Top Five Restaurants of 2019

It’s hard to believe, but this is our fifth year blogging. This year, of all the years, was exceptionally hard to pick our top five restaurants since we went to so many amazing places. But this is why we’re paid the big bucks - to make the hard choices. Which of them made our ultimate list for 2019? Read on to find out!

Jason

Clear Bread

1. ENIGMA

Barcelona, Spain

As I look back on the year, the most fun night of high end meals was at Enigma. The setting of the restaurant, the movement through different rooms, and the overall elevation of the food makes it my best restaurant of the year.

A play on a steak frites, with main dish being vegetable steak with a side of beef.

2. Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Tarrytown, NY

Blue Hill is the first high end restaurant we’ve been where each table got a different menu. The amount of skill and coordination it takes to pull this off is incredible. We wish we could have dined at a time other than 10:30pm, but alas you take what you can get.

Crab on crab on crab

3. Noma

Copenhagen, Denmark

We now make an annual trip to Copenhagen to visit Noma because we like Copenhagen and we like giving our money to Rene Redzepi. We thought the vegetable season in 2018 was better than the seafood season, but it was still an amazing meal and experience.

Look at this presentation!

4. AlINEA

Chicago, IL

I freaking loved everything about Alinea. It was two hours. Every course had a purpose. Everything on the table had a purpose. The balloon tasted better than expected. It was the rare top level restaurant that left you wanting more, and that’s the feeling I want when I leave a fine dining restaurant.

Duck taco

5. QUINTONIL

Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico was even better than expected for us, and Quintonil was the highlight of our trip. Each course was emaculate, and really showcased the abudence and magic of Mexican cooking. You could see Chef Jorge Vallejo’s influence from Noma and Pujol to create a menu unique his own.

I got to play St. Andrews this year, which was the ultimate highlight

Yvonne

HIT THE LINKS

TEE OFF

1. SCHWA

Chicago, IL

I know that Jason is going to be floored by my #1 pick, but I will not deny my love for Schwa. I had zero expectations going in, and Alinea was ostensibly the main event of the weekend, but this was the first restaurant other than Noma where I found every single dish over-the-top delicious.

Even the drinks were fun

2. ENIGMA

Barcelona, Spain

There isn’t a restaurant in the world like Enigma (well, that I know of). It’s hard for me to pick a standout dish from our meal, but the overall experience and interactive elements make this place so special.

This is pre-dinner, and already two hours past his bedtime

3. Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Tarrytown, NY

I hate that I always forget about Blue Hill since we were so tired from our 10:30 p.m. reservation. The whole thing feels like a fever dream, but when I reflect on the experience, it was truly exceptional in every way. That chocolate sourdough bread (and squash pie, pictured)!

Fresh to death even right after a flight overseas

4. El Celler De Can Roca

Girona, Spain

While you didn’t move around like at Enigma, El Celler de can Roca was so whimsical and creative. The desserts we had here were truly unforgettable, and I loved seeing my dad experience his first Michelin star restaurant.

Our family now includes chefs

5. Kitchen Table

London, UK

This was a hard pick for me as Alinea nearly edged it out, but I think the creativity and flavor – plus the awesome setting – make Kitchen Table the winner of my fifth spot. Some of our dining companions soured this one for me since they weren’t into the experience, but it really was incredible. And how often do you get face time with the chef like that?!

Honorable Mention: Anomaly

Charlotte, NC

Chef Sam Hart’s Anomaly pop-up was really something amazing, and it felt even more special since we attended his very first one. The energy was palpable and the food was top notch, especially considering everything was produced in a home kitchen. We can’t wait to see more at his first ticketed pop-up next week!

I hope 2020 has this many fun animals in it

Noma: A Review of the Seafood Season Menu

Background:
We visited Noma last summer for the Vegetable Season (Read about the background of Noma and our experience here), and we had such a magical damn good time that we decided to fly to Copenhagen for 96 hours to go back for the Seafood Season. This is our first repeat of one of the top restaurants in the world, and part of us didn’t want to go back simply because we had what is the closest we’ve come to a perfect meal that we didn’t want to tarnish that experience. But thanks to the NBA All Star game coming to Charlotte, we made some nice AirBNB money renting out our condo to a fancy LA producer. And what better way to celebrate living with my parents for a week then to treat ourselves to a trip to Noma?

Pro Tip: People are always asking us how we score these reservations. A great way is to get on the restaurant’s mailing list. I’ve been on the Noma mailing list for 2 years and they email at least once a season saying that they are opening up a few additional days for shared tables or regular sittings.

This visit we did a shared table, which Noma offers from time to time in their private dining room. This meant that we would be sharing a table with 16 strangers. We’ve done this a few times, most notably at Noma Under the Bridge, and recently at the Hello Sailor/Buxton Hall collaboration dinner. We’ve enjoyed this in the past, as we’ve been able to make friends and share our dining experiences with other people who care as much about food as we do. This time 17 of the 18 at the table were amazing humans, but one guy got a little too drunk and became obnoxious and, to be honest, dampened the experience slightly. It’s a roll of the dice if you’re sitting at a table like this, and both Yvonne and I agree that if possible at Noma it’s better to have your own table. Noma is a fast-paced, frenetic show encompassing all of your senses. Just eating and observing the food takes up so much energy that trying to make conservation with strangers distracts you from your main objective, which is enjoying the experience. Of course, if the shared table is all you can get – don’t pass it up. And if you’re an extrovert, you might feel differently from us.

When we walked onto the grounds, we were all herded into one of the greenhouses until everyone at the shared table arrived. We were given some cider and allowed to hang out in the greenhouse or just outside. We went on a beautiful Copenhagen spring day, and there is nothing more fun than hanging out at Noma just taking in the magic. And magical it is. It’s hard to describe it, but as soon as you walk through the rope gate you feel like you’re in a special place.

Welcome to our greenhouse

Once everyone had arrived, we were escorted down the long path by the green houses, past the bee hives and the test kitchen where Rene Redzepi and team were working on the upcoming vegetable season, until we reached the front door to the main dining area. We were then paraded around the prep kitchen through the sea of servers and chefs to the private dining room.

Oh hi it’s us

The parade into the dining area

Eat This:
Noma has three distinct culinary seasons: Seafood, Vegetable, and Game. This being our second trip to Noma, it was interesting to see the similarities in the progression of dishes between the Vegetable and Seafood season. Both seasons built up a main larger course - the celeriac shawarma of the Vegetable Season and the Arctic King Crab of the Seafood Season. What was cool about the Seafood Season was that dishes were grouped into progressions based on the type of animal being served. First it was raw seafood, then shrimp, then fish, and finally finishing with crab before the dessert courses.

