Eat Like Ushi

After the joy of eating in a typical Polish milk bar (Bar Smak) and the disappointment in the street food (zapiekanka from Plac Nowy), it was time to upgrade and try some finer cuisine.

Pod Aniolami seemed to have a lot going for it, not least being the translation of its name "Under the Angels", the gothic cellar built in the 13th century, and of course the reputation for good food coming from multiple websites (especially meat and fish).

It isn't expensive per se (PLN130), just more than you'd expect from other alternatives and more local places. Like everywhere else in the world, you pay for location, service and quality. Pod Aniolami formed a good memorable meal and I would be happy to return, with more focus on their specialties.

- Homemade Lard with country wholemeal bread - lard & bacon bits spread onto bread forming a rich buttery decadent treat;
- Lettuce with Spicy Ewe's Milk Cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers & vinaigrette - token fresh salad with very soft mild cheese;
- Pierogi stuffed with meat/mushrooms/cabbage, cottage cheese/potato/onion, pan-fried with butter & onion, served with cranberries - pan-fried pierogi had the best outside texture as I'm not a fan of the thick boiled Eastern European standard. The cranberry sauce was the standard feature bringing the pierogi to life;
- Traditional Polish Red Borsch - clear, hot, thin, sweet beetroot soup. Very good;
- Veal Chops marinated in herbs, with forest chanterelles, green asparagus, garlic butter - decent veal although not especially tender, with nice crispy potatoes;
- Famous homemade Apple Cake with vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream, egg liqueur - deliciously soft warm mesh of apples, soft crust, cinnamon and fresh blueberries;
- Two slices of mild Polish highlander's ewe's cheese (oscypek) from Rantulowa;
- Prunes macerated in alcohol - intensely alcoholic with a touch of prune sweetness;
- complimentary mint vodka shot. 

Next time I would order the Homemade Lard, soup (such as borsch, zurek or fish soup) and a focus on the grilled dishes from a la carte. I wouldn't order anything with cheese and none of them seemed to really have any significant flavour. Given enough people (15-25) and notice, they also offer large fired items like whole young pig, boar's leg or Polish lamb all which sound delicious.

Plac Nowy is a known area for 3 things - meat and sausages at Grill na Kazimierzu, the Polish sandwich zapiekanki at every other vendor in the giant circle of the plaza, and being the area where people go at night for drinks. 

Sadly as I was there on a Monday night, there was no nightlife of people at all - irritating because the hostel staff specifically told us to go there for it. I don't think it had anything to do with not being local as we walked the entire area and even asked a bargirl in the one place we found open, who confirmed nothing happens there on Mondays/weekdays.

Still, two out of three is ok.

Grill na Kazimierzu

A little stand in one corner that has loads of bbq options cooking in anticipation of the crowds. The lady running it didn't speak English but there is picture signs for guidance or alternatively point at what you like on the grill. I tried a sausage (simple, standard, satisfying, nothing amazing) and a piece of the local delicacy bbq cheese (which is quite dry and not particularly tasty).

Zapiekanki

This Polish sandwich is what the afterwork crowd, the local youth, and the budget travellers seem to try. It is effectively a very long bread half topped with a plethora of options to resemble a pizza. Various meats, vegetables, cheeses and sauces are added and then baked to be warm and bread crisp. I hadn't researched if any one was particularly better than the others, but they all seemed to look the same. I chose one that had no English on the menu and had other customers there already.

My selection of chicken, cheese, tomato sauce and spring onion was pretty terrible. The bread was crisp but had no intrinsic flavour, the chicken didn't have much flavour either, the cheese was melted but bland. In the end it tasted like bread with tomato sauce and a jumble of flavourless meat/cheese. I ate a few bites and left the rest on a bench top for a friendly hungry soul to have.

Next time I would order from Plac Nowy only on a night when there was more atmosphere (likely Thurs-Sat). Kazimierzu will satisfy the basic sausage cravings. I would be willing to give zapienkaki another try, but I'd have to choose my vendor and toppings much more carefully.

If you are after a mid-morning/afternoon snack, A Blikle is recommended in guidebooks and online. Warsaw seems to have quite a lot of decent looking bakeries and patisseries along the main road extending from Plac Zamkowy all the way down until Ul. Nowy Swiat. A Blikle seemed to be one with reputation.

I only tried a cheesecake slice with strawberry. It was satisfying with the cheesecake being very smooth but only a mild flavour and the strawberry jelly layer adding much more sweetness.

Most people seemed to be buying this item I'm unfamiliar with called paczek z lukrem, which seems to be a frosted donut topped with candied fruit. I didn't have the stomach space to try one, but it's on my list for next time.

