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Percyn in Stockholm and Paris


percyn

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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

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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.

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Herrings and Egg Salad - with raw yolk to pour over it.

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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

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The Herring goes down well with some

Spendrups Larger and Aquavit - We also had some Pear Cider, which was not pictured

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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? :wacko::wacko::raz:

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Edited by percyn (log)
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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

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Here is the enterance leading to a cave like setting for the restaurant

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More pictures from the inside...

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We ordered...

Goulash

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Ham & Cheese Quiche

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Seafood Quiche

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Shrimp Crepes - The crepes tased great and the egg was quite pronounced

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Don't want to pay the bill, eh?? :raz:

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Later we went to the

Ostermalmshallem Market

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Eels anyone?

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Fish Fish everywhere, but not a place to cook :sad:

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I want to create a cabinet of goodies like that - Foie Gras and Caviar

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Great looking Chanterelles

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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)

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And now...for something I have been wanting to get since I saw Anthony Bourdain get it on No Reservations...

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Milking the ketchup? :raz:

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Anyone want to guess what the "toppings" are?

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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?

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The food looks really good across the board. I especially like the idea of having a cup of raw egg yolk to pour over your egg salad sandwich!

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.

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I haven't been to Stockholm in years. Do they still eat pea soup and pancakes on Tuesdays? If so, do. It was still traditional back when I was an au pair there in the 70s. It's one of the odder food customs I've encountered.

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Went to a Tapas place for a late dinner/snack and got a dry Sherry with some

Chorizo

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Gambas al pil pil - excellent, succlent shrimp in a sauce that was soooo good, I just scooped it up with some bread

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Beef in Whiskey Cream Sauce - a bit salty, but quite good.

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The next day we had a group dinner, consisting of

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The venision was very very tender and did not taste overly gamey.

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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.

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Inside, the castle was candlelit

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And a traditional Swedish meal of 4 different kinds of Herring and 3 types of salmon and some meat were setup

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Wash the Herring down with some Aquavit

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Dessert was these intensely flavored strawberries with a white chocolate/whipped cream.

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Edited by percyn (log)
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Anyone want to guess what the "toppings" are?

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I'll try: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Ketchup, Mustard....sour cream!? potatoes!?!

How was it? How drunk were you? (I suspect the answers to those questions are correlated.)

Edited by philadining (log)

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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I'll try: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Ketchup, Mustard....sour cream!? potatoes!?!

How was it?  How drunk were you? (I suspect the answers to those questions are correlated.)

Close... one key ingredient missing....shrimp salad !! And yes, those are mashed potatoes.

Unfortunately, I was not drunk at all :shock: and I suspect it would have tasted better if I were. The mashed potatoes were quite filling.

Edited by percyn (log)
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Nice to see some updated pictures from Stockholm.

I live north of Stockholm (sort of between Stockholm city and the "castle" - Vaxholms kastell - you had rented for you).

Are you still up for some tips? Let me know what you are interested in!

Two bars that are worth checking out (and they're right next to each other!):

Gondolen and Akkurat. They are both located at the Subway station and area known as "Slussen", right between Old Town ("Gamla stan") and the island of Södermalm.

Gondolen is located on top of Katarinahissen. Katarinahissen (or the Katarina elevator) was built in 1883 and seems very unusual in today's age of indoor elevators. It's sort-of an ourdoor elevator, standing as it does outdoors and connecting the sea-level area of "Slussen" (the sluices connecting Lake Mälaren with the Baltic) with the built-on-a-cliff edge of Södermalm (Stockholm's southern island). I think it initally served as a tourist attraction and a welcome break from a lot of stairs for Stockholm's upper crust in the 1880's. Now, it's a 10 kronor historic ride up to Gondolen. Gondolen (means "the gondola" and comes from the restaurant's unusual shape) has good enough food - I just don't find it worth the prices. The bar, though, is excellent. Drinks are the way to go as you'll find Stockholm's absolute best bartenders here. Purchase something unusual, pay through the nose for it and enjoy the view!

http://www.eriks.se/

Time things right and you could maybe see an outdoor vendor selling freshly pan-fried herring ("strömming") on your way from Gondolen to Akkurat...