There is so much intricacy and thought put into everything at Noma, from the progression of dishes to the fact that a different type of wood is used in each of the dining areas (the shared table area is made entirely of Douglas Fir), that it’s pretty much impossible to take it all in. It’s a place worthy of study, and a place the more times you go you pick up on concepts and notice things you’ve never noticed before. This is the case for the food itself, and in particular with the Seafood Season. The Vegetable Season gave a “wow factor” with almost every dish. Comparatively, the Seafood Season was a much more subtle, slow-burning wow. There was so much going on with each dish beyond just the initial flavor and main ingredients that it’s going to take us a long time to fully comprehend what we ate. There are very few restaurants in the world that keep you thinking about the experience for so long after the meal, and as a patron of Noma you want that feeling to linger as long as possible.

Fresh Norwegian Scallop

As you walk in, you can see the chefs opening the scallops to keep them as fresh as possible. They were delivered to our table and we were instructed to use the top part of the shell as a fork to scrap off the scallop and eat it with its roe.

seafood Platter

Carpet Clam, Venus Clam, and Mahogany Clam

One of my favorite bites of the night was this Carpet Clam, which was served with a delicious paste underneath. The Mahogany Clam is a rare clam that lives to be over 100 year sold. The clams we ate were around 100 years old, and we were told we could count the rings on the shell to see the exact age. We got to about 10 before we gave up.

One of the coolest parts of the dish is we were given quince to squeeze over the clams like you would typically squeeze a lemon. A great unique Noma touch.

MarInated sweet shrimp

How cute are these little shrimps? Kristen Wile from Unpretentious Palate described them aptly as spooning the herbs/flowers. This bite reminded me so much of the shrimp tacos from Noma Under the Bridge we had a few years prior.

Grey Shrimp Cooked with sea Lettuce

This was described as a lettuce ravioli, and it was one of the best bites of the night. A danish shrimp ravioli.

Lumpfish roe & cured egg yolk

Lumpfish roe had just peaked in freshness, so this dish replaced the sea urchin dish served earlier in the seafood season. The roe was served with the egg yolk, Mirabelle blossoms, and rose oil. The rose oil added a great aftertaste to the savory and decadent lumpfish roe. This roe tasted like you were having the finest sturgeon caviar. We’re sad we missed the sea urchin, but we were very happy with this dish.

Ramps

Ramps had just been delivered to Noma, and the fermentation lab has been using hundreds of kilos for something exciting – probably for the vegetable season. We got to experience some as a side dish to the lumpfish roe, and they added a nice earthy balance to the richness of the roe.

cured Turbot

The turbot was served with a corn miso from the fermentation lab. The miso added a hint of sweetness to the dish that gave the fish a pineapple flavor, which I think is what Noma was going for with the tiny pine needles in the presentation. This was one of the coolest and most subtle dishes for me, but a lot of people at the table thought it lacked flavor.

medium rare Blue Shell Mussel

When we were given this dish we were instructed to eat the mussel and then drink a mushroom broth which was hidden underneath the seaweed. I am a sucker for these multi-sensory experiences, and I loved tasting the soup while smelling the seaweed. It felt like you were at the beach.

Cod bladder simmered with quince

This was the beginning of the cod sequence, which started with this cod bladder with quince. I’ve never had cod bladder before, but I really enjoyed it. It had the texture of a cross between pork belly and well cooked octopus.

cod Tongue Schnitzel

The cod tongue still on the bone had been deep fried and then covered with wasabi leaves. I think at this point it’s good to take a step back to understand how unique this dish is. Did you even know that Cods had tongues? Did you know they could be fried and served on it’s bone to taste like schnitzel? It’s easy at Noma become jaded by the uniqueness and amazingness of each dish, as that’s what you’re expecting, but hot damn, each dish is so good it’s just hard to wrap your head around it.

Salt Cod Pie

Here they made a cod pie out of milk skin, very similar to the caramelized milk and cheese dish we had during the Vegetable Season. This is served with oyster leaves on top. Why are they called oyster leaves? Because they actually have the flavor of oysters! So cool.

beach Crab Gel and Pinecones

Here we have a crab gel with pinecones. As you’ll see in the first dessert dish, the pinecone has become one of the best things we’ve eaten. The presentation of this dish was done in a hollowed out crab shelled that had been covered in wax. Naturally, this takes a long time to make, and the overall effect was well worth it.

Boiled brown Crab on Flatbread

This crab cracker was prepared using a technique that Noma had picked up in Tulum, Mexico. The cracker had been deep fried twice to allow for it to puff up and be able to be stuffed with the crab. This dish itself is so time consuming to make it – the crackers are hand cut to look like crabs and then hand stuffed.

hot smoked, then barbecued arctic King Crab

We’ve made it to the main dish, which is barbecued arctic king crab from Finnmark, which is basically the North Pole. Each crab was served with a QR code showing you when and where the crab was caught, its size, and who caught it. Ours was considered XXXLarge, weighing in at over 10 pounds! The crabs are kept alive on sight at Noma until they are ready to be served. The dish is served with a side of horseradish juice, and you could tell it was good because the table got quiet for five straight minutes as people were eating and enjoying their crabs.

Crab Salad

Right after the large crab meat was served we were presented with a warm crab salad. This was my favorite savory dish of the night. The salad was hot and delicious, and was just seasoned and dressed to perfection.

salted & dried berries from Summer

This dish was literally everything to us. It was both of our favorites, and I think maybe the most perfect dish I’ve ever had. We were served sheep’s milk cheese with last year’s preserves, including pine cones.

We had one of these pinecones on the Vegetable menu, and we had been dying the try them again. The fact that each of us had 4 or 5 of them made us so happy. The broth was perfect. The ratio of cheese to fruit to liquid was perfect. It was all just perfect. As Yvonne said, if she were allowed she would have unlimited quantities of this she would have eaten so much as to make herself sick. Weirdo.

Cardamom scented sea Star

Noma told us they tried hard to serve actual sea stars, but apparently they taste terrible. So they settled for the second best thing, which was a cardamom toffee sea star made to look and feel like an actual sea star. A great tasting, and fun play on the seafood theme. Overall, we felt that these desserts were stronger than the ones we had during the Vegetable Season.

Chocolate Cod Skin

You knew we had to end with seafood, and we ended with fried cod skin covered in chocolate from Mexico. It was served with a “dagger” to help cut up the skin. The chocolate was not too sweet, but provided a nice balance to the crunchy skin. A great last bite.

Drink:
At the shared table, we had to do either the wine or juice pairing. We both chose the juice pairing, because Jesus, who can drink ten glasses of wine during a meal and walk two miles home? I had the juice pairing during the Vegetable Season, and all of the juices had completed changed just as the menu had changed. We started off with green gooseberry, which is Yvonne’s favorite fruit of all time and was my favorite juice of the day. Yvonne really enjoyed the saffron and pumpkin kombucha, which was spicy, sweet, umami, savory, and bitter all at once. We both agreed that getting the juice pairing is like getting a whole other meal to itself. With the wine pairing you get wine, but it’s not like the wine is made at Noma. The juices are all house-made and curated just for the current menu and each one I’ve had at both meals have been incredible. Don’t be afraid - go non-alcoholic and you won’t regret it. You can get wine anywhere.

