Scandinavian Dining : Oaxen Skärgårdskrog

Apparently, THE place to dine in the Stockholm archipelago is the 50 seat terrace at Oaxen Krog overlooking the bay of Himmerfjärden. Due to inclement weather we had to eat inside - but I didn't mind. The dining room seats 40, and is absolutely charming. I was glad to explore the building - and I can sit on a deck any day.

Oaxen has been named as one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the world (#32) along with El Bulli (#1) and The Fat Duck (#2). Emphasis is on VERY local and quite often 'humble' ingredients transformed with all culinary arts blazing. And what can you say about the setting? - The Stockholm Archipelago is like no other place on earth. It has many moods but all are simple, stark, elegant and chic.

Their webpage is here. Address - Oaxen SE-153 93 Mörkö Sweden. Phone: +46 (0) 8-551 531 05

About 50 km out of Stockholm, it’s rather difficult to get to without a boat - but worth the effort. We hired a cab which took us through farm fields and dropped us off at a small hut on a brackish shore, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The hut kept the rain off us, and eventually a ferry arrived. After a brisk walk in the rain trying to make it on time, we found Oaxen Skärgårdskrog. (We had missed the shorter route over a hill. I was glad I didn’t wear my ‘kitten heels’. I felt like something the cat dragged in when I arrived.)

From our window seat we could see the Prince Van Orangiën, a boat which doubles as accommodation for Oaxen Krog. A great Flickr set about staying overnight on the Prince and eating at Oaxen is here. Check it out to see what the place looks like in the sun and what the rooms are like on the boat.

Here's what we ate. Not to belittle the service - it quickly became apparent that the servers couldn’t describe the courses very well and the English menu had many errors. So, some of my descriptions may be inaccurate – take all this with a grain of salt.;)

The ‘amuse’ that was sent out was a play on 'chips & dips'. A perfectly shredded and deep fried pig’s ear was paired with a dip that tasted exactly like an Alabama white BBQ sauce. I was in heaven; and it was the best version of pigskin I’ve had since Eastern Europe. I could have eaten a plate of these. The other chip was described as an ‘Isfahan sausage puree chip’ and indeed it had a mild lamb 'kubideh' taste to it but crispy. It came with a roe and herb mayo that came off a bit like a taramosalata. (no picture, alas)

The first little course was quinoa (?) with foie gras and little hats of some sort of vegetable leather (?). In tumblers was a mushroom gelée with a white sauce of some kind and glasses of ‘local water’. If this was indeed the brackish water of bay of Himmerfjärden, I wouldn’t be at all surprised - I could barely get it down.

Cockle and beef heart 'marinated with oregano and light smoke' arrived but it was scarfed down before I had a chance to take a photo. Here’s the shells, though…yes, they were superb.

Two butters from the island made from local herds (we probably saw them on the road) - one with a hint of bay leaf are served on local stones. I asked about the origin of the flake salt, but I got the impression that the server thought I was pulling her leg.

Breads were very good (as everywhere in Sweden) but at Oaxen they tended towards the soda variety and were a bit sweet for us. Undoubtedly crowd pleasers, the first ones to arrive were their ‘pancake’ (mini loaf) soda bread and sourdough (croissant shaped) roll. A second serving was sweet black soda bread (mini loaf) and Chef’s baguette slice.

A "Trou Normand". Oaxen kir royales with arctic raspberries & Pineau de Charente and a contented dinner companion.

Working from the menu provided the starters are described as – “raw shrimp & lobster with cold smoke, beetroot crudité (sic - actually was more like a canapé), sorbet of buttermilk (it looks like an egg), vild (sic) chive juice & pea crust. The raw shellfish was sweet and succulent – much like ‘dancing shrimp’ of good sushi bars.

Mark’s starter was described as – “oysters and perch with lemon verbena & horseradish jelly, broad bean pureé & blue clay baked parsley root” All I can remember is the effect of the blue clay (I had a bite) and I swear that this is the picture of the dish – but I can’t make heads or tails out of it!

My main was – “seared herb spiced top round steak of veal with deep-fried brisket of veal & molasses bread, cauliflower and loan lichen (?), sweetbread fried in garlic ash & red wine jus”. The veal was unbelievable.

Mark’s main was - “Baltic cod marinated in seawater, charcoal baked with reed (?), crab in oat porridge, pike roe, bouillon of roasted fish bones & rooster with carrot & cucumber”.

A little cheese course was – “cheese truffle with warm marmalade of Arctic raspberries & blackened goat cheese”. A little difficult to see; but all these things coated in ash were remarkable. It wasn't going to be the last time we were served somethng in ashes on this trip, either.

My dessert was – “marmalade of green tomatoes (more like poached, sweetened green tomatoes) with paté à chou (in shards), cream cheese ice cream, vanilla cream and meringue of cacao”. It was excellent.

Mark’s dessert – “pudding of raspberries with crust of white nougat and burnt sugar whit (sic) ice cream”. It was more like a custard with perhaps raspberries in it with a brulée crust.

As it is their 15^th Anniversary season, a beautiful box was presented at the end of the meal with recipes in Swedish (and a promise to email translations – although I have yet to hear from them), and the menu – without which I wouldn’t have been able to describe these dishes.

