 Lucky Bird is the word! Don't you know about the Bird? We thought everybody's heard about the Bird? Well, if you haven't before, now you know. Lucky Bird has opened in the same neighborhood as Mathallen, in the venue next door to BAR Vulkan. The sign reads chicken and ribs. Simple, classic, delicious food.  The owner, Tarje, explains their philosophy: "We take good ingredients, treat them with respect and keep the menu short". We love their concept! The ribs are from one of Norway's best butchers; Albert Idsøe in Stavanger. The chicken is from Stange, and is free range, guaranteed free from medicine and with no additives.  Tarje loves them ribs. The place is inspired by a Southern USA style chicken shack. All the interior looked so well made that we thought it must have been really expensive to make. However, Tarje tells us that they actually made it in a very inexpensive way. The colored wood is from an old house in Stavanger, the roof from an old barn and the hand rails along the stairs are from a church. The lamps in the ceiling are made from old oil barrels!  Tarje is an experienced restauranteur. He already operates the three venues of Døgnvill Bar & Burger, two in Oslo and one in Stavanger. Why did you call the place Lucky Bird and decide to serve ribs as well? "I love ribs so much, I cried myself to have it on the menu!" Tarje tells us. "I like the ribs a bit chewy. I don't want the meat to fall off completely, as others may prefer. To achieve the perfect result every time we use sous-vide."  Deep fried chicken with smokey pineapple sauce.   Tommy's Margarita. Jose Cuervo Reposado Tequila, Agave syrup, lime juice. The cocktails are so inexpensive here, only NOK 89! The taste is right where it should be.   St. Louis spareribs on the right. Green beans in the back and "dirty rice" with chicken liver on the left.  South Side. Gin, mint, lemon juice, sugar syrup and club soda.  Chicken wings on the right. Baked spicy beans with pork confit on the left and sweet potato fries in the cup. Our two favorite condiments from the menu.  Moonshine. Nordic Linie Aquavit with homemade ice tea.  Six different sauces! Lucky Bird BBQ, St. Louis BBQ, Fire BBQ, Triple Honey, Chili and Smokey Pineapple.  Avocado & black bean salad and corn mash.  Mash & gravy   Hilbilly Slaw  Mac'n'cheese  Studying the menu one more time we realize, no matter how full we are, we have to try the dessert pies...  Key Lime Pie with whipped cream. It was like a mix of a lemon pie and a really good cheese cake.  Pecan pie with whipped cream. Salty, crunchy sticky, yum...  Goodbye Lucky Bird, it won't be the last time we meet!
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 Gluten free pizza with duck breast and ramsons Andrea had recently got the celiac diagnosis when Anders' colleagues from Dagbladet were coming over for a long-planned pizza night. Several types of pizzas were to be grilled on a hot stone plate, with different toppings on all of them. In addition we had to figure out how to make a good gluten free alternative for Andrea.  Gluten free pizza with white sauce, reindeer and pomegranate. We'll give you the recipes for the two different types of dough we made. The sauce and toppings we leave up to your own imagination. The regular pizza dough recipe is as follows. Ingredients 550 g tipo-00 flour 3 dl lukewarm water 10 g salt 35 g fresh yeast 20 g extra virgin olive oil  Day 1 Mix 150 g of tipo-00 flour with 1 dl lukewarm water which you dissolve the 35 g of fresh yeast in. Let it rise for 1 hour. In a kitchen machine on low speed add the remaining ingredients, except the oil. Leave the machine to run for 10 minutes. Then add the oil and let it go for another 5 minutes. The result should be an airy and velvet soft dough. Wrap the bowl in plastic and leave it in the fridge overnight for 18 hours.  Day 2 Remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into 4 equally sized pieces. Form each element into a round ball. Place the doughs on a baking tray with baking paper. Press them down slightly, cover in plastic and a wet towel. Leave to rise for 3 hours. When your grill is on full speed and the stone plate is blazing hot you are ready to bake. Cover your hands in flour. Take one of the doughs and press it down with your hands. Use only the hands to force it into a round pizza shape. There should be no need for a rolling pin if your dough is perfect.  Pizza with tomato sauce, duck breast, red onion and thyme. We searched high and low for the perfect gluten free pizza recipe, and in the end we went for a mix of the simplest recipes we could find. The result turned out really nice. Gluten free pizza ingredients 4 dl gluten free flour 2 dl lukewarm water 25 g fresh yeast 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp psyllium seed husks (Norwegian: fiberhusk) 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt  Day 1 Mix half of the water with the yeast, sugar and psyllium seed husks. Let it rise for 1 hour. In a kitchen machine on low speed add the remaining ingredients, except the oil. Leave the machine to run for about 1 minute until everything is well incorporated. Then add the oil and let it go for another minute. The dough should be in one piece and stick together fairly well. Wrap the bowl in plastic and leave it in the fridge overnight for 18 hours.  