Apple and Herbs Juice

Tomato and Fig Leaf

Atmosphere:
This time, even more than the last, Noma felt so alive, bustling with service, the fermentation lab going full force, and the test kitchen preparing for the Vegetable Season. Noma is a science experiment with counterculture vibe and the best food in the world. No table cloths, you eat with your hands, guests are wearing polos, a million people are moving around, all the doors are open, and people are yelling “Yes, Chef” like it’s the chorus to a Justin Bieber song. It’s a sensory overload, yet everything fits together and makes sense. No moment is boring. It’s the dining show to rule them all.

The clock in the main kitchen that says “FASTER”

Rene Redzepi hangig out with us for a few minutes

A view of the main dining room with the power plant in the background.

The private dining room looking out to graffiti from Christiania.

Under the Sea Hospitality:
Now that we have a new logo, we’ve been creating Michigan Pug plaques for restaurants that have received a coveted Michigan Pug. Our first one was at Bardo in Charlotte, and I decided since we were going back to Noma that I would have one made and carry it over myself. I did not want to make a scene about it, so when we got to the gate I gave it to the greeter and explained that we had enjoyed our meal so much the past summer that we had a small token of our appreciation for them. The guy then took it and presumably told Rene Redzepi about it, who instructed them to put it up immediately in the private dining room. This was so amazing to us and something Noma didn’t have to do, but it make our time there that much more special. I’m sure they’ve moved it now, but just seeing the other diners and wait staff look at it throughout the meal made us so happy. A touch of class.

The overall service was top notch, except for a few snags. We did ask one of the waiters if we could keep the QR code as well as if we could take a picture of one of the drinks, and we never received an answer back, which is rather abnormal. It must have been the guy’s first day. Other than that, everything else went smoothly and without any incident.

The one thing we weren’t allowed to do on this trip was have a drink in the Hygge room. We figured this was because it was lunch and we were at the shared table, but it was still sad as that was one of our favorite experiences from our first visit.

Oh wow

Sorry we just ate your brothers bro

Frankie’s Notes:
The only thing that Noma is missing is a room full of pug puppies to hold and play with after the meal; if you’re sitting at a Noma shared table by yourself in your late 30s and are obnoxious the whole time, you’re probably going to be single forever; I didn’t record the entrance again, and I immediately regretted it again - next time; If anyone goes to Noma after reading this, let us know where the plaque is now! Yvonne has announced she’s moving to Copenhagen to open up Scallionpancake’s first satellite office dedicated to hygge and sweater weather.

Rating: 5 out of 5 with 3 Michigan Pugs
Yvonne flat-out at the end of the meal came out and said she enjoyed the Vegetable Season better than the Seafood. Upon reflection for me, our first experience was so magical and blew our expectations away so much that it was going to be almost impossible to come away feeling like the Seafood Season lived up to our lofty expectations. Both menus were so different, purposefully so, that it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Like the Vegetable Season, there was not a miss on the menu when it came to taste, and the experience felt as magical as before. All of that being said, I have to agree with Yvonne that I felt the Vegetable Season was a slight step above the Seafood Season. However, I also feel that the combination of the shared table and the fact that it was our second trip played a factor in this feeling.

 

Top Five Restaurants of 2018

What a year! It’s hard to believe this is our fourth year of blogging and our fourth annual best restaurant list. This year was extra special, as we spent a month eating heavily in our favorite city in the world, Copenhagen. Not only that, we went to Noma, Eleven Madison Park, and Osteria Francescana this year. Which of them made our ultimate list for 2018? Read on to find out!

Jason

Celeraic shawarma

1. noma

Copenhagen, Denmark

I’m not going to speak for Yvonne, but to me, Noma is so far above any other restaurant we’ve ever been to, it’s almost disrespectful to have them on a list. If you’re on the fence, trust us: Noma is worth a trip around the world, especially during vegetable season.

Magical fish

2. Bardo popup with Chef Jake Bickelhaupt

Charlotte, NC

Bardo is the best restaurant in Charlotte. Hands down. Chef Mike Knoll of Bardo worked with Chef Jacob Bickelhaupt in Chicago. Bickelhaupt had a two Michelin Star restaurant in Chicago, 42 Grams, which shut down because of a domestic violence incident with his ex-wife. He is holding pop-up dinners around the country, and he held a one day pop-up in Charlotte where he and Chef Knoll served a 12-course tasting menu that was incredible.

Honey ice cream with a bee pollen magic shell

3. Atelier crenn

San Francisco, CA

Atelier Crenn is chronically underrated by the Top 50 Best Restaurants list, but not by Scallionpancake. Of all of our out-of-town high-end dining experiences, this was second only to Noma for 2018. And this dessert? The best. Coconut and pineapple custard with a chocolate outside that is made to look like a coconut.

I am a happy man at EMP

4. Eleven Madison Park

New York, NY

Eleven Madison Park was very contentious in the Scallionpancake household. It didn’t live up to our expectations, but it was still, in my opinion, a spectacular evening. The best dish was the duck, but the rest of the courses were also excellent. The only part I found truly lacking were the dessert courses.

Finnish blueberry vodka

5. Restaurant Kuu

Helsinki, Finland

This meal at Kuu was one of those that stands out when taking into account the perspective of the time and place. Here, I had reindeer for the first time with a glass of Finnish blueberry vodka. To me, this meal encapsulated our weekend in Helsinki perfectly.

Back on my college stomping grounds, NYU’s Florence campus

Yvonne

I am only truly happy in Noma’s hygge room

It’s NOMA, bish

1. Noma

Copenhagen, Denmark

This isn’t even a fair fight. Noma was not just a restaurant for me, it was a major life event. As we’ve mentioned often on the blog and podcast, I often go into experiences with little to no expectations in order to avoid disappointment, and Noma was no exception. I really wasn’t prepared for how much Noma’s atmosphere, service, food, and creativity would blow me away. From being greeted at the door by René Redzepi to the celeriac shawarma, to the hygge room, I am not sure if any other dining experience will ever live up to Noma.

Maybe not dressed properly for Atelier Crenn

2. Atelier Crenn

San Francisco, CA

Everyone knows how I feel about Dominique Crenn and Atelier Crenn, and Jason and I cried tears of joy for her when she finally achieved her third Michelin Star earlier this month. Atelier Crenn’s tasting menu with the accompanying poetic flare was so thoughtful, and every single flavor and texture just made my heart sing. Something about her food really speaks to my soul and my tastebuds, particularly her desserts. So many similar restaurants dial in the dessert options, but Crenn didn’t make them an afterthought.

