what to expect from a wirtshaus

The Katharinenkloster in Bremen, or rather the few Gothic bits of wall and ceiling that are left of it, has housed restaurants for a long time. The building is wedged-in between huge stores and a parking garage, and would seem gloomy from the outside. Not so the charming interior: There are many tables and lots of space in between. The brick walls swallow much of the noise in spite of the high ceiling in some parts of the restaurant. The place is built in several levels - a few steps up here, a few steps down there, so one can always sit and wait until a waiter or a beer-filled guest misses his footing.

kristianstad revisited

For some altogether unknown reason, my earlier post about Kristianstad’s restaurants has been honored by the greatest amount of hits on this blog - 141 altogether (while, for instance, the delicious chicken thighs with tomatoes only caught forty-something hits). Time for a sequel: last weekend I was back. However, because of a lack of time and of social obligations of the “stick to the gang” kind, I never found my way into Modesto, as promised, which was sad for me but good for my purse.

What I can offer instead is a review of the Greek restaurant Den Lilla Tavernan,

spagetti [sic] in borås

Even though their homepage appears to be down, the Italian restaurant Spagetti in Borås was up and running yesterday. Upon arrival, it was under one quarter full of guests. This may have been a reflection of snow turning to a drizzle, and of slippery roads. Before the riverside of Södra Strandgatan and Sandwalls Plats was transformed into a cute pedestrian zone, complete with an abstract curry-sausage sculpture and palm trees during the summer, a health store resided where Spagetti resides now. Where I used to buy organic tofu (trust me, it is better), refills for my water filter, dry beans, Dutch honey and the occasional fair-trade cocoa’n’sawdust bar, I can now sit down and relax.

There are ups and downs with Spagetti, but to be fair, I want to praise its pleasant atmosphere and friendly service right away. We were a come-and-go company of an average of six persons. Four of these were in a drinks-craving after-concert mood. One of them was accompanied by six-months-old Elias, a bright and social fellow who most of the time was content with goo from a jar. Food was served in a most cheerful manner, unfaltering even when the youngest of the group had a food-deprival crisis. Musician’s babies have strong lungs, well developed vocal cords and a keen sense of pitch.

the stena line experience

My frequent trips on the Stena ferry between Göteborg and Kiel are always happily awaited experiences of culinary self-denial. It is in fact okay to name Stena Germanica and Stena Scandinavica in one article. Although the last few years have brought about a series of updates and renovations that resulted in a few differences between these boats, the kitchen philosophy is a consistent whole. To maintain the fun in this article, I am not reviewing the à la carte restaurant in the centre of these boats, which generally has a decent middle-of-the-road cuisine and pretty high prices. I am in fact not reviewing at all, but I will give some pointers about how to deal with Stena’s Temptations in practice.

The Scandinavian Buffet

Since a trip in 1967 on the brand-new Prins Hamlet from Bremerhaven to Harwich, I have been addicted to buffets on boat trips. I was almost eight years old then and, running wild amongst meatballs and browned chicken thighs, I ate more than any of the grown-ups of the company.

kristianstad: restaurant’s names and foods

Concert engagements often are on weekends. Thus, the weekday-rehearsal Thai-buffet lunch usually gets replaced by various rather more exclusive after-rehearsal experiences. Recently I had two engagements in Kristianstad, a small South-Swedish town with a military 17-th century history but - today - a charming allure. On Saturdays, the Greek-style Taverna near the Trinity church - a well-established place - tends to be completely booked, so I got to know two new restaurants in the center of town (on Friday evening, I also got to try a takeaway Pizza Ciao-Ciao. I will not mention it again).

In mid-September, I visited the new Italianate restaurant La Cucina, on the recommendation of the people from the Taverna. The restaurant-bar with its new and snazzy interior is located on the first floor, accessible through a rather small entrance. I tried Pasta frutti di mare with