Nordisk Spisehus March 2012

Nordisk Spisehus
M.P. Bruunsgade 31
8000 Aarhus C
info@nordiskspisehus.dk
Tlf. 86 17 70 99

Telefontid
Mandag til lørdag kl.11.00-22.00

   A Very Wonderful Evening

I guess with my new fantastic job in Restaurant Substans I happened to be very lucky.

Very honored they invited me to join them for dinner at Nordisk Spisehus.

Nordisk Spisehus (~Nordic Dinnerhouse) had a change in ownership in December 2011 and the new owners do a very amusing job.
The menu we had is seen below

Torsk - Kongekrabbe - karamelliseret jordskokker 

Muslinger - lögrom - selleri - skummende sauce

Most kartoffel - dildcreme - trøffel 

Stegt okse - kalvebrisler - sennep - kål 

Sveske - malt - pære 

Rødbede - havtorn 

Ostebræt med sprødt & sødt 

--- 

Cod - King crab - caramelized Jerusalem artichokes 

Mussels - lögrom - celery - foamy sauce 

Mashed potato - dill cream - truffel

Grilled beef - veal sweetbread - mustard - brassica 

Prune - malt - pear

Beetroot - Sea buckthorn 

Cheese board with sweet and crisp

The restaurant offers a couple of additional dishes but those we skipped.
We had a table at six o'clock and actually I was the last to arrive, the table was long and chairs cozy with fur rugs around the backrest.

Immediately I was asked whether I preferred still or gas water and some minutes later there were bread, butter and fat (which is a danish tradition you eat "raw" fat on your bread)
We had a glass of champagne with a small appetizer made of beef tatare with crisp and a small yolk. Very delicious to start with - the beef tatare was smooth and tasteful.
Unfortunately I were not quick enough to get a picture of all the wines we taste (or maybe I did not think about it in the specific moment) but we had some of the most tasteful wines with interesting spices and combinations with the food.

The staff was brilliant even though be apparently bad hearing could not always hear what the waiter said about the wine because he was at the end of the table. It was an open kitchen so you could constantly follow what happened in the kitchen, again it is always a pleasure to see a kitchen where the chefs aren't shouting of each other.
Well, the dinner was kicked of with cod, crab, ramsons mayo andartichokes paste and a wine which almost tasted like grape juice and was opaque-like.
My company happened to eat quite fast so just in a couple of minutes we were ready for the next plate.

The next course was a mussel soup and when Nordisk Spisehus says mussels they mean mussels, under the foamy sauce there were razor clams, cockles, blue mussels and scallops. I think this was one of my favorites but that might just be my addiction to shellfish.

The potato and truffel course was also very funny. It consisted of potato and dill chips, potato and dill pasta and on top potato and dill cream. When all six plates were served the waiter and chef came with a grater and tear lots and lots of black french truffel over each persons plate.
It was a fantastic view that a very simple and cheap dish suddenly got interesting. I love truffel so the way they "performed" the tearing of the truffel impressed me and reminded of my trip to Paul Bocuse.
A lack of salt was quite a shame for this course, but a restaurant can always be better and I guess Nordisk Spisehus need to improve their use of basic spices, which by the way was not to find on the tables.



Before the main course the waiter came with a decanter and offered a blind-tasting, good service so to say, but I'm pretty sure my chef at work is a good customer of the house. Again a wonderful wine, as I remember it was a relatively old french Pinot Noir (which goes straight to my heart).


The grilled beef for the main course was beef kidney tapping and veal sweetbread. Again a very beautiful plate with different brassica and broccoli pure.
If you think about how many different tastes and courses we have had at this moment one would be completely satisfied but we were not. So we had two desserts and cheese. 

The first dessert with prune and bulb was not a favorite, no doubt the dessert was beautiful but for my taste a little bit bland.
Though the first dessert was not impressing me the last with beetroot was great!
As a child my father also tried to use beetroot in desserts or as powerful glace for main courses, so it sort of reminded me of these times. When cooked well a beetroot evolves this sweet taste and works very well in dessert. Accompanying the beetroot was some chips which tasted like licorice and chocolate.

At last great cheeses with rosehip chutney. I had to ask for bread for the cheese but I think that is quite normal because some people like to eat cheese just raw. Finally we had coffee with petit four, and when I look back at this great evening there is almost nothing to point a finger on.

