this safe to disclose now that Christmas is over. Also, note that it didn’t make our top 5 meals. That said, we were pretty fascinated with the food that we ate throughout our time in Scandinavia. We are defining this region as Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and appending Switzerland.
Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon Hotel Restaurant: Skaftafell, Iceland
Our winner was one heck of a surprise. First, imagine being just about as far away from anything as you’ve ever been. We dined in our hotel one night in the Skaftafell region of Iceland (because there was nothing else for 2 hours) and ended up having one of the best meals of our lives. Both our dishes were fantastic. Juliette opted for the roast duck with beet puree and parsnip & potato salad. While I chose the pork belly with sweet potato puree and raspberry compote. The dishes were fresh, expertly cooked, and incredibly memorable.
Outdoor Fondue at Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern: Lucerne, Switzerland
We couldn’t NOT get fondue while in Lucerne and found this place within walking distance of our hotel with an open patio. It was a frigid, dreary evening — in other words, perfect weather for fondue. We must have each eaten a pound of creamy, tart, nutty melted cheese with chicken and various accompaniments such as apples and bread. Even though we were both stuffed, we also polished off a chocolate fondue with oranges, strawberries, and other fruit.
Pop House Hotel Restaurant: Stockholm, Sweden
Sweden also surprised us with a few entries on the list. First was a delightful dinner of small bites after spending the day literally running around Gamla Stan (Stockholm old town). We retired to our hotel after not having much success finding an appetizing restaurant nearby. But we ended up dining on scallops, beef tenderloin, beet and goat cheese salad, grilled avocados, and a pork belly banh mi bun. Everything was fresh, delicious, and unique!
Meatballs for the People: Stockholm, Sweden
The Swedish comfort food was very much appreciated after another long day. New but familiar flavors, great execution, and a cozy atmosphere contributed to another great meal. The meatballs were made out of pork and beef in a flavorful gravy. Mixed with some of the fluffiest mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten, I couldn’t put my fork down. The house-made pickles and lingonberry compote (not pictured) added some acid to cut the richness of the dish. To be completely honest, we may or may not have made this dish at home since being back!
Copenhagen Street Food: Copenhagen, Denmark
We couldn’t ignore the fragrant smells coming from this stall at CSF and the line also made it hard to miss. Handmade Moroccan flatbread filled with savory chicken, olives, and onions made for a great base. We ordered ours with fresh avocado and mozzarella cheese. This is one of those sandwiches that I dream about because it had everything in perfect harmony. Flavor, texture, and aromatics all played nicely together. This was definitely worth the wait.
Honorable Mention:
Baejarins Beztu Pylsur: Reykjavik, Iceland
If there was ever a place for weird street hot dogs, it could be no place else but Reykjavik. We got to the one-man stand just minutes before the working crowds started lining up around the corner for lunch. Simple hot dogs in a steamed bun dressed with ketchup, sweet mustard, mayonnaise, and frizzled onions made for a really strange but pleasing snack!
Fika Everywhere Around 16:00: Stockholm, Sweden
Another tradition we really appreciated in Sweden was that of the coffee culture. People take an hour or so out of their afternoons to meet with friends and loved ones over coffee and pastries (yummy cinnamon or cardamom buns). We loved how important this is in each day and took the opportunity to try it often.
All-in-all, Scandinavia presented a very diverse range of fresh, healthy, tasty options. We were quite blown away and are already missing the delicious food!
-GP