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I go to Denmark fairly often, where smoked salmon is not a rare and unusual thing. Favorite gifts have been: Chukar Cherries (especially the Black Forest Chocolate Cherries) Beef Jerky from the stand in the Pike Place Market (sorry, can't remember the name) Hot Pepper Jelly, also from the Pike Place Market Essential Chocolate gift boxes Seattle's Best Coffee This year I'll also take some Theo Chocolate Nib Brittle Finally, my grad school advisor loved Aplets and Cotlets. I bought her a box every time I came home. No liquid, no melting, no refrigeration, never spoils. I'm just saying. Chris

Mandalay Cafe in Wallingford is closing. Last chance to taste that fabulous nut curry. Our server said the owners are moving to Canada (was it something we said?) and that the chef from the W Hotel bought the place. Chris

Here's an older link about Copenhagen, including restaurant information. Have fun! Chris (edited to fix the link)

Has anyone tried Lloyds Rocket? It's the former abandoned gas station that sits at the weird intersection at Boren/Yesler/12th. I'm sentimental about the site and glad they kept the original sign. Chris

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Last summer I tried out several F&C places in my neighborhood, Fremont. I also tried Sunfish at Alki. They were all quite good, although probably only Sunfish has prawns and chips. I'd rank them: Pacific Inn Pub (Stone Way and 35th) Sunfish at Alki Nickerson Street Saloon (south end of the Fremont bridge, across from the funeral home) Norms Eatery (460 N 36th) Chris

You guys are amazing. It sounds like I really must check out Uli's. Rest assured, bbqer, I will treat whatever brats I buy with the Miller High Life-love and Weber-care they deserve! I love Amy's suggestion, although conventional wisdom says to avoid making a recipe you've never made before when guests are coming, so I think I'd better not since the guests number 40 and the recipe is for sausage! Next time... But if anyone else knows of a local source for Usingers or Klements and can save me the shipping costs, please post or pm. THANKS!

I want to have beer-boiled brats for the 4th of July so I've been consulting experts from Wisconsin. They say it all starts with a good brat and recommend Klements or Usingers brands. Does anyone know a Seattle source for these? (I've tried Whole Foods, Don&Joes, Trader Joes and they all make their own or have (god forbid) only turkey brats. The Wisconsinites, shuddering, say they have tried all these and they are all far too lean. Larry's has Johnsonville, which I'm told would be acceptable.) Thanks! Chris

EnidJane, you're going to have a great time! I second Mette's suggestion for Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen. I have heard that Gitte Kik (Fortunstræde 4) is another good place for smørrebrød and again, seeing members of Parliament. I guess they really like smørrebrød. I haven't gotten used to danish herring but I love the smoked eel (røget ål). In one of the airport gourmet food shops, you can buy a whole smoked eel (how can something so ugly taste so good?), a loaf of good dark danish rye bread and a bottle of akvavit, and have yourself quite a party on the plane. While in Denmark, try the salted licorice (lakrids), as Culinista suggested. There will be a whole aisle of them in every market and kiosk. The mildest are Blue Jeans, stronger are Plet Skud or Piratos or Tyrkisk Peber. I once tried what I think were cloudberries. They had been brought from the Norwegian mountains and were called himmelbœr, does this sound correct? If so, it is true there is nothing like them. After a delightful berry taste, there was a hint of something else, and when I made a surprised face, I was told that yes, a good himmelbœr has a noticeable amount of butyric acid, which is what gives vomit its unmistakable smell. Is this true, guys, or were the Danes just winding me up? I have heard that the wonderful coarse rye breads appear the same, but taste differently in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Please try them in all three countries and report back! Have fun!

AND....if you sign up for their email newsletter, they send you a coupon for 20% off your next purchase, excluding wine. Yet another reason to go, like the selection from Neal's Yard isn't enough!