Skilled and nice waiters - great, pretty and innovative food with a Nordic touch - cozy atmosphere and consistent style - interesting wines with classic grapes and areas (which I prefer).
I have not mentioned any prices yet, but you get an 8 course meal for 700 DKK and another 700 DKK for a paring wine menu, even though I do not know so exceptional much about wine I can tell that the 7-8 glasses we had was definitely worth more!


This is without doubt one of the places I will return to see whether they keep up the good work
Nordisk Spise hus is signed with 4 out of 6 Bloc De Foie Gras.

Gastronomisk Undergrund

Inspireret af det Århusianske SPOT-festival, hvor unge musikere kan teste deres musik, får unge kokketalenter ved Gastronomisk Undergrund mulighed for, at teste deres evner med gastronomi på rigtig højt plan.Jeg var så heldig, at blive inviteret ud af min gamle ven, Jesper, som kendte til Gastronomisk Undergrund.
Cirka 8-10 gange om året får kokkeelever muligheden for at teste, smage, og udvikle ideer til nye spændende retter. Dette kan jo være svært til daglig i en restaurant hvor både gæster, menuen eller chefen bestemmer retterne.

Konceptet er simpelt - 350 kr. pr mand, der serveres 6-7 eksperimentielle retter for 40 heldige gæster pr. gang, råvarer samt lokaler er sponsoreret og derefter går overskuddet ubeskåret til velgørende formål eller undergrundsuddannelse, som bestemmes af kokkene selv.
Men man skal være hurtig! Billetterne sættes til salg på nøjagtige tidspunkter og denne gang var de væk på under 2 minutter. Så hold øje med facebookgruppen for nye billetsalg! Gastronomisk Undergrund Facebook


Min ledsager havde prøvet denne oplevelse før, og var ganske spændt på mine reaktioner, så her kommer de. Vi ankom til KEN storkøkken, som sponorerede lokaler til arrangementet, lige 5 minutter før det hele satte i gang. 

Jeg kunne umuligt forestille mig andre steder, at et arrangement som dette skulle holdes. Vi sad i et lille lokale med en stort åben køkken, så man kunne følge med i røg, damp, udskæring og anretning af de udsøgte retter.


Vi sad sammen med et ægte par i 50'erne, som til at begynde med var lidt mutte, men vi fik da hurtigt sat tungen på geled og skabt en hyggelig stemning. Til Gastronomisk Undergrund medbringer man selv egen vin, så jeg havde været en tur i Sallings fantastiske vinafdeling og spenderet så hatten passede og mere til, for til god mad hører sig god vin.

Vi fik hurtigt en lille aperitif, som var noget lidt uidentificerbart rødvin med bobler, men som i bund og grund var meget lækkert. Lyn hurtigt kom der brød, smør og vand, og det var lige før jeg havde råbt op og sagt jeg godt kunne nøjes med brød og smør, for det var dog enormt delikat.
Brødet var kryddret med anis og/eller fennikel, hvilket gav det en lækker lakrids-agtig smag, derudover var salt balancen absolut perfekt. Smøret dertil var rørt hvidt med citron og kernemælk.
Mens vi allerede var i gang med lidt brød, blev hver kok præsenteret.

Rungthiwa Chummungkhon (Fae) for tiden ansat som kokkeelev hos Brasserie Ferdinand på Åboulevarden i Århus. Uden tvivl en hårdtarbejdende kvinde i sit fag. Fae har deltaget i Gastronomisk Undergrund et par gange efterhånden, og det håber vi hun bliver ved med.
Derudover er hun også ejer af en del indsendte opskrifter på Fede Opskrifter.

Peter Steen Hansen er netop blevet ansat som Souschef hos Restaurant Dauphine i Frederiksgade. Peter bruger Gastronomisk Undergrund som legeplads og her tester han nogle til tider lidt anderledes ideer, men som oftes giver spændende resultater.

Mark Hansen er en 20-årig kokkeelev ved Hotel Skanderborghus. Et nyt ansigt i Gastronomisk Undergrund som her får muligheden for at teste smagssammensætninger og teksturer.

Mogenmad 
- Roonet æg, knasende baconsne,
brunet smørristet brød,
appelsinsirup og trøffelmarineret
urtesalat 
© Copyright Søren Gammelmark 

Jacob Bülov er netop nyuddannet kok og rejst til det store udland for at samle inspiration. Han arbejder derfor nu på Onda mezzanine i Oslo. Jacob har tidligere deltaget i Gastronomisk Undergrund, og det er nu spændende at se hvad han har lært i Norge.