BLINIt is a small cafe specialising in Russian blinis. They are large buckwheat pancakes cooked fresh on a hot plate, topped with a variety of ingredients before being folded and served as a parcel.

Mine was topped with pork mince, lettuce, tomato and a savoury mayonnaise. It was served with piping hot pancake and meat and contrasted by the cold rich mayonnaise. A delicious snack indeed.

Being extremely cold and in a Russian cafe, I also had their borcht, which was rich red riddled with beetroot slivers, minced beef and hearty meat-based stock.

The prices are cheap, the servings are large and the food is certainly winter satisfying.

For an unknown reason, someone decided it would be a good idea to put a rice paper roll stand inside an eco-friendly design store in the middle of Helsinki. It certainly wasn't a bad idea and seems to reinforce a small trend of Asian-concepts/Finnish-versions of food.

The place is popular with elderly ladies gossiping over rolls and coffee, families out shopping with their children, and the occasional trendy young females eating healthy. Their is a variety of rolls to pick from, the focal ingredient being beef, pork, prawn, tofu etc. You can order the rolls on their own or as a lunch set with a salad.

On my day, I selected 3 rolls - prawn & mango, raw salmon & beetroot, rare beef. Each was filled with vermicelli, lettuce and a sliver of herbs. A nice thin nuoc mam dipping sauce was provided for authenticity. I partnered it with a salad of sweet potato, greens & walnuts and some warm green tea for my chilled blood.

It served a nice healthy breakfast in a relaxing mini-cafe setting. The rolls are tasty without being superb but certainly provide a nice change from the food of mainland Europe.

The first tapas experience of the trip was met with much anticipation. Honestly I thought the venue would be more a typical tapas bar, when in fact turned out to be a sit down restaurant. It was a reasonable warm winter day so we sat outside in a specially erected tent. 

I ordered off the Catalan menu which shocked the waiter who couldn't understand why I wouldn't order from the English menu, even telling me at one point the prices are the same. What can I say - I like reading Spanish menus and find it useful to learn for those times that menus are only in Spanish. Tossa seems to be suggested for their croquettes. Other than that I liked the look of the larger dishes on the menu than the tapas.

- Pan con Tomate - complimentary/service-charged bread with tomato drizzle excellently salted and simple delicious. The best version I had in Barcelona all trip;
- Les Croquetes Foie €1.6pp - foie gras fried croquettes with a nice delicate crisp shell & a soft filling that didn't quite remind me of foie gras. Still tasty;
- Cloises salsa verda €10.5 - steamed clams in a gorgeous strong buttery garlic sauce that I had to stop myself from drinking off the plate;
- Tortilla Patatas €2 - Spanish silky egg omelette with soft potato chunks. A well made version of the simple classic;
- Polpo a la Gallega €11.5 - tender octopus Galician-style (boiled with paprika) although the method isn't one of my favourites. Vowed to stay with grilled or fried from now on;
- Chorizo a la Sidra €6 - sliced chorizo cooked in cider. Typical chorizo with the cider adding a slight sweetness, but I wouldn't get it again as it seemed to mask the flavour rather than enhance it. 

Next time I would order Ceps Croquettes (likely to be stronger flavour than the Foie) and the Clams (can't see it on the menu, perhaps it was a special?). The bread should be automatic but if not, specifically request it. They offer grilled octopus, prawns and calamari which I find generally to be safe bets.

In a quieter area outside the main ring, Quimet y Quimet is listed on every tapas list I could find online. The location near Parallel station makes it convenient just prior to taking the cable car up to Montjuic. 

The place is small and cosy, with neither the staff nor menu in English. It didn't stop me from ordering confidently although there was one surprise due to my poor translation. 

- Langostinos pleads 6 u - 6 succulent cleaned peeled prawns with a touch of pepper for merely €4.70;
- Navajas - nicely chewy razor clams steamed with a touch of paprika;
- Anchoas con Piquillo Montaditos - bread topped with red pepper, anchovy, garlic & olive which was as good as it sounds;
- Salmon, Yogourt y Miel Trufada Montaditos - misinterpreted trufada as truffle/mushroom when it is actually honey, dripped onto smoked salmon & cream cheese. Different but sweet & smoked;
- Carrillada de Cerdo Ibirico - wasn't sure what this was other than something to do with pork so ordered it wanting to be surprised. It was cold boiled slightly dry pork leg with mushrooms & chips. More filling rather than memorable as such but I'm glad I tried it. 

The food quality is great especially at the prices. It probably reflects the location outside of the main centre and dedication to travel there. High recommendation - if you can't read any Spanish menu, be happy to be creative.

Next time I would order any selection of prawns, razor clams, anchovies, mussels, oysters etc. (which are my seafood staples with tapas). Their is a large variety of montaditos all similarly priced and every one I saw other people eating looked delectable.

