Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Søllerød Kro is the loveliest summer lunch

Trine / Published on July 19, 2009 in Denmark and Restaurant. 11 Comments Tags: Søllerød Kro.

I wish I could take every Friday afternoon off from work and go to Søllerød and lunch at the inn named Søllerød Kro. Especially during summer when you can sit outside in the beautiful courtyard with the splashing sound of water from the fountain and the light birds’ singing. The chairs are soft and very comfortable, and there are big umbrellas to shade you from the heat of the sun. It’s so quiet there away from the city, and it’s very easy to unwind and just relax and enjoy the whole setting, the lovely food and the finest wines.

I was lucky to have such a fine lunch on Friday 3rd of July and to share it with my sweet foodie friend. I had been looking forward to it and was so excited that I had completely forgotten to stamp my ticket at the station on our way to the restaurant. I got caught on the train and was most embarrassed by it. The checker was a nice fellow, though, and told me to get off at the next station to time stamp my ticket. He also said that I should go out and get something nice and tasty for the cost of the fine he didn’t charge me – and then send him some nice (and supposedly thankful) thoughts.

Jan was already waiting for us and welcomed us at the entrance when we jumped out of the taxi that had brought us from the Holte train station and to the inn. We got seated and took up Jan’s proposal of letting Jakob de Neergaard, the head chef, cook a set lunch for us. At the question of wines for the food I couldn’t believe what I heard and must have had a funny look on my face of pure astonishment. Would we like a set of only Burgundy wine pairings for the menu?

Appetizer

2002 Lalou Bize-Leroy, Sous Chatelet, Bourgogne Aligoté

This was a delicious wine. The nose was huge and very complex but elegant. It was wonderful just sniffing the wine and sensing the mineral notes, twist of oak, the acidity and the fullness. While the time in my glass it even evolved more. Imagine that Lalou Bize-Leroy only produced 902 bottles of this fabulous vintage. What luck that I got to try it.

Shrimps with peas and new potatoes

2004 Caillot Meursault Les Tessons

Langoustine with summer cabbage and crown dill

I know it looks like a very short tailed langoustine, I apologize, because I had just cut myself the first bite when I realized I had forgotten to photograph it. This dish was the highlight for me. The shell fish was so fresh and full of sweetness and the garnish was adding the right amount of freshness, sourness and the crunchy texture which suited the langoustine perfectly.

2005 S.C.E. Domaine Ramonet, Puligny-Montachet

There was a sort of sweetness to this lovely Ramonet Puligny-Montrachet nose, but not like a sweet wine. I found elements of caramel or toffee and sherry notes too. The taste was clearly of that of a young wine with sort of sharp edges, but it furthermore whispered it’s wonderful potential with a fullness completely capturing and captivating my mouth.

Roasted turbot with white asparagus and lemon

2006 Domain Prieuré Roch, Nuit-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

When Jan had poured the delicious Nuit-Saint-Georges wine I suddenly noticed a wonderful scent of truffles which was amazingly powerful considering the time of the year and that summer truffles are not that powerful yet. They were for the next course.

Sweetbreads with new onions

….and grated summer truffle

2005 Domaine G. Roumier, Chambolle-Musigny

Poussin with foie gras and green asparagus

Lemon with wood sorrel and white chocolate

Rhubarbs, elderflower and vanilla

The desserts were so good and comprised my favourite dessert-ingredients of lemon and rhubarbs. They were both perfectly balanced and executed in look and taste, the way that the Søllerød Kro does so well. They got escorted by a glass of the excellent 2006 Trossen Madonna Auslese from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, which is a thickish liquid but not too sweet in taste and really delicous.

I must admit that the wines took a lot of my attention, goodness how much I enjoyed them and indeed the Meursault and two reds as well even tough I haven’t described them here. Søllerød Kro is so much all about enjoyment, delicious food, excellent wines and the warmest service who’s true desire is to give each guest the loveliest experience.

Many thanks to you all – especially to Jakob and Jan!

Ps. Søllerød Kro is closed for summer holidays now but opens again on Wednesday 28th of July.

MR Has Reopened as Seafood Restaurant!

Trine / Published on July 10, 2009 in News. 9 Comments Tags: MR.

Great news: Tuesday 30th of June Mads Refslund and Restaurant MR reopened with a new focus on seafood and vegetables and I am so delighted. The reason is that since Mads had closed the restaurant on the 1st of April this year, rumors have had it that he was planning a reopening, but I never saw the concrete evidence. Last week I eventually decided to contact Mads directly and I was happy to hear that they had opened on Tuesday and welcomed the first guests.