Mikkel Baadstorp er udlært konditor fra Lnagenæs Bageren. Han har tidligere deltaget i Gastronomisk Undergrund med sine sublime desserter, men nu tager Mikkel kampen op og er gået i lære som kok hos Dauphine


Og dermed var Gastronomisk Undergrund skudt i gang!

Første ret var kreeret af Peter Steen Hansen. "Morgenmad" blev retten kaldt, og der kom lige så stille en duft i lokalet af varm morgenkaffe - så hele konceptet var meget gennemført.

Retten, som stadig er i sin unge fase, var spændende men manglede smag. Det undrede mig egentlig en smule, at der ikke var mere smag i retten når man ser på de smagsteksturerer som den skulle indeholde - trøffelmarineret urtesalat, appelsinsirup og bacon.

Men det var lige som om, at det "roonet" æg var så ferskt, at det overtog smagen.

At vi havde medbragt en australsk chardonnay fra Yering Valley var måske heller ikke helt passende, da den overtog en del af smagen. Men menuen var trods alt hemmlig så, at tilpasse vin var et skud i tågen.

Lammepulver med springløg 
tilberedte grøntsags 
smør emulsion vendt i hvidløgsaske,
lammeboulillon skilt med mynteolie samt brøndkarse
© Copyright Søren Gammelmark

Næste ret var tilberedt af unge Mark Hansen, og yderst delikat og anderledes. Nogle taler om at lam kan være tørt, det betvivler man hvertfald helt sikkert ikke efter man har smagt Mark Hansens' lammepulver. Pulveret havde en kraftig smag af lam, men der skulle helt sikkert en god gang Pinot Noir fra New Zealand til at få munden på geled efter en mundfuld pulver. Retten var smuk, smagfuld og absolut anderledes.


Det er måske ikke en ret, som er passende til a la carte grundet pulverets tørhed, men der er absolut potentiale for finpudsning.

Okse nyretappe, rødbeder, 
estragon, sauce skilt med urteolie
© Copyright Søren Gammelmark

Første hovedret bestod af okse nyretappe. Et fuldstændig fantastisk stykke kød! Jeg havde ikke før smagt okse nyretappe, men det kan nogenlunde sammenlignes med det bedste stykke mørbrad du kan få.

Finden med det her stykke kød er blot, at du rent faktisk ikke kan købe det. Kødet var sat rigtig fint sammen med rødbeder og en lækker sauce.Dog kunne man ønske, at smagen af estragon var en smule kraftigere.
Kødet var en smule fersk, men derudover var retten gennemført, anderledes og jeg kunne kaste en masse superlativer efter den.
På dette tidspunkt var vi egentlig begyndt at blive godt mætte, så vi listede en tur ud i KEN størkøkkens udstillingsrum og blev tilmed forelsket i alt det lækre kvalitets køkkenudstyr.

Asiatisk braiseret gris: Paneret brisler, rødbede gele,
rødbede crudité med jordsokker
syltet rødbede
mini forårsruller med braiseret grisekød
mirabelle gele & Asiatisk sauce
© Copyright Søren Gammelmark

Næste hovedret var tilberedt af Fae.

En rigtig smuk ret med mange småting rundt omkring, som det også ses af billedteksten havde Fae gang i mange forskellige kombinationer.

Kødet var rigtig lækkert og mørt, nu er jeg selv til sprøde svær, men det var tydeligt, at det ikke var meningen i denne ret.

Der kunne uden tvivl have været mere smag i forårsrullen, men det var lige før det ikke var nødvendigt da der var en kraftig smag fra rødbede og mirabelle i geleen rundt omkring.

Jordskokpuréen var gemt ind i pakker af tyndtskåret rødbede, det var vældig fint, men måske lidt et forsøg på at gemme den lidt "grå" jordskokpuré (som i øvrigt godt kunne have brugt en anelse mere fløde). Men det er detaljer.....

Confiteret svinenakke med jordskokpuré, 
syltede skalotteløg, 
ristede hasselnødder, citron og timian, 
savoykål, salt og citron
© Copyright Søren Gammelmark 

 På renden af at være propmæt giver de glade kokke sig i gang med, at anrette endnu en hovedret udviklet af Mikkel Baadstorp. Mest af alt havde jeg nok lyst til dessert, men det er jo netop det som er spændende ved gastronomisk undergrund.

Endnu en veltilberedt gris. Sammenlignet med Fae's ret var der her lidt mere hovedretskarakter, så man måske egentlig havde ønsket denne ret før. Der var en absolut fin balance mellem syre, fedme og salt.

