percyn

Thanks Doc ! I wish I had more time to give a more complete report, but I am squeezing posts in between meetings, shopping and of-course, eating. I can't intelligently compare the Gambas "pil-pil" I had to the version you reference, since I have not tried the Bacalao pil-pil. Though there was olive oil, I don't remember any Cod in the version I got and would not be surprised if they took a few short cuts compared to the Bacalao pil-pil from Basque, however, for comparision, the sauce of seemed to have a much more complex flavor than the typical Gambas tapas I have ever tasted. Hopefully I will get a chance to make a "Tapas trip" to Spain soon and perhaps then I can offer a more informed opinion.

For dinner we went to FEM SMA HUS in Gamla Stan (Old Town), which is about 700 years old and by the look and feel of this door, it may have seen at least 300 of the 700 yrs. Another restaurant with an ancient cellar like setting. Today, we dined on "Caviar" (not sure what kind of roe it was) Reindeer Steak - I love Rudolph...I mean Reindeer. The meat is tender, succulent and not gamey. Does anyone know if we can source it in USA? This was served with sides of mashed potatoes, lingon berry, salsify puree and a demi glace sauce. I forgot to take a picture with a loaded plate. Dessert - I can't name the Berries (our waiter did not know the English translation for it but I think it is cloudberry). It had a unique taste and went well with the chocolate wafer it was served on. Beer, wine, aquavit and coffee accompanied out dinner. Stockholm has been great. While I have tried to share my dining experiences, what I have not been able to share is the great culture, cleanliness of the city, its history, the museums, an eye for design and the special genes of the Swedish people. I hope I can visit this place soon (but hopefully in summer this time). OK, my next post will probably be from Paris (if I can get a wireless internet connection relatively easily). I will be landing in Paris in the evening, take a quick shower/change and off to dinner at L'Arpege. Pray that I can recover quickly for lunch at Le Cinq worthy of documenting.

Sushi and Coffee anyone?? No?? How about some Caviar in a tube?? Actually, this stuff is great. I bought a couple tubes of this and lobster and dill paste.

I think you are right Parmhero. If I decided to "switch continents" (again), Sweden would be on my short list (despite the long winters)

Went to F12 restaurant for Lunch today... The bread was excellent, especially the walnut bread. Ahi Tuna au poivre with (very mild) wasabi, arugula, caviar and frozen apples Monkfish "steak frites" Creme Catalana w/Mango Sorbet More on this meal later...I have to run for dinner in the Old City now.

Abra, I got your message on Wed, so I just missed it and my Swedish host was suprised that I knew about it when I inquired about this. That's the power of eGullet

Thanks Bridgestone, I now have less than 24 hrs before I leave for Paris, so will see if I can make it to Akkurat, sounds fun.

I have sometimes heard it referred to as the "oyster" of the chicken.

Depending on the time you visit.. L'atelier Joel de Robuchon in Paris.

Close... one key ingredient missing....shrimp salad !! And yes, those are mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, I was not drunk at all and I suspect it would have tasted better if I were. The mashed potatoes were quite filling.

Went to a Tapas place for a late dinner/snack and got a dry Sherry with some Chorizo Gambas al pil pil - excellent, succlent shrimp in a sauce that was soooo good, I just scooped it up with some bread Beef in Whiskey Cream Sauce - a bit salty, but quite good. The next day we had a group dinner, consisting of The venision was very very tender and did not taste overly gamey. Accompanied by several bottles of wine, and followed by some cognac Today we went to this wonderful castle on an island, which was reserved exclusively for us. Inside, the castle was candlelit And a traditional Swedish meal of 4 different kinds of Herring and 3 types of salmon and some meat were setup Wash the Herring down with some Aquavit Dessert was these intensely flavored strawberries with a white chocolate/whipped cream.

Thanks LMF. Had a corporate dinner last night which was good, but nothing to rave about (will post later). Have to leave for another meeting/dinner in a few minutes.

Interesting you say that Lorna. To be honest, before I came here, I was not sure what to expect foodwise. I have to say that so far, I have not had a bad meal (knock on wood) and judging from the amout of Tapas, Mongolian, Thai, Indonesian, etc place we passed by, I hope that trend continues.