Thanks Rocky! Mom tried emailing Kim Ricketts, but maybe we can find Andrea and ask her. I completely sympathize with the finals rush.... Chris

Are pictures of the Cooks and Books events posted anywhere? My mom and aunt went to Bourdain and thought they heard there would be a link to pics on Kim Ricketts' website, but can't find any. I sent her the link to the eGullet pictures (thanks rockdoggydog!) but, well, to be honest, we want to know if there's photo of her getting a big smooch from the Star Himself! Thanks for any info. Chris

Okay, any Københavners interested in in making a Thanksgiving dinner.... Slagter Lund is where I'll be ordering whole turkeys. 75 DKK per kg or 105 DKK per kg stuffed. They say an unstuffed 4-5 kg turkey will feed 5-6 people or a stuffed one is enough for 10 people. Fresh cranberries are everywhere (thanks to the enterprising marketers at Ocean Spray, I guess) but no Campbells cream of mushroom soup. Weirdly, I've found Campbells lobster, goulash and tandoori chicken. Why don't we get these in the states?! Unrelated to Thanksgiving, I had a nice meal at Hansens Køkken in Frederiksberg, just to add to our list of good Copenhagen restaurants. Happy Mortens Aften everyone! Chris

Thanks everyone for the pics and descrips of the Bourdain event! I couldn't be there, but sent my mom and my aunt and they loved it. Just to make you jealous, they also scored hugs AND kisses! (Is that guy a flirt or what?!) Chris

I agree! US refrigerators and also ovens are crazy-enormous! I am planning an american thanksgiving dinner in Copenhagen and am getting a lot of comedy mileage out of asking if I can get a 10 kg whole turkey to feed 15 people. I won't find one, which is fine, but even if I did, it would never fit in a danish oven! I don't think small fridge size necessarily equals low population obesity rates, but maybe it IS a reflection on the overall food philosophy. Read the Pollan essay in the NYT recommended by Felice. It's great fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed Pollan's essay. He's a well-informed and enthusiastic writer and this topic is relevant for any american who eats. I agree with Mayhaw Man that Americans are used to getting a lot of food, either in restaurants or at warehouse-like grocery stores. And maybe it's the fact that our parents and grandparents grew up (and prepared meals) during the Depression, but we also feel compelled to eat it all. I'm in Denmark right now, which has some similarities to the French food culture discussed in the article. Most Danes would be alarmed to get a Cheescake Factory-sized portion in a restaurant, especially since there are no doggie-bags. People here seem to be generally fit, what with all the bicycling and walking, and most people seem happy to use as much butter and bacon fat as a recipe calls for. (They also cheerfully drink like fish, making for a pretty fun crowd, in my opinion). I'm told this is changing though. America leads the world in many ways, for better or worse, so SUV's are appearing, the Atkin's diet has a following and I'm told food paranoia is also a growing trend-- in particular a fondness for spelt over wheat, since it is more "natural" and presumably less allergenic. A point that Pollan didn't raise but I'm curious about: Americans are relatively accepting of GMO (genetically modified organism) food. Something like 30% or more of american soy and corn products come from plants that are genetically engineered, usually to be resistant to an herbicide. That is just not allowed in western Europe. Are Americans just more accepting of high-tech food production?

Okay, Brian, but let me know if you need any canned cream of mushroom soup! Thanks for the tip on the "midnight Netto" although I apologize for insulting a Maersk subsidiary. Have you tried the ISO on Vesterbrogade, just a little west of the main train station? I think it's nicer than the Irma's and Super Brugsens that we have out on the west side. Be sure to post when you find out about the turkey. I'm apprehensive about this after a story from Laurie and Mamster (site manager for the Pacific NW forum) about an american family in France, many years ago, who tried to find a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, and ended up with...a whole swan. And, although I spent several years in upstate NY and PA, I think that "wicked" snuck into my last post because I randomly heard it in three different conversations here in Seattle in the last week. Maybe it's been imported, along with Rolling Rock beer?