I don’t even usually like chicken, hand to god

3. Amass

Copenhagen, Denmark

I know that this choice will shock and intrigue Jason (no--we don’t talk about our picks together at all. We don’t want any undue influence on one another). We ate a much larger meal at Amass last year, but somehow it didn’t leave the same impression as the small, non-tasting meal we had at Amass this summer. I had been dreaming of their fermented potato bread since the last time we had it, and it remains one of my favorite things of life. Imagine the best sourdough you’ve ever eaten, but even tangier and doughier. This visit, we dined at the bar, sipped on the best Aperol Spritz I’ve ever tasted, and just had the loveliest time. If you are visiting Copenhagen, I recommend ordering sitting at the bar and ordering a la carte over the tasting menu for sure. You do have to sit at the bar or counter for this option, though, and seats are first come, first served. The atmosphere is second to none, also. Amass is housed in a giant warehouse overlooking the water, and the giant murals are majorly fun and change regularly.

You eat this salad WITH YOUR HANDS. I know there’s a fork there. That’s irrelevant.

4. Al’s Place

San Francisco, CA

We went to Al’s Place with our friends (and friends of the blog and pod) Sharon and Andrew when we visited San Francisco in May. Everything about our evening was magical, from the company to the salad you eat with your hands. I loved the emphasis of fresh vegetables with zero compromise on flavor. Also, these radishes with butter made one of the prettiest plates I’d ever seen. From the brine-pickled french fries to the warm brownie sundae, I was in heaven for the entirety of this meal.

PICKLED FRIED ONION RINGS omg

5. Majordomo

Los Angeles, CA

David Chang is the god of umami, and I love everything I’ve eaten at all of his restaurants, and all of his dishes are highly memorable for me. Majordomo was up there with Ko as far as the all around experience, and the bing bread and pickled onion rings with French onion dip skyrocketed Majordomo into my top five late in the year. We also met two fabulous ladies out on a girls’ night, and sitting next to them and getting to know them just made the evening that much more enjoyable. Chang is masterful at creating fine dining experiences that are the polar opposite of stuffy, and I always feel free and giddy while eating at his restaurants. I am not surprised we met new friends at Majordomo, because that’s just the vibe that Chang has cultivated in this space.

Honorable Mention: Bardo

Charlotte, NC

Bardo is our favorite restaurant in Charlotte, and every experience there transports us and makes us feel that we’ve left home for a bit. Beyond the inventive and delicious food and drink, Jason Whiteside, Mike Noll, and Amanda Britton have made us feel like a part of their family, and now each visit is even more special than the last. Bardo makes Jason feel happy and relaxed, and since he works so hard and is always so busy, I am so appreciative that we have a food oasis in Bardo that is transformative for my husband during a hectic workweek.

WHATTA YEAR. Bye, 2018.

Noma: A Review of the Vegetable Season Menu

Update: We went back to Noma for the Seafood season. You can read about that here.

Background:
Back in 2015, when Scallionpancake was in its infancy, before we really knew anything about fine dining or the world food scene, we took a trip to Copenhagen because we knew the number one restaurant in the world was there. About a month before that trip, being the idiot that I am, I tried to make a reservation at Noma. Of course, it had been fully booked probably five times over, months before we had even contemplated a trip to Denmark. We had some good meals on that trip, but the whole time it felt like we had the weight of Noma's ghost overshadowing our stay. 

Last year, we returned to Copenhagen, this time smarter in our knowledge that you can't just stroll into Noma on a whim, but unfortunate in our timing, as Noma was closed for a complete overhaul of the entire restaurant; however, luckily for us, the Noma team was doing a pop-up under a bridge in Copenhagen that I had smartly booked the moment it became available. You can read about that experience here. It was an amazing meal, our favorite of the whole year, yet it still felt that even though we had a taste of the magic, we hadn't experienced the real thing.

When we decided to spend a month in Europe this summer, I started to devise a plan of how I was going to get a reservation at Noma. I did some background research which basically said: you have less than two minutes to make your reservation, or it's going to be gobbled up faster than a piece of meat being dropped to a pack of hungry wolves. So there I was, on March 5th, a full four months before our trip, frantically refreshing my screen at 9am EST (3pm Danish time), waiting for the Tock reservation system to turn on. Yvonne was on her computer doing the same, and we were on the phone coordinating like Navy Seals praying we could get something, anything, in July. I had a strategy, which was go for a mid-week reservation as those would be less desirable than a weekend reservation. As soon as the website switched to "go," I clicked on Tuesday, July 10th, and magically, a two-person dinner reservation for 5:00 pm was still available. I swooped in on that faster than you can say Smørrebrød, and two minutes and $700 later we had our golden ticket. Scallionpancake was going to Noma! (In case you were wondering, Yvonne was too slow and couldn't get any reservations, even clicking on a week day, so it just shows you how lucky we were to get one).

When you arrive in Copenhagen, it's impossible to miss Noma's influence on the city. There's a long list of former Noma chefs who have opened restaurants, including Relae, Amass, Studio, Geranium, Radio, Sanchez, and many more. The alumni page of Noma reads like a who's who of Copenhagen food royalty, not to mention some of the rest of the world. There is a palpable sense that no matter what restaurant or bar you go to around town, somehow its origin or influence leads back to Noma. In Italy all roads lead to Rome, but in Copenhagen all roads lead you to Noma.

Noma's influence goes even further than the Danish capital. Noma started the local food revolution and foraging food revolution, and its culinary impact is felt globally. René Redzepi, Noma's founder and head chef, is considered the most influential chef in the world. Redzepi is also revolutionary in how he uses social media, often posting behind the scenes videos and pictures that really connect with his followers. The restaurant has received numerous awards, most notably being ranked #1 in the world four times: in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. If I had to put my money on it, I'd bet that in 2019 it regains the number one status yet again.

In late 2016, Redzepi decided to shut down and move the restaurant to a new location in Copenhagen. He felt like the restaurant had become a bit stagnant, and the team needed to innovate even further (read this Bloomberg article for a great chronicling of why Redzepi did what he did). This is a big risk for a chef with an expensive payroll and perennial top five status. The construction and building lasted the entire year of 2017, with Noma doing a pop up in Tulum, Mexico and Under the Bridge in Copenhagen during this time. The new Noma (or Noma 2.0) opened in February and has received nothing but rave reviews from almost every critic around the world including The LA Times, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, GQ, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal.

Cue the music: looks like we made itttttt

Eat This:
Noma has one menu that changes seasonally. There are three seasons at the new Noma: Seafood (Feb - May), Vegetables (June - Sep), and Game & Forest (Oct - Dec). We dined in July, which meant we were there for the Vegetable Season. What was unique was that there was no meat served during the menu at all (except for a grasshopper mole), which seemed to inspire the chefs to come up with an exceptionally creative menu, even beyond their usual standards. 