The next day, since it was a rest day before our meetings, we went to went on a sight-seeing of the city via bus and boat (on the canals). The tour ended around lunch time, where we found this great little place by the Royal Palace. Turns out this was a prison in the 1600s-1700s and the king was actually imprisoned here during a revolution. The owner, who is a relatively young guy had spent a few years in New Jersey (seems like a common thing in this country) so he entertained us, gave is sight-seeings tips and made it fun. Cafe Sten Sture Here is the enterance leading to a cave like setting for the restaurant More pictures from the inside... We ordered... Goulash Ham & Cheese Quiche Seafood Quiche Shrimp Crepes - The crepes tased great and the egg was quite pronounced Don't want to pay the bill, eh?? Later we went to the Ostermalmshallem Market Eels anyone? Fish Fish everywhere, but not a place to cook I want to create a cabinet of goodies like that - Foie Gras and Caviar Great looking Chanterelles And when I saw some Jamon Iberico, I had to get it (while we are on the wait list to get this in the US) And now...for something I have been wanting to get since I saw Anthony Bourdain get it on No Reservations... Milking the ketchup? Anyone want to guess what the "toppings" are? Might go later tonight to hunt another place with good eats. However, I am not sure if I will be able to post on it immediately, since my meetings begin tomorrow...stay tuned. Anyone reading this from Stockholm have any recommendations?

Since I am in Stockholm, Sweden for this week on business, I thought it might be a good idea to allow my fellow eGers to tag along as I sample the cusine. On my way back, I will swing by Paris, where I have dinner reservations at L'Arpege and lunch at Le Cinq and hope to hit a few other spots too. So, let the journey begin.... The flight over had us change planes in Munich, so I had Weiners & Beer for breakfast A few hours later, we were in Stockholm and our taxi driver gave us a great tip on a local pub which has a live band and serves Swedish food to the locals. Its called Engelen (which means Angel). Unfortunately, the band was not playing as the lead suddenly fell ill. We plan to check it out later this week...so stay tuned. While there, we other a variety of dishes, thereby creating our own little smorgesboard. We started with Reindeer Carppaccio - Simply delicious....melts in your mouth. Herrings and Egg Salad - with raw yolk to pour over it. Herring 3 ways - Pickled, in Mustard and in Tomato sauce. There were surprisingly good, especially the mustard one, which was covered in a mild, sweet mustard The Herring goes down well with some Spendrups Larger and Aquavit - We also had some Pear Cider, which was not pictured For our main courses, we got... Sweedish Meatballs w/ Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberry - I had to see if there was any different that what we got in the States. This was familiar, but the sauce was much bolder and richer and the meatballs were very soft. Saithe in Cream Sauce w/Mashed Potatoes - For those not familiar with Saithe, it is a white fish found in Europe, which is mild in flavor, might firm in texture like Cod. Plank Chicken - Chicken that is roasted on a plank of wood. Engelen is a charming little place with a bar, an upstairs stage, a downstairs stage and a restaurant. The restaurant has a whimsical decor with stuffed animals and cartoon characters on the walls. Overall, the food was delicious and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for some Swedish homecooking. On the way back to the Hotel, we came across this place... Would anyone like Gooh for dinner?

Mei, thanks for the blog. While in Budapest, visit some spas with natural hot springs and for some authentic Hungarian food, try restaurant Fatal (at one end of "walking street"). I would also recommend a boat tour on the Danube at night. Cheers Percy

Congratulations to Andrew on his profile in Philadelphia Magazine as one of Philly's top up and coming chefs. Good Luck !! Percy

And info on La Cena can be found on this post. Fortunately, there are a few good Taco trucks that have popped up in the Coatesville area too.

Bruce, that sounds and looks delicious. The chilies probably give this dish a great depth of flavor.

Could it be that the website is lagging in its updates? I bought my first bottle a week ago. And if by some fluke I am getting Chairman's releases earlier, I don't want to rock that boat either

Local Sausage and Fried Egg and some Dunkin'

Has anyone tried Le Cinq recently? I will be in Paris on a Friday evening and Saturday, and have reservations at L'Arpege (dinner) and Le Cinq (lunch). Most other places were either closed on a Saturday or booked up.

Thanks for the write-up TarteTatin, I hope to dine at one of these bistros in a week or so, in between my dining at L'Arpege and Lq Cinq.

I recently ordered this from La Tienda including Iberico Chorizo and a regular verity of picante Chorizo (which is much better than the D'artgnan I usually source from) I haven't tried the Iberico chorizo yet, but plan to during Thanksgiving.

For those looking for a good, bold Cab, try the 2001 Arrowood Grand Archer Carbernet Sauvignon from Samona, currently in (premium?) stores. We recently tried it at an eG dinner at Majolica and its tannins seemed to overpower the dishes at first, but once it began to breath, it was quite pleasant.