Thanks Poots/Brian! Do you want me to bring you anything? I mean, I've given up all hope of limiting myself to the airline allotment of two suitcases, what with the bulky winter sweaters, boots and now, apparently, an entire portable Thanksgiving dinner. (I completely agree about Netto. I start crying just walking into that place). I have a good reason to be there -- working for Carlsberg, visiting my boyfriend, but like you, I'm wicked scared of the winter. It will be my first as well, although I was there once for a short time in January and was kind of alarmed to see a sunset at 2:00 p.m. Then I was told I was lucky to see a sunset at all, usually it is more like the sky going from gray to dark gray to black. Oh boy.

I love ethiopian food! Mamster has a link on his website to a review of Blue Nile. I haven't been there for years, but I used to like going to Kokeb at 926 12th, when I worked nearby.

This doesn't really fit in this topic, but it IS a Copenhagen question... I'm going to be in Copenhagen all winter and I'd like to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In my family, this absolutely requires certain dishes, and these absolutely require the following: canned pumpkin canned cream of mushroom soup fresh cranberries Ritz crackers (They don't all go in the same dish). Can these be found in regular grocery stores in Denmark? Føtex, Gobi, Netto, osv? I know I could probably get them from the American store downtown, but it would be cheaper to bring them with me. And what about the obvious, a 15-pound whole turkey?! Thanks! Chris

And, (assuming Foodie-girl is female) as soon as you stood up from the table looking like someone who desires to powder her nose, did the waitperson come striding over to escort you to the hallway with the bathrooms?

Isn't it in the process of moving to Fremont? It's in the openings/closings thread somewhere. The Eastlake location is closed. The new Fremont location is the north end of the Fremont bridge, right behind the Waiting for the Interurban statue (right in my neighborhood!) I don't think the Fremont site is open yet, but Eastlake's loss is our gain! Wait! No, I'm sorry! Bandoleone in Fremont IS open and has outdoor tables. Come on over to Fremont for a "decent French 75".

Well, maybe I am about to take Fay Jai's thread from left field to outer space, but I sometimes appreciate a smaller portion. When a whopping, Cheesecake Factoryesque monstrosity is plopped in front of me, I feel compelled to do my best for the starving Ethiopian children, even when facing more food than I want. (The doggie bag is a great american invention, but awkward when, for example, going straight from a restaurant to a theatre.) Now, every eGulleteer I've personally met has been as chiseled and lean as a Greek god, but maybe in these times of american excess, a little portion downsizing wouldn't hurt. Of course, an honest restaurant would state up front that they were serving less for the same price because they were converting to costlier organic or increasing their dishwashers' health coverage or doing their part to keep us from becoming obese. Well no, that would be annoying. Well, it was just a thought. (But FJ, I know what you mean about the tragic loss of the side at Agua Verde. I mean that cranberry cole slaw -- oh baby. I haven't ordered it as a separate side with the tacos because I know that's too much food for me, but I miss getting at least a taste of it.)

I bought one jumbo prawn from University Seafoods, not so much to eat, but to use as a goofy centerpiece. The price was comparable, as in 1 prawn = $8. We steamed it, decorated it with cherries for eyes and sticks for antennae, laughed at it for a few hours and then tried eating it. It was awful, although after 8 hours on the dining room table, this wasn't this prawn's finest hour. The rubbery texture was understandable, but it also lacked any flavor whatsoever. This wasn't a fair test. I've been meaning to buy one, treat it properly and taste it again. Let us know if you break down and try them.

I was insanely curious after these posts and went along 45th about 3:00 Sunday 25 July. I saw the renovation with all the doo-dads, but couldn't see anything around Bottleworks except Wells Fargo bank and Hollywood Video. Where is the new store, exactly? Also didn't see anything smouldering, as per Really Nice!'s post...(But I could easily have missed things. I was on a bike and missing one contact lens). Speaking of Bottleworks, has FWED tried the Dagoba chocolate they sell, and what is his opinion? I love the xocolatl with chilies, although the clerk warned me that some people have hated it.