As soon as you sit down, the dishes begin to come out at a frenetic pace. In all, we had 21 dishes in little over two hours, which is the fastest pace we've ever experienced at a restaurant of this caliber. It made for an exciting, adrenaline-filled meal that kept us engaged and interested for the entire time. 

Potato magma

Boom. As soon as you sit down, a potted plant with a straw is put on your plate. We were instructed to drink the new potato soup and smell the herbs simultaneously. This dish was a full sensory experience, and such an exciting start.

Nasturtium Tart &

sea Buckthorn & blackcurrent Butterfly

Does it get any prettier than this? On the left was a one-bite tart encased in a thin potato shell. On the right, a beautiful dried fruit creation that was like a gourmet Fruit by the Foot--really!

seasonal pickles

At Noma, they forage pretty much every ingredient, so everything on this plate is foraged, with the exception of the white asparagus which is from a special farm they partner with. Our favorite part of this dish was the pickled pine cone. It was essentially candied, which made it so soft, sweet, and tangy.

fresh seaweed

You know when you have fish that tastes fishy? Normally with seaweed you have the same, but this seaweed was so fresh it had none of the bad sea taste. This one-bite seaweed tart was meant to be eaten after taking one bite of the asparagus.

Barbequed Onion

This was our little special dish that only a few tables got, I think because we were going a little faster than the other tables. A barbecued onion which was opened up and cooked with elderflower. You only ate the inside, and it was so good I picked it up with my hands and ate it like a cave man.

Cucumber skin & Parsley

This was Noma's play on a grape leaf. The leaf was made entirely of cucumber skin which had been formed into the texture of a greek grape leaf and filled with parsley and flowers. What creative genius, and this wasn't even in the top five most creative dishes of the night.

quail eggs & Hip Berry chorizo

The berry chorizo tasted like meat chorizo, with a slight hint of sweetness. This was a life-changing little bite.

preserved morels from spring

They told us they got 70K morels in the spring that have been fermenting in the lab. I only got two of them, but would have happily eaten the other 69.99K

marigold flowers with a whisky egg-nog

After the meal, while lounging in the hygge room, we made friends with an amazing couple from Australia--Alisha & Matt. Even more amazing? Matt is a chef at Attica in Australia (#20 restaurant in the world for 2018! Don't worry, we're already looking into reservations). Matt explained to us how incredible it is to get these marigolds to fry in one piece, since the flowers are so fragile. Not pictured here is the whiskey egg-nog sauce that you dipped this in. This was like eating a donut with a rich egg custard. It tasted so decadent and rich, and it was perhaps my favorite dish of the night.

just cooked peas with whipped cream

If all peas were served with whipped cream, I think I'd eat peas for every meal of every day. Half of the peas were raw and half were lightly scorched. Only small peas were used. The big peas are currently being fermented in the lab for experimentation with a pea miso!

berries and fava beans

This was described as a ripe fruit ceviche which contained raspberries, red and green strawberries, flowers, fava beans, and radishes. It was bathing in a white currant broth. Light, refreshing, and slightly spicy.

Umami Flatbread

This dish was special because it looked so simple, yet had maybe the most complex flavor of the night. The mustard greens and a chili spice that the team had brought back from their trip to Tulum both added a nice kick to the cracker, radishes, and fruit. Umami to the max.

carmalized milk & Cheese

The chef described this dish as a ravioli, except the "pasta" was made with caramelized milk skin. The inside was filled with brie cheese and the whole ravioli was topped with black truffle. When describing the food at Noma it's hard to not sound repetitive, but damn, this was amazing.

wax broth with pollen

We were speaking to one of the apprentices post-meal, and she was saying they were contemplating taking this dish off the menu, because some on the team thought it was more pretty than tasty. Both of us disagreed, and thought that the bee pollen flavor and texture was excellent, so much so that Yvonne picked up the bowl and drank it like she was drinking a Yoohoo. The bowl was even made out of beeswax. This one is a keeper, Noma! Love, Scallionpancake.

pumpkin seed curd and grilled roses

Like the Umami Flatbread, this dish was influenced by Noma's pop-up in Tulum, Mexico. The mole underneath was made of grasshoppers and walnuts, and the pumpkin seed curd was flan-like, made from tofu, and plated table side. The rose petals were salty and crunchy--all of the textures in this one! I literally told the waiter I was going to lick the plate, and he said I could, but I contained myself.

Shawarma of celeriac and truffle

The main dish was a play on a traditional steak, except the "meat" was made from celery and truffle. What a freaking mindf*@k. A few courses before this, a chef brought out the shawarma on a stick (see below) like you would see at any stand in Europe. This course had everything, yet looked so simple. I think that's the magic of Noma--most of the dishes are so thought out that they appear easy and simple, the way Lebon James makes basketball look, or Jay Z makes music sound. This is the height of culinary mastery and excellence.

Sour Dough

Just when we were almost done with the shawarma, a chef runs out and puts more of the truffle sauce on your plate and hands you this lovely sourdough and says it would be rude to not share the leftover sauce with you to soak your bread in. That would be rude, indeed! The sourdough is made by Richard Hart, former head baker of Tartine who is opening up his own bakery in Copenhagen in October.

berries & Cream

Our first dessert course. The fruit by the foot is back, this time plated with berries in a cool cream sauce. One of the Danish waiters told us this was a play on a very traditional Danish dish. The color, the textures, the taste were all excellent, but you knew that already, right?

mold pancake

This dish was special, even for Noma standards. The pancake was a tortilla that had mold growing on it, much like a brie cheese, and it was filled with ice cream and a balsamic fig sauce. The mold pancake protected your mouth from the cold of the ice cream, and the fig balsamic added a nice acidity to the dish.

Rose scented terracotta

We started where we ended, with a potted plant, except this time you ate the whole thing. The pot was a chocolate coated elderflower cake scented with roses. We were instructed to slice open the pot to reveal the cake. Maybe the coolest and most beautiful dessert we've ever had.

R0se Scented Terracotta

Open sesame!

After the meal you are brought to a "Hygge" room, where you can sit and drink snaps or whiskey for as long as you want. Sometimes, they allow diners to enjoy their cake in this room as well. Noma sat us next to the aforementioned lovely Australian couple, Matt Boyle (@boylemd) and Alisha Henderson (@sweetbakes_), who we immediately took up conservation with. We spent nearly two hours lounging and talking about food, traveling, and, of course, our mutual love of Somebody Feed Phil. Matt is a chef at Attica (see above) and Alisha has her own cake baking company! They were such lovely and warm people. When we went to Noma Under the Bridge last year, we had a similar experience with another couple (Hi, Marie-Eve & Frederick!), and all I can say is, Noma goes out of their way to make its guests feel connected and have a special meal. 