Los Toreros has the fortune of being one of the very few tapas recommendations that is actually right in the heart of the tourist centre of Barcelona. It is just north of the market and very close to Las Ramblas. Judging by the guests and recommendations from stickers at the front door, it seems popular with the French.

They are particularly renowned for serving Rabo del Toro - bull tail stew as their famous tapas. Unfortunately on this evening they didn't have any available. Initially that turned me away, but after a short walk around and careful reconsideration of the area I returned hungrier. It was a good decision at reasonable value also. The sangria washed the food down well.

- Boquerones Rebozadoes a la Andaluza (breaded anchovies) €5.9 - great meaty anchovies lightly fried;
- Chipirones Rebozados (small fried calamaries) €5.95 - really juicy calamari pieces with the best light wispy batter that melted in your mouth. Sensational;
- Lomo a la Gallega (pork fillet specialty of Galicia) €4.9 - the only slight let down with dry slices of boiled pork fillet, olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Like Galician-style octopus (which I also am not a fan of) except with pork;
- Paella de Mariscos (seafood paella for 2) €25.8 - nice collection of prawns, mussels and lots of calamari chunks embedded into smoky paella rice. My only criticism would be there was no crunchy burnt rice parts. 

I would definitely come back for the food and especially location.

Next time I would order Fried Calamari and Seafood Paella. If available, the Rabo del Toro should be tried. Additionally there is a large variety of tapas to choose from at reasonable prices.

On the tapas trail was La Pineda, a charcuterie and cheese shop that also happened to have some tapas. Unfortunately it wasn't what I was expecting, but that's what happens sometimes when you write down the name of a place from a list and go there out of convenience.

The men serving us were friendly and non-English speaking and quickly informed me there was no hot dishes, only cold pinxtos. Nonetheless we sampled what they had available.

Anchovies served brined or in vinegar were a good standard as expected everywhere in Spain. Tuna with a very mild chilli oil was dry but at least substantial. Bread with a sundried tomato, mild cheese, anchovy and olive topping had a lovely combination of flavours. Roasted marinated artichoke was surprisingly good with a unexpected soft char outside and a crunchy raw inside. Lastly a pastry filled with tuna & egg and topped with a dry red pepper and olive was average but certainly different.

The only other options were cheese or jamon. I would recommend coming here for a drink and snack, but being aware that the range is limited and there is no hot food or any raciones.

It takes a pretty special restaurant to have me (or anyone for that matter) trudge through -6C cold and snow for 20mins just for dinner. Luckily for Nili they had the credentials to lure me and even force myself to make a reservation a month in advance during the cold January quiet season.

Other than the Tripadvisor #1 spot, reputation for serving Lappish cuisine, winning the award for 2012 Rovaniemi Menu and simply there didn't seem to be any other places in Rovaniemi that appealed to me. It also helped that the menu had less common items such as arctic fish, reindeer, snowgrouse and bear.

The Rovaniemi Menu is comprised of local seasonal ingredients agreed upon by the chefs of Rovaniemi and each restaurant creates their own menu with those core items. I couldn't decide between the restaurant's classic dishes (cep soup and reindeer cooked two ways) or the seasonal menu. The waitress opted for the seasonal on my behalf:

- complimentary rye bread and potato bread with homemade butter - continued the trend of dry friable bread in Finland, nothing but a filler;
- starter of salmon mousse on a cracker
- Powers of Bear (shot of bear consomme) - deliciously mild-game, slightly sweet meaty soup served with a slice of tasteless cheese;
- Autumn's Harvest (Holopainen´s creamy porcini mushroom soup and rosemary foam) - beautiful creamy mushroom blend with a hint of rosemary mixed in;
- complimentary crowberry sorbet - similar to a blueberry/cranberry cross, more sweet than tart;
- Forest Delicacies (tenderloin of elk á la Chef Kyllönen, strong game sauce, Rovaniemi cranberry jelly, potatoes fried with churned butter) - luscious tender medium-rare elk with a texture of quality beef eye fillet with a taste that reminded me most of a mild game kangaroo, meaty sauce and nice combination of roast potato, carrot and swedes;
- Glimmer of Sun (pannacotta á la Nili with cloudberries from Inari and buckthorn from Mieslahti) - very thick pannacotta filled with vanilla seeds, a layer of sweet cloudberry film and fresh buckthorn berries adding a very strong tartness.

Next time I would order the Rovaniemi menu again for a first timer - the ingredients, flavours and combinations were fantastic. For a second visit I'd be more curious to know what the other signature dishes are like, such as reindeer, snowgrouse and particularly bear steak.