Pizza with white sauce, reindeer and pomegranate. Day 2 The next day you do almost the same as with the regular pizza dough, except you have to handle the gluten free dough with more care. You can't roll the elements into perfect round dough. Try to just press them carefully into similar shapes. The same goes for when you want to press them out for baking. Apply more care and know that you won't get a second chance to make the dough stick together.  Lars only drinks bubbles  Langoustine fried in butter, garlic and ramsons.  Pizza with white sauce, langoustine and nasturtium.  Pizza with tomato sauce, oxtails and caramelized red onions.  Pizza with tomato sauce and salami piccante. If you want our recipe for red and white sauce, or want to know more about how much cheese and toppings you should put or how to cook the pizzas perfectly, just comment below or write us.  Half'n'half gluten free pizza with white sauce, reindeer & pomegranate on one side and buttery langoustine and nasturtium on the other. This was made the next day from leftovers.  We got invited to a tasting menu dinner with whisky pairings by Diageo - the world's largest producer of spirits. The Mortlach whisky, famous for it's rich and powerful taste, has been off the market for a long while. Now, it is back, and that was to be celebrated at the newly opened hunting lodge at Løvenskiold shooting range outside Oslo.  We were welcomed as we entered by a familiar smile. One of our favorite bartenders, and certainly one of Norway's best, Jesper Høst was making cocktails. As always, an amazingly tasty and sexy looking drink was handed over by the well-dressed man. "The Beast" consists of the following:
 Cocktail grand master Jesper Høst preparing "The Beast" During the evening we got to try three different Mortlach whiskys. The Rare Old, a sweet, fruity, floral and dry whisky. The 18-year-old, a bigger and bolder whisky with dark chocolate and burnt orange flavors, and a scent of coffee, nutmeg and tobacco leaf. Finally, the crown jewel, the 25-year-old, an elegant, sophisticated whisky with flavors of sweet fruits and Turkish delight and a scent of exotic spices and incense. All of them available at the wine monopoly, just follow the links. It is worth to notice the price tag on the latter, NOK 6000 for half a liter, and without doubt one the most expensive whisky we have tried.  Global Mortlach ambassador Georgie Bell, and Diageo Whisky ambassador Mikael Lundén were our hosts for the evening. The food was prepared by two chefs from brasserie Mats & Martin in Oslo. An excellent meal with only Mortlach whisky pairings to go with the food. Definitely not something we have tried before, and quite odd, but at the same time it worked out very well.  The menu presentation, with wild flowers and bird feathers on the table.  A tartar of salmon and tuna on avocado and cucumber. Pairing: Mortlach Rare Old  Whale tataki with seaweed and a balsamic reduction. Pairing: Mortlach Rare Old  For the next dishes we got to make our own Mortlach branded ice cube to go in the whisky. Diluting the whisky gives it a different flavor.  Langoustine with ramson butter and grilled water melon. Pairing: Mortlach Rare Old with an ice cube.  Whisky flambéed pepper king crab with chili, garlic, spring onion, coriander and sesame seeds. Pairing: Mortlach Rare Old with an ice cube.  Smoked duck breast with figs, Gorgonzola and Mortlach whisky glaze. Pairing: Mortlach 18-year-old.  Mats & Martin preparing one of the main dishes.  Confit kid with rillettes, salsify and porcini mushroom sauce. Pairing: Mortlach 25-year-old  A dessert consisting of mini chocolate fondants, half a macaron with whisky fudge, espresso mousse, crème Anglaise and raspberry  The design of all bottles, but particularly visible on the 18- and 25-year old, is inspired by the Forth Rail bridge in Scotland.  