Yvonne in her hygge blanket feeling all the feels

Drink:
Noma offers a wine pairing ($210), a juice pairing ($155), or wines by the glass. I opted for the juice pairing, which was simply magnificent. I've had juice pairings in the past, most notably at Central in Lima, Peru. What I didn't like about Central's pairing was that some of the juices, although all unique, were just not that good. Here at Noma, all of the juices were amazing. The juices ranged from a bright red saffron and chili to a chilled mushroom tea. My favorite was the rose and berry kombucha, which tasted like a thick berry smoothie. Yvonne opted for for wines by the glass. Her favorite that she tried was an orange-colored wine from the country of Georgia, which the waiter described as being made in a very traditional way, like they made wines thousands of years ago. The bright orange color was something we had never seen from a wine before, and the taste was rich with minerality.

Atmosphere:
Noma is a magical fairytale food paradise from start to finish. When you arrive at the gate, you are greeted by staff, who stagger each party's entrance down a long, flower-filled path, so that when you open the main wooden door to the restaurant, you are greeted by the entire staff--including Mr. Redzepi himself. You are then quickly whisked to your seat. This touch was truly special and unlike any other restaurant we have tried. 

OMG hi

The vibe is very electric. The Vanity Fair article put it best when it said "You want order, you work Eleven Madison." It feels like you're in the middle of a bee hive, where each worker knows exactly what they are doing, but from afar looks like a chaotic symphony. You see chefs running down the hallways. You hear "Yes, Chef" yelled loudly from the open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant. Five waiters walk by your table every ten seconds. When you need to use the restroom, a server swoops you away seamlessly into the flow, like it was part of the plan all along. 

The main entrance to the dining complex

Mr. Redzepi speaking to our new Australian friends!

A view of the main dining room and kitchen from our table.

Their property is home to a greenhouse, fishtanks, an ant farm, a fermentation lab, and, of course, their famous test kitchen. Yvonne claims she saw "reindeer penis" written on the ingredient list for the team to try out for the game season, but this rumor cannot be confirmed or denied. Long bookshelves run almost the entire length of the compound, where anyone on the team can add anything to the collection. There are also random awards, creatures, bottles, and minatures ecletically sprinkled throughout. 

Large bookshelves run almost the length of the whole restaurant

Outside view of the hygge room

The famous test kitchen.

The entire compound from the gates to the main dining hall in the background.

Noma-foraged Hospitality:
From the moment you open the door and are greeted by the entire staff, to the last moment when you are escorted to the gate,  you are treated like the most important people on the planet. This is pretty typical for a restaurant of this quality, but what was different was the amount of team interaction with the guests. Every time you walked by a chef they would say hi and smile. Everyone seemed approachable and friendly, which is not always the case at a place of this caliber. The laid back attire of the staff, open layout of the restaurant, and general feeling of sheer joy among everyone who comes to Noma, made for a very relaxed and welcoming dining experience.

A chef shows us a presentation of the celeriac shawarma.

Frankie's Notes:
Noma might have over 20 nationalities on their staff, but no pugs??!! #notcool; The only other things that have lived up to Noma's hype were Machu Picchu and Oktoberfest; Mr. Redzepi is a god among men, and we want to live in the hygge room forever as his loyal subjects; Yvonne wants to know where she can purchase that hygge room blanket so she can relive her pear snaps joy every evening in Charlotte; We hope there really is a reindeer penis in Noma's future, but shhh, don't tell that we peeked at the list!

Rating: 5 out of 5 with 3 Michigan Pugs
Noma comes with a lot of hype: the prestige of a long-ranked number one restaurant in the world, an almost impossible reservation to score, and rave reviews from the top critics in the world--we were terrified it would not live up to our expectations. From the moment we walked on the grounds we knew it was going to not only meet our expectations, but overwhelmingly exceed them. Not one bite of the meal was off. There were no misses on the menu. It was, dare I say, a perfect meal. We contemplated adding another Michigan Pug just for Noma, because it is clearly in a class of its own among even the best restaurants in the world. We planned our entire trip to Europe around Noma, and we would do it again in a heartbeat. 

 

Top Five Restaurants of 2017

Listen to this post in audio format on our awesome blossom podcast! 

Incan af

What a year! Scallionpancake traveled three continents in 2017, and during our travels we visited some of the best restaurants in the world. Like years past, both of us have come up with our top five restaurants for 2017. SPOILER ALERT: Next week we will publish our top five dishes of 2017. Stay tuned!

Jason

1. Noma Under the Bridge

Copenhagen, Denmark

The most magical food night of the year for me. The atmosphere combined with the excellent food made for an unforgettable experience. My favorite dish was the "make your own" shrimp tacos. Noma also had a delicious almond cake with lime zest that was out of this world.

2. Momofuku Ko

New York, NY

I've said it before, and i'll say it again, I love David Chang. Ko is his signature restaurant, and it did not disappoint. I had been to Ko at their old location about five years ago, so I was excited to to see what had changed at their new location. Ko is meat-focused fine dining, and I like that. They're most famous for their duck, which they age in-house every week.

3. Franchesetta 58

Modena, Italy

This fall, I took a trip to Italy with my friends Vishnu and Ravi for a ten year reunion of our time studying abroad in Florence. We took a special trip to Modena to go to Franchesetta 58, Massimo Baturo's sister restaurant to his famous Osteria Francescana. It was outstanding and served some of the best Italian inspired dishes I've ever had. My favorite dish was the pumpkin covered in Parmesan sauce with bacon. The sweetness of the pumpkin with the salty, strong flavors of the Parmesan combined with the fattiness of the bacon to make the perfect dish.

4. Joe's Kansas City BBQ

Kansas City, KS

Joe's BBQ in Kansas City has a lot of hype, but it lives up to it and then some. The best sandwich of the year goes to the Z-Man: smoked brisket, smoked provolone, two onion rings, and famous Joe's BBQ sauce on a bun. It doesn't get better than this. We enjoyed our meal so much that we went back the next day and ordered two--one for right then and there and one for the plane ride home.

5. Here's Looking at You

Los Angeles, CA

We went to LA in January, and the standout restaurant of the trip was Here's Looking at You. The vibe from the beginning was just plain cool--we felt like we were in a place where cool things happened and where cool people hung out. Oh, by the way, the food was really good, too. The standouts for me were this fried whole fish and the bar pie.

Keepin' it classy in Lima

Yvonne

,

1. Noma Under the Bridge

Copenhagen, Denmark

I couldn't agree more with Jason--the vibe at Noma Under the Bridge was just magical. It was our first night in my favorite city on earth. The temperature was crisp and the sun was setting along the harbor when we settled into the long dining room table with about 75 new friends from all over the world. The night started with champagne and ended with almond cakes in an antique tin, and that's really all anyone could ask for out of a vacation dinner. 

2. Central

Lima, Peru

Jason and I are still sorting out our feelings on Central (more on that on our podcast), but I do know that I absolutely loved the flavors of so many of the dishes we tried, particularly the dessert made with meringue clay and algae, and the potatoes with an alpaca dipping sauce. Central is the restaurant I would most like to experience again, if only to have more time to figure out exactly which obscure plant we were eating. The creativity on the Elevations menu is incomparable, and going on a culinary journey through the ecosystem home to the most diverse climate on earth was a once in a lifetime experience. 