Akkurat is a nearby bar really only for those hyper-interested in beers and/or whisk(e)y. They've got a selection of Belgians on tap that would blow most non-Belgians away, not to mention what they've got in bottles/in their cellar. Whisk(e)y is sold per centiliter and you can always find some serious rarities. I normally stick to one or more of their handpulled English beers or even some of their Swedish house-brewery's (Jämtland's bryggeri) products. A few secrets: Look for non-labelled/strange-labelled bottles of Chimay, Orval and Westmalle (I think). These run over 15 bucks/bottle but are a special beer that is normally only served at the monestary (said to be for the monks themselves and served to visitors). They also have a few bottles of a special Cloudberry lambic that the bar has had brewed for them by Brasserie Cantillon. They do some decent Belgian-style bar food with emphasis on mussels.

http://www.akkurat.se/

P.S. - it's a southern-Swedish holiday tomorrow (not a bank holiday but a traditional one...). It's called Mårtensafton and goose is traditionally served. So, be on the look-out for restaurants with set menus, probably containing: 1) svartsoppa (or, black soup), made with goose blood, stock and the good ol' Swedish gingerbread spices, 2) roast duck, 3) some sort of apple pie/cake dessert.

Gondolen

Stadsgården 6

Stockholm

Telephone: 08-641 70 90

(The herring guy, if he's around, is set up outside the subway station across the street from the foot of Katarinahissen...)

Akkurat

Hornsgatan 18

Stockholm

Telephone: 08-644 00 15

Edited by Bridgestone (log)
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I haven't been to Stockholm in years.  Do they still eat pea soup and pancakes on Tuesdays?  If so, do.  It was still traditional back when I was an au pair there in the 70s.  It's one of the odder food customs I've encountered.

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 :wink:

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Went to F12 restaurant for Lunch today...

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The bread was excellent, especially the walnut bread.

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Ahi Tuna au poivre with (very mild) wasabi, arugula, caviar and frozen apples

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Monkfish "steak frites"

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Creme Catalana w/Mango Sorbet

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More on this meal later...I have to run for dinner in the Old City now.

Edited by percyn (log)
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Bridgestone quoted:

"P.S. - it's a southern-Swedish holiday tomorrow (not a bank holiday but a traditional one...). It's called Mårtensafton and goose is traditionally served. So, be on the look-out for restaurants with set menus, probably containing: 1) svartsoppa (or, black soup), made with goose blood, stock and the good ol' Swedish gingerbread spices, 2) roast duck, 3) some sort of apple pie/cake dessert."

Wow! My Polish grandmother made a soup out of duck's blood called czarnina, which I loved as a kid. We called it "Chocolate soup" due to the color. I know there was allspice and clove flavors, along with vinegar. She did not make it with dried fruit as others do. Man, I miss that soup. I'd love to try svartsoppa. Is it only served on the Holiday?

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Nice pix of some obviously good eats, percyn. Looks like a great trip.

And you're in the world's fifth best country, according to the latest survey by The United Nations, which just ranked Norway as the world's best nation to live in for a sixth consecutive year.

Iceland was No. 2, followed by Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Japan and the United States.

The U.N. Development Program's human development index is based on such criteria as life expectancy, education and income.

Skol!

"Yo, I want one of those!"

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And you're in the world's fifth best country, according to the latest survey by The United Nations, which just ranked Norway as the world's best nation to live in for a sixth consecutive year.

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

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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.

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Another restaurant with an ancient cellar like setting.

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Today, we dined on

"Caviar" (not sure what kind of roe it was)

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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.

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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.

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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.

Edited by percyn (log)
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Percy, I have been drooling over the photo of the strawberries. When I was but a young lass, I spent the summer after my senior year in high school in Sweden. I've never had strawberries that were as "strawberry" as the ones in Sweden. I wonder why?

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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Great foodblog! I had a hotdog with mashed taters and shrimp salad in Norway once and it was fantastic -- mind ya, you've gotta be as drunk as a priest to truly appreciate it :) The caviar in a tube is great stuff; you can buy it here in the US, if you can find a store that stocks it.

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Wonderful report, Percy. I am curious about the shrimp "pil-pil" that you had. Pil-Pil is generally made with salt cod and olive oil and a fairly involved cooking process. Would you happen to know if this was a real pi-pil to which they substituted shrimp after the sauce was made, or a variation that they called "pil-pil" because of a textural resemblance?

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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Great foodblog! I had a hotdog with mashed taters and shrimp salad in Norway once and it was fantastic -- mind ya, you've gotta be as drunk as a priest to truly appreciate it :) The caviar in a tube is great stuff; you can buy it here in the US, if you can find a store that stocks it.

Ikea has it.

Bob Libkind aka "rlibkind"

Robert's Market Report

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well after reading this thread, I had to read your foodblog. THEN, I read up on another webpage about your religion because I found it so interesting. Finally I read the parsis (sp?) cooking thread on egullet.

This usually happens when I read threads on egullet, I quickly get carried away. I learned alot though

oh yeah and I almost forgot, this is a great thread. My favorite picture is the pic of Engelen, because the walls are a greenish color. If you can't tell, green is my favorite color

oh and the roe in the tube, is it ground up or does it come out in it's normal shape? Those berries are cloudberries, you can also get that at ikea as well but only in jam form

BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
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