With the new concept of solely seafood and vegetables Mads Refslund wants to break with old fashioned Danish traditions of drowning the fish with loads of butter and creamy sauces. Instead, Mads is utilizing the natural flavors that already flows in the ocean and grows in our forests and fields.

MR keeps the one Michelin star because the head chef, Mads Refslund and the restaurant manager Dennis Rasmussen are still managing the restaurant.

Many of Copenhagen’s top-restaurants are closed for holidays during the month of July but Restaurant MR along with The Paul and Herman at Tivoli are still open.

Best of luck, Mads & co.!

Seduced by Mielcke & Hurtigkarl

Trine / Published on July 6, 2009 in Denmark and Restaurant. 5 Comments Tags: Mielcke & Hurtigkarl.

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine invited me to the restaurant Mielcke & Hurtigkarl where I had never dined before.

The restaurant is situated in the separate garden “Haveselskabets Have” in Frederiksberg Garden. “Haveselskabets Have” is famous for its beautiful flowers and many roses of numerous kinds. It’s as romantic as a love story. In fact, many newly weds go there for having their wedding photos taken.

A lovely champagne

Appetizer 1

Appetizer 2

The food at Mielcke & Hurtigkarl was such a pleasant surprise to me. Many restaurants in Copenhagen are inspired by the new and trendy Nordic cuisine, so for once I was happy to be served a type of kitchen I won’t find anywhere else in town.

2006 MACON-VILLAGE QUINTAINE, Pierrette et Marc Guillemot

KINGCRAB Yuzu and cucumber jelly, lid of rye bread, fresh cream, sea-buckthorn sorbet, peal from saltet Menton lemons.

2007 Muscadet Sevre et Maine ‘Granite’, Domaine de l’Ecu, Loire

GREEN ASPARAGUS “Local vegetables right now” This week’s emerging flowers, greens and herbs, the illusion of soil and a cream made from spelt

Hurtigkarl is quite famous for all his travels around the world and this shows in his style of cooking. Not in an obvious way, though, but refined and just like if all these impressions had been stored in his memory, and all of a sudden a little something from another part of the world popped up and thus shows in the look of a dish or in the taste.

2006 CONDRIEU, De Poncins, Francois Villard

POWAN Smoked just prior to serving, lukewarm slices of apple, radish and cucumber, rhubarb jelly.

We were served the daily menu and I got to try it with all the wines pairings. I liked the wines and found them cleverly matched with the flavours of the food. Some of them were wonderful with distinct a scent, full taste and marvelous balance.

2007 ANGLORE “Chemin de la brune”, Eric Pfifferling

TURBOT Seared on the plancha and finished in a beurre monté, with danish strawberries and rhubarbs and Lardo di Colonnata

I didn’t appreciate the strawberry which was garnish for the turbot. It was too sweet to my taste and made me think of dessert rather than a fish course. The rest were fantastic, sharp and innovative, especially the desserts. It was art, there’s no doubt about that.

2004 PETALOS, A. Palacios, Bierzo, Mencia

RACK OF BEEF Purée of celeriac with baked garlic, pickled onions from Chris Elbo, sauce with smoked foie gras. White asparagus and wild garlic.

The service was delightful with charm and relaxed friendliness from all the staff, very warm. It made me feel welcome and in the end I was reluctant to leave.

WATERMELON

2004 ALSACE – Andre Kientzler, Auxerrois

BONFIRE

2007 RHEINGAU, George Breuer, Riesling Auslese.

The restaurant was full the evening I visited and the certain amount of buzz in the one big dinning room made us move our chairs closer to each other to hear each other through the noise. About the chairs, with their curved back rests at the top and the pure white color their design fit the romantic style of the restaurant. Unfortunately, after a few hours they become a bit uncomfortable and a bit too hard for a sensitive bottom.

“Best creative match Copa Jerez 2009” JEREZ, Cream, Bodegas Valdivia Pedro Ximenes.

SHERRY CASK

But really, the strawberry that didn’t match the turbot that well and my two remarks about the room, that’s the only things that wasn’t stunning this evening. Yes, the impression I got of Mielcke & Hurtigkarl stayed with me for days. It was almost like I could still sense the food and taste the wines. Thinking back, I was really moved that night. I have to go back and experience Mielcke & Hurtigkarl again!

Thank you for such a lovely experience!

Very Good Food in Danish

Trine / Published on July 2, 2009 in News. 5 Comments

About a month ago I started blogging for one of the major Danish newspapers, Politiken. I write about food and everything in relation to it. But like Very Good Food I mainly post articles about restaurants and dining experiences. My new Danish blog is called Trine spiser which means Trine eats in English – inspired by and thanks to Chuck Eats! The url is http://blog.politiken.dk/trines/ for those of you who reads Danish. Bon appétit!

Monthly Archive for July, 2009