Arkitektonisk (hvis man kan sige det om mad) var retten måske ikke så fint opstillet sammenlignet med de tidligere, men smagsmæssigt var det helt i top.

Desværre var jeg helt vildt mæt, så jeg ikke kunne nyde hele retten.

Men i stedet samlede jeg appetit til desserten.

Citronfromage m kamillegele, 
lakridsmaranges, blød maranges 
og fennikelsorbet
© Copyright Søren Gammelmark

Den sidste ret havde Jacob Bülov fået chancen for at tilberede - heldigvis var dette en dessert!

En rigtig fin afstemt dessert med lakrids, blød marengs, kamillegele (som rent faktisk smage af kamille) samt fennikelsorbet.

Vi havde en lille diskussion ved bordet om fennikelsorbeten havde en eftersmag eller bismag af afspritningsvæske, hvilket tiltider ikke var så rart, men det kan være den kraftige smag af fennikel som laver løjer med én.

Overordnet set en rigtig spændende aften, som bød på mange smagsoplevelser mest af alt rigtig gode smagsoplevelser. Det er helt sikkert noget Jesper og jeg skal gøre igen. Næste gang håber vi nok på, at sidde sammen med nogle mennesker, som også har lyst til at snakke. :-)

Der skal jo gives lidt Bloc De Foie Gras til sådan en oplevelse, hvor kokkene laver dejlig mad frivilligt, en masse virksomheder sponsorerer de lækreste råvarer, og mest af alt tager jeg hatten af for de mennesker der har fundet på, at lave sådan en event som skønt nok er en kæmpe succes!


En Foie Gras for dejlig mad
En Foie Gras for inspirerende stemning
Og en Foie Gras for godt et super godt koncept!
nu får jeg da helt lyst til Foie Gras....(-:






Alle Billeder er venligst lånt af Søren Gammelmark - http://www.gammelmark.com/

Tusind tak!

Unsichtbar 1st of march 2012

Unsicht-Bar Berlin
Gormannstr. 14
10119 Berlin - Mitte
Telefon: (+49) (0)30 243425-00
Fax: (+49) (0)30 243425-01

Unsicht Bar


My friend and I had a little discussion about which semi-expensive restaurant we wanted to visit, and I had a couple of years ago heard of Unsicht-bar. Unsicht-bar for the ones who do not know the german language means the invisible bar or also said their concept is to serve dinner in a completely darkened room. This according to their website should increase your other senses - hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting.

For all I remember I had only heard very well of the place and that it might be a little expensive, but it would definitely be worth it. Last the all the waiters in the diningroom are blind or half blind.

Before entering I had prepared myself and had done a little thinking about my expectations - the food might be good in order to concretize the senses and you might be more focused.




Well - we stepped into a very high class room and waited just a couple of minutes before a receptionist reached us, and placed us in comfortable lounge furniture.

I decided to go low budget so I choosed the vegitarian menu which looked like this

Appetizer

A taste of Aztecan masculinity 

on wavy green and voluptuous red bedding 

Main Course

Asian beauties in white

dance merrily in French gardens

as the oceans begins to thaw 

Dessert

The white sweetness awakes 

from an exotic dream

and huddles against the sour laye 

Indeed a very confusing way to describe a menu but we were very much excited to sense what kind of food we had ordered.
My partner ordered the chicken menu which was described quite similar.
After maybe 10 minutes of waiting we were collected by a blind waiter who in a very fine manor introduced himself and the whole concept, and so in a row we walked into complete darkness.................................





There were a lot of noises in the room and it sounded almost like a huge hall. The waiter guided us gently to our table which felt like it was very much away from all the other people. And then suddenly I felt like I was going to vomit. Though I did not do it, I constantly felt odd, dizzy and very much beside myself.

I was with no doubt more aware of the table and where the fork, knife and spoon were located. A couple of minutes later the waiter came back with our first course and our beverage. I had ordered orange juice and my friend a coke. I though maybe with tense senses the orange juice would explode inside your moth but very disappointing it did not.



The first course was salad with tomatoes and avocado and dressing on top or actually a better explanation would be - dressing with salad, tomatoes and avocado. My friend had the exact same course except that on her plate there were a couple of chicken breast slices.
So the first course was almost not even worth mentioning. Very simple, slopping in dressing and not very tasteful. The only funny thing was the experience to figure out what you actually ate, but when one had had a couple of mouthfuls it was nothing special.