Scandinavian Dining : Frantzén/Lindeberg

Frantzén/Lindeberg was the first ‘arty meal’ we had in Scandinavia. Situated in Gamla Stan, Stockholm in a couple of old houses the main dining area seats only 18 and another room 12. Frantzén/Lindeberg just received their well deserved first star from Michelin – a coup for a young kitchen and house which so obviously has a delight and passion for their art.

The restaurant offers a tasting menu and wine pairings with running commentary from the sommelier which is a performance in itself - informative and humorous. I’m afraid you’ll see that my attempts at taking pictures with the iPhone in low-light - and the influence of these wine pairings – made for VERY poor photography. You can go to their website for more info.

info@frantzen-lindeberg.com | +46 (0)8 20 85 80 | Lilla Nygatan 21, 111 28 Stockholm, Sweden

Amuses bouches arrived in the form of smoked nuts and frico (fried cheese). The surprise was in the smoking; it was our first example of a taste/smell experience which would be repeated throughout Scandinavia. Foods were cold smoked only briefly using a specific wood and quite often were presented under a dome which contained more of the smoke. The result was ‘NOT kippered’ but only slightly redolent of the hearth. (no picture)

Appetizers were tiny tastes of mustard ice cream and a mushroom truffle, minted peas and sprouts, and yellow tomato gazpacho.

Breads everywhere in Sweden were a surprise and delight. Here bread and butters arrived as a stand-alone course with recommendations for bread and butter pairings. A sourdough épée and a mini version of a wholegrain Scandinavian flatbread with anise (complete with it's own tradidtional mini stand) arrived with two butters - a Brittany sweet cream and a smoked, cooled and beaten brown-butter.

Scallop with asparagus saffron/pistachio sauce. (no picture)

Turbot with lardo balsamic reduction potato stuffed onion with watercress sprouts, licorice root shavings and port sauce.

White soy (miso?) and truffle tea with a tiny ‘French Toast’ made of onion, 100 year old balsamico and a HUGE truffle slice on the top.

Veal sous vide, smoked pepper and bay coulis, white wine butter sauce. What a flavour! - it was superb! I was getting very overloaded with sensations by now, however.

A Tour de France of cheese. A map of France arrived with little tastes of French cheese. The Tour de France was on at the time, and an iPod also arrived with a mock TdeF running commentary of what you were tasting. Talk about a hoot! - and you can't complain about this restaurant engaging all of the senses. Here's a little snippet of a video -

Cheeseburger – a sweet course that looks like a cheeseburger. Buns were macarron shells, chocolate truffle hamburger, and the sauces were mustard (mango) and ketchup (Swedish berries). I know, it's really blurry...definitely my fault by now, and not the camera. ;)

The main dessert course - vanilla bean ice cream with sundried local strawberries and rhubarb in strawberry juice, cookie crumbs and cookie-dough sauce. (no picture – I was really beginning to lose it by then…)

Chocolate truffles and macarrons. (Maybe the sugar was waking me up.)

Just when you though it was safe to stop - coagulated apple juice sphere with a sugar and eucalyptus ‘fog’ contained under a glass dome. Frantzén/Lindeberg goes ‘molecular’. No, this time you're actually seeing a mist in the centre of the picture which was for inhaling.

At this point I really couldn't even walk home and halfway down the street a cab was hailed. Ladies, note that you might not want all the wine pairings - I certainly learnt my lesson. This place refilled glasses and gave you extra tastings of things if you showed enthusiasm.

To take back to the hotel we were given a bag with yet more chocolates, little cakes (which we had for a hotel meal) and granola (which is being eaten here at home) all made in their own bakery.

I'll remember this meal and restaurant for its warmth and humour. Observing the other tables, people obviously come here for an entertaining experience, as well as artfully done food. I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone. Go there as an 'event' when in Stockholm.

Scandinavian Fun - Geiranger Pizza

As many of my readers know, we just returned from a trip to Scandinavia. Many fabulous mealswere had. Most of them are almost too grand to speak of in this blog.

To wet my feet, I'll start with something very simple...the pizze we had in Geiranger, Norway.

I usually avoid getting pizza when I travel but after many long weeks of pizzalessness I usually break down and order one somewhere. I remember one with great fondness that I had in a cafe in Luang Prabang in the Lao Republic. It arrived with a tofu cheese, corn kernals, cream and snow peas. The dominant herb was thyme.

I started getting the pizza urge in Geiranger, Norway after long weeks of fabulous seafood and adventuresome cuisine in Sweden, Denmark and Bergen.

Geiranger is a village that hosts thousands of tourists in the summer months. They arrive by cruise ships and buses, caravans, cars and bicycles. The local Joker store posts a list at their front door of the boats arriving on which days, how many people they carry and what language they speak. A large hotel by the harbour has a harbour level cafe which can please everyone's tastes and pizza is quite often involved. We tried two of their special ones.

This one was my choice. The sausage was much like a salami and was made locally - which means that it is goat meat. It came with local apricots halved. Most local fruit this year hasn't gotten very sweet so the tart fruit was sort of refreshing with the slice.

Mark's choice was this reindeer pizza with the reindeer meat appearing much like fajita meat. Red onions and shredded lettuce went over the top and added to the effect. Pretty tasty!

Of course they were far too much for lunch. We doggie bagged the rest and had a feast in our room that night with a bottle of wine and licorice from Stockholm. Now - does it really get any better? Well - stay tuned!