DBMA: Londontown
In which I describe in excruciating detail what I had on a recent visit to London. Contains spoilers.
In which I describe in excruciating detail what I had on a recent visit to London. Contains spoilers.
As some of you may know, family and friends made it so that I’ve now got quite the connection to Sweden. Hence, I’ve spent a fair amount of time there during the last few years and of course indulged on what they have to offer culinary-wise.
Inhabited by bearded, long-haired brutes commonly known as Vikings up until a few decades ago (I think) the cuisine of Sweden is only slowly recovering from centuries of a meat and potatoes diet.
Fortunately, that transition still goes on, and so the Swedes still love their meatballs with mashed potatoes. Traditionally served with cucumber-salad, a nutty sauce containing all sorts of things that make it taste all nutty and delicious, these Köttbullar, as they are called by those capable of the language (or of remembering a foreign word, which would be me), are something everyone who ventures onto Swedish soil should try.
The picture you’re seeing above was taken inside Östermalm’s Saluhall. It’s a beautiful food-market in Östermalm, probably the most affluent of Stockholm’s districts. Many food stalls also sport bar-like areas where hungry shoppers can indulge on Swedish cuisine.
So if you ever happen to be in the lucky position of spending time in Stockholm and are hungry for some real Köttbullar, do go there.
By the way, you might be familiar with an outfit named IKEA. Even though they do serve something there named Köttbullar, it’s in no way comparable to the real deal. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have them, because frankly, after an hour of walking past cupboards, bed, cuttlery, lamps and whatever else that store sells, I too am quite partial to what they offer in their cantine. Err, restaurant. Just don’t expect it to be anything like the real deal.
Being a dililgent reader of this blog, you do remember the announcement published here a couple of weeks ago that I would be visiting London. Well, that visit came and went, and here I am now, with a couple of new experiences under my belt and in my belly. Click the title to go on reading about them.
And because I somewhat promised the last part, here’s a picture of the best food we had during our stay on the island of Texel.
It’s from a restaurant in De Koog, which name I didn’t jot down, and even the mighty Google seems to have the restaurant positioned somewhere else than I remember it to be. Let’s just say, it’s the only Thai restaurant in De Koog and it’s not in the grizzly Dorpsstraat. You’ll find it.
We were a bit worried because there were barely any people there, and wondered whether it’s the fate of the restaurants that serve the most distinguished food on the island to perish due to their exotic nature. When we walked past the next day, an hour earlier than we’d been there the day before, we were happy to see that our fears were unfounded. The restaurant was packed.
And with this rather happy ending I will conclude my Death By Martini Abroad specials. I hope you had a blast, I know I did. Dank u wel!
Absolutely related:
In which I tell you about how to feed people on vacation, second part.
When on vacation, people do two things: nothing and eating.
I had actually planned on writing a lengthy essay on the merits and the downsides of being at a place that specializes in feeding these hungry hoards, but after a few paragraphs I came to the conclusion that it would be far too rambling. So instead, here’s a rundown of a few places we ate during our stay in the Netherlands: First of all there was Wagamama in Amsterdam. It’s actually a Japanese chain, but I’d never been to one, so we sat and ate:
This is Yaki Udon, which contained all sorts of vegetables, chicken and prawns. I’d never before realized that Udon noodles taste a bit like potatoes.
We also had a starter, which the good people at Wagama like to call a side dish:
Grilled asparagus. I must say, it sounded better on the menu. I guess I’m just not much of an asparagus man.
On Texel, where tourist feeding places are abundant, we had our first dinner at a tex-mex-pizzaplace-asian mixture of a restaurant, aptly named Maxima Classic Grill Restaurant Argentina. The logical conclusion was for me to have an entrecôte:
It wasn’t the best steak I’d ever had, but hey, it was my vacation and it was meat, so I was happy.
That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for more detailed stories on what to eat where and why on the isle of Texel.
Wagamama Restaurant Maxima Classic Grill Restaurant Argentina
Now, before I start venturing into the culinary delights of the Netherlands, and after having written about how good they are at importing stuff, I’m going to post a little disclaimer here. First off, the Netherlands are not a place with a rich unique cuisine. To be precise, there seem to be two things they like to attribute to their cuisine, and that’s pancakes and fries. Everything else seems to be imported. So don’t expect me writing about this or that Dutch specialty, because, well, there really aren’t any.
With that out of the way, here’s another thing I might add. They don’t do coffee too well. The only read good coffee we had was at the Douwe Egbert’s Cafe in Amsterdam.
And yes, the Google Street View image shows a construction site, but trust me, it is there.
They made a pretty good Café Latte and the first day we were there, I had a chocolate muffin for breakfast:
My girlfriend opted for an apple pie, which I was told wasn’t half bad either.
Since we only spent two nights in Amsterdam and the café was so close to our Hotel, we went there not just once, but twice. The next day my stomach needed something a bit more hearty, so I had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich:
With the cheese molten to perfection, I was what you may call a happy camper, only that I didn’t really camp, but, well, stayed at a hotel.
I do feel a bit bad for not venturing much further into town on the lookout for a less chainesque café, but on the other hand, it was my vacation, so give it a rest already.
Come back tomorrow for a sad but entertaining look at the one-size-fits-all cuisine of tourist locations.