3. Momofuku Ko

New York, New York

Ko was just a downright fun dining experience; I have never had the pleasure of viewing the kitchen directly from my seat in a fine dining restaurant, and I loved every minute of it. We got to chat with the chefs and it was pure entertainment to watch them work throughout our meal. We saw them prepare the duck from the moment we sat down--it went through step after step of marinating and braising, and then finally we got to try it. Super exciting. Another highlight? The bouncy Japanese cheesecake with shaved truffles. I die. 

4. Geranium

Copenhagen, Denmark

Everything at Geranium was a cut above, from the decor, to the service, to the food. I mean, wheeling out a cart of potted herbs to prepare a hot tea? It was all just next level. The dishes were inventive, like the dill stones and the razor clam dish, and everything had incredible flavor that captured the vegetation-heavy feel of modern classic Danish cuisine. One of my favorite moments here was the final dessert course that included so many little bites of goodness. Also, getting to meet the chef when he was in the back room preparing new recipes was pretty darn cool, too. 

5. Baest

Copenhagen, Denmark

As you heard on the podcast, Jason is rather rude about my choice of Baest, but gosh darn it, I'm sticking to it. Pizza is a simple meal that ranges from good to omgsogood, and that's what I enjoy about it. With five or six top notch ingredients, a well-made pizza can compete with more complex dishes any day of the week. Also, the cured meats and in-house made mozzarella with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt basically took me to another planet. Oh, and the dessert! Milk gelato with olive oil? I was in hygge heaven while dining at Baest. 

Geranium

Background:
Scallionpancake has been extremely fortunate to go to five of the top restaurants in the world this year. Geranium makes the list at number #19 under the creative talents of Head Chef Rasmus Kofoed. Kofoed opened up Geranium in 2007 after working at a fancy hotel in Copenhagen, and it quickly climbed the ranks of all of the "best" lists; it's the only restaurant in Copenhagen to have three Michelin stars (yes—it's hard to believe, but Noma only had two before it closed for renovations!). Fun fact about Kofoed, according to the Top 50 list, "Kofoed is the only chef to have ever won bronze, silver and gold at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in France." Impressive!

Round of applause for Kofoed

Eat This:
You only have one choice here, and that's the Universe tasting menu. This is a three hour experience, so buckle up ladies and gentlemen, and get ready for the ride.

Danish Lobster covered with milk, carrot juice, and sea buckthorn oil

And we're off! The signature first dish is lobster. This was almost like a gelatin, with the buttery lobster contrasting with the cool, earthy carrot. We also loved the presentation with multiple dishes on top of each other.

Jerusalem Artichoke Leaves, Hazelnut Oil, and Rye Vinegar

Dip the artichoke leaves in the hazelnut oil and rye vinegar mayonnaise.

Razor Clams with Minerals & Sour Cream

The signature dish of Geranium. The rumor is this took Rasmus over six years to perfect. In his book, One Day at Geranium Restaurant (which we absolutely purchased), Rasmus calls this the, "perfect abstract illusion of a razor clam shell." The shell is edible and painted with algae and charcoal to make it look like an actual razor clam shell. In the middle is a creamy razor clam tartar made with sour cream.

Tomato Water, Ham Fat, & Aromatic Herbs

We love eating flowers with our tomato soup. We also love ham, and we especially love fat. Mix them all together and you've got a Scallionpancake trifecta. The sourness of the tomatoes and the warm, saltiness of the ham mixed great with the aromatic herbs.

"Dill Stones" Mackerel, Horseradish, & Frozen Juice from Cucumber & Dill

This was one of our favorites. The mackerel dill stones were plated on real sea stones, to blend in as if taken directly from the sea. Of course we love dips, and why not dip your mackerel dill stones in a frozen juice of cucumber & dill with a spicy horseradish cream?

Salted Hake, Parsley Stems, & Finnish Caviar in Buttermilk

Our favorite dish of the day. Cold flattened and salted hake covered in a warm buttermilk filled with Finnish caviar. Is there anything better in the world than warm caviar on a great fish? I don't think so.

Crispy Grains, Bread with Old Grains, & Gluten Free Bread with Seeds

We always love the bread course. This bread was okay, but nothing we really need to talk about.

Scallop in Juniper Aroma, Filippa Reduction, and Browned Butter

Scallops are hard to get rght. It's easy to overcook them, and then they taste like a chewy bar of soap. Also, a scallop should be on the larger size --if they are too small, you can't get the proper texture throughout the meat. Geranium's scallops were amazing. They were presented first in a bed of sea grass, as if they magically appeared from the sea for our pleasure. The scallops were then plated in a bowl in front of us, and then the waitress poured the Filippa reduction on top. The scallops had a great rich taste, and you could cut them with a butter knife.

Lemon Sole, Onion Herbs, "Vesterhavsost," and Pickled Pine

Let's take a journey to a Danish village, where we walk along the sea and pick flowers. We stumble upon a local fisherman who, as we walk past, catches a sole on his wooden fishing pole. He cleans the fish in front of us and serves it to us lightly cooked over an open fire mixed with the flowers we had picked up along the way. You get it?

Tartlet with Fjord Shrimp, Sol, & Pickled Elderflower

Are you sensing a pattern here? Almost every dish had some sort of flower on it. The Danes love flowers on their food --it provides a pop of color and flavor to the dishes. Plus everyone knows the saying, "When you eat shrimp, you should stop and smell the roses."

Cabbage Sprouts, Chicken, & Hay Beer

A big theme in all the restaurants we ate at in Copenhagen was the lack of meat. This was the only non-seafood meat on the menu, and it was not the focal point of the dish. The Danes love thier greens and seafood! What we liked about this were the sprouts, which added a nice little crunch to the chicken.

A Bite of Beetroot, Blackcurrant, Yogurt, & Tagetes

Like a kiss at the end of the rainbow, more precious than a heart of gold. You know what I mean.

Ice Cream from Beeswax & Pollen with Intense Rhubarb

The winner of winners when it comes to dessert. This ice cream tasted as if a million bees flew to you, spelled out your name in the air, and then presented you with their finest beeswax in the form of ice cream. It was so creamy and had the subtle flavors of beeswax and honey.

Sweets:

Carrot Tree, Cake with Pumpkin Seed Oil, Caramel with Cloudberry and Chantrelle, Chocolate with Oaks and Sea Buckthorn, Marshmallow with Rose Hip, & Green Egg with Pine

Yvonne calls this the fireworks grand finale, where they bring out an onslaught of desserts all at once and then you get to go to town like it's your birthday (and we're going to party like it's your birthday). We were instructed to eat them in any order, except the green egg had to be eaten last, because it had a strong flavor. Our favorites were the marshmallows with rose hips and the cake with pumpkin seed oil.

