There are a handful of foods Denmark is known for. Perhaps most obviously, the danish. Before I left for my trip, a colleague told me that the pastry she got from 7-11 in Copenhagen was better than most in the U.S. And although I didn’t try one, I believe it: on an emergency booze run (they also sell liquor) we noticed the food at 7-11 is not your typical gas station fare.
Danish pastries come in many shapes and forms, and you better believe I was set on trying all of them – on several occasions even ending a morning run at a bakery to ensure I got them fresh. Here’s a look at some that I sampled.
These first two were within Torvehallerne, a gourmet food hall with prepared foods as well as cheese, fish, meat and veggies you can take and prepare at home. If you’re a foodie, this is a must-stop.
Conundrum: We wanted pastries for Christmas morning, but most all bakeries shut down on the 23rd. I stopped by Grannys House and asked the young lady behind the counter if the pastries would hold up. “Until the 25th? That would be sad,” she said frankly. Then she lit up – “but you could freeze them!” So freeze them we did, and they were fresh and warm Christmas morning.
I can’t remember what this place was called. It was on the backside of Grannys. They had amazing samples, and this custard, cinnamon and chocolate pastry was one of my favorites.
Traditional version from Vedels Konditori & Bageri. I actually stopped in on a run and got this to snack on before we climbed the Round Tower.
Blueberry marzipan from Meyers Bageri. Also acquired on the way back from a run. I’d expected these to be filled – they were a little plain for my taste.
Not pictured, but some of my favorite were from Emmerys . They aren’t pictured because I anxiety ate them while waiting for our train to the airport. I had plenty of time to get my pastry fix, but when I returned I discovered my family still had not been able to figure out how to purchase train tickets, as all of the machines seemed to be down. After trying for a good half hour, we boarded sans tickets – but the two pastries from Emmerys didn’t even make it to the train (the lovely loaf of rye bread, however, made it all the way home!)
Next up: Smørrebrød. Dense, rye bread topped with a variety of toppings. Think fish, shrimp, egg, roast beef, pickled vegetables, chicken salad. These open-faced sandwiches come in many shapes, sizes and flavors.
I got the shrimp one because I remembered how much I loved these when we were in Sweden, but this one just didn’t live up.
A variety of smørrebrød at Torvehallerne
Grød has redefined its namesake (porridge) from a simple “poor man’s food” to a trendy – and frankly overpriced! – treat. It comes both sweet and savory. The sweet didn’t feel much different than the oatmeal I make at home, but the savory was delicious!
Sweet(ish)
Savory
Much closes down for the holidays in Copenhagen, but many restaurants do offer a prix fixe Christmas menu. We decided to make Christmas dinner at home and go out on Christmas Eve for the traditional meal I told you about last month. We waited until the last minute to make a reservation so our options were rather limited, but we were very happy with Restaurant Vita where we got a three course menu with wine pairing. Our nook of a table in the back room was the epitome of coziness, and our waitress was so funny and delightful.
First course. The smoked salmon is far better than our smoked salmon I must say. With “pee shoots” as the menu read, giving us a chuckle.
Roast pork and roast duck with the most decadent crispy skin. Served with regular potatoes as well as sugar browned potatoes, cabbage with figs, pear and gravy.
Dessert was none other than risamalande! I was pretty tickled at how similar it was to mine – I nailed it!
You’ll find all sorts of goodies at the Christmas markets. We got ebelskivers to go with our glogg, although the phallic waffles looked good as well. Fun fact: I tried my hand at ebelskivers years ago!
One of the highlights of our trip was our culinary food tour. Fie took us all over the city tasting many different delicacies interspersed with fun bits of history and culture. We started with dessert, traditional marzipan pastries enjoyed on new years, courtesy of Dessertdragens Kageværksted. Supposedly the name comes from the head baker’s reputation for getting a bit firey in the kitchen. These were so delicious we went back and got a kransekage (Marzipan ring cake) to enjoy on new years eve!
Sankt Peders Bageri is one of the oldest bakeries in Copenhagen. It was closed for the holidays, but we did learn about the pretzel symbolizing approval of the king.
Four types of Danish cheese at Torvehallerne
A contemporary take on the smørrebrød at Selma. The herring was delightful, and the chicken salad with smoked bacon had the loveliest hint of citrus. Paired with house made beet and horseradish schnapps. I’d definitely come back for a meal.
Korean BBQ wings, cabbage salad and the most fabulous fermented fries with mushroom aioli at Brus brewery. It’s going to sound crazy, but the fries were one of my favorite things we ate. We *did* come back here.
Smoked pumpkin soup was on point.
As stuffed as we were, there’s always a dessert stomach so we swung by Ro Chokolade to finish off with flødebollers, before heading to Mikeller to exercise our beer stomach.
Pure perfection. Like biting into a sweet feather pillow. Man, I could go for one of these right now!
You can’t go to Denmark without eating pickled and smoked fish!
Our Christmas appetizer – three types of pickled herring, rye bread with cheese and bubbles.
New Year’s Eve dinner – smoked salmon, herring and eel.
For the health nuts out there, there are plenty of options – vegan, paleo, you name it!
Phenomenal veggie burger, also from SimplyRaw. *So* good.
PALÆO has an entirely paleo menu, with lots of vegetarian options. I got the open face club wrap, and it was honestly kind of heavy.
It wasn’t all vegan, we also ate some incredible meat!
Fucking *AMAZING* BBQ at Warpigs Brewpub. “Texas smørrebrød” with three meats (pulled pork, brisket and sausage), slaw and pickles. Greens with ham hock, the burnt end baked beans (the best baked beans I’ve ever had!), and a shot of whiskey. Is it ironic that we come all the way to Denmark for American style BBQ? I don’t even care. Their beers are awesome also.
Back at Brus for stellar burgers paired with beers, my favorite of which was a carrot cake stout I’d really like Courtney to clone.
Smagsløget: These sandwiches aren’t open face, but damnnn are they good. One sandwich generously serves two people. We had the roast beef. There’s not much room to sit inside the little deli, but these sandwiches are worth it.
We enjoyed some tasty food at Freetown Christiania, an independently governed commune in the Christianshavn neighborhood.
Big ol’ plate of vegetarian goodness at Café Nemoland. Don’t miss the amazing poppyseed caramel bars if they have them! I wish i could recreate these!
I read about this cake in a Danish cookbook I’d picked up the day before, and became borderline obsessed with finding it. I’m so glad I did, because this was another one of my favorite things we ate. Several types of fruit mousse (chocolate raspberry, pineapple) between thin cake layers covered in chocolate ganache and hazelnuts.