After maybe a little too long the waiter took our empty plates, and then we waited........ for something that felt like hours. And imagine yourself in completely darkness, you cannot feel the other persons presence, you are dazed, hungry and actually too tense to talk. This feeling is maybe one of the few in my life I can say was the worst of all. After what felt like 30 minutes the waiter came back and said that in about 10 minutes the main course would be served. My Friend - Lea and I were starving and almost too tired to keep talking. Suddenly it really matters how you express yourself.

After another 15 minutes or so the main course was served. I had tofu pie which tasted like ham and on top some crunchy sesame. The side dish were grilled (dry) potatoes, grilled pepper and tomato. Lea had the same as side dish but instead of tofu - mixed grilled chicken.
We ate very quickly partly because we were starving but also because it really felt like we'd been in there for a lifetime.

The waiter knew we had been waiting for quite too long, so after he removed the main course plates he almost immediately served the dessert, and for some reason the Germans tend to love marinated fruit.
Yes - the dessert was again almost the same. I had some white coffee creme with marianted fruit, nougat petit four.
As soon as we had ate the dessert the water came and we asked to get into the light again. It was so relieving to get in the light again, never before have I appreciated my eyes so much!




In general a really bad experience. We entered the restaurant at 18:50, ordered menu and beverage, entered the dark room, consumed a 3 course menu and we out of the dark room at 21:35.
That was in total 2,5 hour for a 3 course menu and in the dark.

Normally you count 30 minutes for every dish which in my head makes 1½ hour in the dark room, so no doubt we felt like waiting for hours.
I can recommend people to try this restaurant because it is a funny experience, not because of the food. Make sure you do not stay in there forever because that's very uncomfortable.

Lea and I did not enjoy the stay, but I guess a lot of other people have had a great experience.
I grant Unsicht-bar with 1 out of 6 Bloc De Foie Gras because of exciting concept, bad food, no visual pleasure of the food, bad interior and semi-good service.

Please comment on my blogspot :-) 

Nice lunch for 5 Euros in Berlin!

My friend and I happened to be so lucky!
We figured out economically to have a small vacation in Berlin. And of course I had indeed searched for delicious places to eat, and under economic pressure due to our high rent and low income we had to make it a little bit cheap.
So I got inspired by the link I found on Google (check it out!) Top 10 eats under 5 euro in Berlin

The little place I'm talking about is situated in Kreuzberg which is in my opinion more of less know as the turkish area in Berlin. More specifically see below

Gel Gör Inegöl Köfteci 
Kottbusser Damm 80
Kreuzberg
open 24 hours


To mention kottbusser damm  is extremely long so be patient and last but least be hungry!
Luckily we found it, and I dare say that I was just a little bit skeptical, whenever a place has pictures of their food it definitively frightens me away. The atmosphere was very turkish and very much like a sandwichbar though there were several tables.
In the refrigerated counter there were all kinds of fresh meat and salad so this was a good sign.
In my best german I ordered two köfte in baguette and besides we had some biosoda (which also happened to be very nice)
Shortly after the words left my mouth the chef said "of course!" in a very turkish delightful way, and he showed us a table right besides the counter.

The two very happy turkish chefs had only two young girls for lunch at first sight but little by little the small bar was filled up with people, every single one ordering a köfte im baguette with different variances.
After shot 5 minutes the chef assistant asked us what we wished to have our baguette stuffed with.
And so a small plate with the delicious smelling baguette stood in front of us.
 The baguette was filled with veal sausage, fresh rucula, mint, coriander, grilled red pepper spicy sauce and chili.  Fantastic and amazing flavors in a hot grilled baguette.
The service was quick and comfortable and you would not be in doubt that the food was fresh!

After we had consumed a great explosion of taste the chef walked around all the tables with small glasses of tradition turkish apple tea which we of course did not pay for.

A great exprience, warm local people, tasty food and drinks for exactly 5 Euros!  Well in Denmark I'd say that these experiences are very seldom!
So... how to rate this experience compared with my other? In some ways it would be a misunderstanding to rate this kind of food experience with Bloc De Foie Gras, because it is literally a completely other experience compared to high class gourmet. But it was a very surprising lunch and I am absolutely sure that I will return. So why not give this lovely down to eath some Foie Gras?

Inegöl Köfteci receives 2 out of 6 Bloc De Foie Gras, because of their down to earth attitude with great taste in traditional turkish food. Thank you for making fast food delicious!!!!