Drink:
Geranium makes all of their drinks right in front of you. They are known for their gin and tonic, but we didn't try that (we were still in our non-drinking during lunch phase--lame). We ordered tea during the savory dishes, and coffee with dessert. For the tea, they roll out a cart with roots and herbs growing from pots. The waitress then asks what types of herbs you like, and then proceeds to pick them from the pots and make your tea. The coffee is presented in a similar way, with the waitress boiling the water and pressing the coffee right in front of you.

Picking the herbs for our tea

A coffee lover's pour over dream

Atmosphere:
The atmosphere at Geranium can best be described as friendly, yet sterile. Everything about the restaurant was clean and perfect, almost too perfect You didn't feel like you could make sarcastic jokes with the wait staff--but you know we tried to anyway. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the national soccer stadium, which provides great views of all of Copenhagen. You can even see Sweden from across the water on a clear day. The whole staff was very international, our waitresses were from Australia and Martinique, and the chef who took us of a tour of the restaurant, was from Sweden. It felt very cosmopolitan, and you could tell that there was a lot of room for collaboration and creativity in the kitchen.

The kitchen overlooks the stadium-- pretty cool on match day!

Danish Hospitality:
The service here was just as exceptional as you would expect at a fancy-shmancy place like this. What was unique, was that after the savory dishes, one of the chefs gave every guest a tour of the entire restaurant, from the test kitchen to the fermenting room. We even got to see Head Chef Kofoed, who touched me on the shoulder. I havent washed my shoulder since.

The front desk, sponsored by Apple

Frankie's Notes:
Frankie also has not washed since we were in Copenhagen; It's nice to have the option to play a soccer game and then go have a three Michelin star meal, all in one block; If Frankie could have tea with anyone in history, he would pick Lassie, and then punch him in the face after; We like to be able to banter with our waiters and make them feel uncomfortable; We have started putting flowers on all of our canned tuna now that we are back in the U.S.

Rating:

5 out of 5 with 2 Michigan Pugs

 

NOMA Under the Bridge

Background:
The original Noma is one of the best restaurants in the world. The legendary Copenhagen staple has been under renovations for about a year. During this time, the NOMA team has opened up pop-up restaurants all over the world--most notably in Sydney and Mexico--while everyone eagerly anticipated the re-opening of the main restaurant. This was slated to happen in the summer of 2017, but did not due to building delays. Therefore, the team decided to open up a pop-up restaurant under a bridge in Copenhagen in the meantime and bam: NOMA Under the Bridge (UTB) was born. 

The pop-up was only supposed to last a few months, but because of the continued construction delays on the main restaurant, it ended up having an extended stay from June until the middle of November. This was great for us, as we visited Copenhagen in late September and were able to snatch up two coveted tickets for our first night in the city. 

Eat This:
UTB is a five course tasting menu. The main dishes seem to have stayed pretty consistent throughout the entire time, with the chefs who had rotated in and out from around the world adding their flare to the bookends of the meals—appetizers and desserts.

Grilled Focaccia with Horseradish

What was special at UTB was the unique mixture of flavors. What a great combination of flavors. The softness of the focaccia combined with the crunch of the crust and pop of the horseradish made this bread disappear faster than a $100 bill dropped on the streets of Times Square.

Mussel Soup

Underneath, that creamy soup was swimming with some delicious mussels--you just had to get in there and find them. A game of culinary hide and seek, if you will.

Tacos with Deep Fried Shrimp

Here you could see a clear inspiration from NOMA's trip to Mexico, as they combined the Mexican chiles with Nordic greenery and seafood. The shrimp were fried and meant to be eaten whole with the shell. Hot sauce and salsa were provided so you could season your tacos to your taste preference. We'd never eaten shrimp prepared this way, and the spicy, crunchy taste was out of this world. That texture combined with the coolness of the cabbage wraps and greenery made for one of the best dishes Scallionpancake has had all year—we can’t stop thinking about this one!

Cod

with capers

Squid ink cauliflower

Wowzers bagowers. If you had three glasses of wine and closed your eyes, you would think this cod was a piece of steak--it was so meaty and well seasoned with the capers and sauce. The cauliflower was covered in squid ink which gave a nice acidity. There were also small potatoes served with a red tomato sauce (un-pictured) that paired nicely with the cod as well. This part of the meal really felt like we were eating at a Danish home, only the meal was prepared by the best chefs in the world, obvi.

Dessert:

Concord grapes

with milk cheese

almond cake

with cacoa nibs and lime zest

The main dessert of the night was concord grapes with a milk cheese: simple and refreshing. However, the real star of the show was the final bite—an almond cake covered in a lime zest. Like the horseradish and focaccia before it, I had never once thought to combine lime and almond flavor together. What a revelation! The sweetness of the almond with the acid zest of the lime mixed in your mouth like a mermaid and merman swimming to Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin’s "That’s Amore." There was simply not a more beautiful sight to behold in the culinary world, in this food blogger’s humble opinion.

Drink:
UTB teamed up with wine importers Rosforth & Rosforth to curate a wine pairing for the menu. They also had a juice pairing for us gout stricken humans who couldn’t partake in the alcohol. In addition to the pairings, they served coffee or tea with dessert at the end. 

First glass in wine city

Atmosphere:
The atmosphere here was truly one of the most magical dining experiences we have ever experienced. There is only one long table which sits about 75 people, so you feel like you're in Hamlet's banquet hall sharing plates and stories with your new friends from around the world. There were a few plates which were done individually—the soup and the dessert, but the rest were family style, and you shared with your new, six-person family. At first we were nervous because Donald Trump is President and we don't like to speak too much when we are out of the country, but it actually was quite nice to be forced to talk with people around you and bond over the food. Food really does bring everyone together, and we made friends and had conversations with people from all over the world, which we would have never done at a typical restaurant.

Gnome Hospitality:
When you purchase your "tickets" beforehand, you have to prepay for the entire meal ($175/person), which included wine or juice pairings. This was really refreshing because you didn't have to worry about up-charges, or tips, or anything--you could have literally left your wallet at home. We were there to eat and be happy. We might have been under a bridge, but the hospitality was top rate. This was NOMA, after all. The waiters and waitresses were knowledgable and friendly, and were able to accommodate special requests very well (like my juice pairing). They made you feel at home under the bridge. Hygge at its finest.

Frankie's Notes:
It's not good to have your best meal of the trip on your first night, #letdownnation; New friends are fun, especially those who eat less than you and let you have their leftovers; The mayor of Freetown Christiania is a pug; If a mermaids don't exist, then how are babies born?; The reason why Frankie can't go on trips with his mom is because he wouldn't be able to keep up with her 13 miles a day of walking.

Rating:
5 out of 5 plus two Michigan Pugs