This dish is partly inspired by a dish we made together with Mikkel Marschall on Bornholm, the langoustine dish at restaurant Kadeau and a foraging class we attended in Oslo. The dish we made with Mikkel was a potato compote with fried herring (we will remake the complete recipe on the blog later). After visiting Bornholm we were tipped by our good friend Helle about a foraging class at Geitmyra food culture house. Two of the flowers we learned to be edible were Cuckooflower or Lady's smock (Engkarse in Norwegian) and Ground-Ivy (Korsknapp in Norwegian). They happened to be growing close to Geitmyra, and on the way home we picked up a few. Foraging wild plants and flowers seems to be one of the biggest food trends in the Nordic restaurant scene and hipster home cook crowd. Ingredients 400 g salmon 12 potatoes, unpeeled 250 g Røros butter Apple vinegar Salt & pepper Edible flowers Send me dead flowers every morning Cook the potatoes with the peel until they are done. Pour the water off and let them dry. Use a potato masher and roughly crush the potatoes. Add the butter and a few table spoons of apple vinegar, stir around a few times and let it rest until the butter is melted. Taste with salt and pepper and more apple vinegar if needed. A potato compote is rougher than a mash, the peel is included and the potatoes doesn't need to be completely mashed. The butter and vinegar is just stirred into the compote. It should have a clear acidic sting from the vinegar. Rub the salmon with salt and pepper and fry on one side in butter. Remove from the pan before it is cooked all the way through and get dry. Plate with potato compote underneath and salmon on top. Pour some of the frying butter over the fish. Decorate with edible flowers.   After three days on Bornholm we were already sold. This really felt like a dream. The passion and dedication for food that we saw, reflected in organic farming, animal welfare, sustainability and great utilization of local produce had us convinced. Not to mention the stunning nature with beaches in the south, mighty cliffs in the north, and endless fields of rapeseed flowers and forest floor covered in ramsons wherever you wander. However, the true diamond of this island had yet to be explored. Restaurant Kadeau was booked for our Friday evening.  Imagine you went to heaven and there were no pearly gates. No soft clouds to step on or angels with feathered wings. In stead there was a small cottage, soft sand to dig your feet into and white clad waiters. That's what Kadeau felt like. A little paradise on earth. Kadeau opened in 2010 and is co-owned by Magnus Koefoed, Nicolai Nørregaard and Rasmus Kofoed. They have a sister restaurant by the same name in Copenhagen with one Michelin star, as well as a bistro called Pony which also serves Bornholm food. This summer they opened SommerPONY on Bornholm, which will close during winter months just like Kadeau.  We arrived early to take some photos. Our waitor and sommelier for the evening, Kristine, was waiting for us in the doorway. "Should I put some Champagne glasses outside for you?" Yes, please do! We inspected the beach. Sand as soft as cotton. Rumor has it that Napoleon used it for his time glasses. In the horizon is only sea as far as the eye can see. The Baltic sea.  While we were checking out the beach and backyard, our lovely waiter and sommelier Kristine had prepared two glasses of Champagne for us by the entrance; Barrat-Masson "Fleur de Craie".  The dining room with a stunning sea view. Where we were about to experience the "Bornholmerbank" menu.  The edible part of this dish are the two yellow dusted sticks of crispy sourdough. The dust is lichen, a kind of moss.  Smoked celeriac with ramson and red sorrel  Cured duck with cep mushroom dust  Dried beetroot with dust of wild carrot and served with a super tasty blue cheese cream  Leek with a dust of fermented corn  The bread serving at Kadeau was as visually appealing as the rest. Butter dusted with ash of burnt hay  North sea shrimp, pollen yeast and cream with lumpfish roe. This dish immediately reminded us about a similar dish at Ylajali.  A bonus wine to go with a bonus dish we got. Nicholas Maillot, Aligoté 2010 Burgundy.  White asparagus sautéed in butter, with mayo of green herbs from the garden and shaved ham.  Talking about herbs from the garden, we had to take a stroll in the amazing backyard of Kadeau, where they grow a lot of the plants and herbs they use for their presentations. The place reminded us of Amass in Copenhagen, where we dined last year.  Anders found his favorite herb; nasturtium.  We also found "Kodriver" or primula, which we had foraged with Mikkel Marschall a few days earlier.  Back inside we had a fun wine on the table. Love and pif! Yann Durieux 2013 Burgundy  Green asparagus, aromatic herbs, razor clam bouillon & green strawberry wine  Outside Jonas lit a bonfire. The amazing smell of the smoke, which just take you straight back to childhood, started to seep into the restaurant.  Le Vendangeur Masque "Caravan" 2012  Chef and co-owner Nicolai Nørregaard  Shallots and lovage with Havgus cheese and yoghurt whey  Suddenly we were back on Champagne to match the next dish! André Beaufort 2008  Kale, wild shots and leaves with oysters and goat milk.  Norwegian langoustine with grilled cauliflower, lots of flowers and a juice of plums and beach rose  The definite highlight of the evening, both in taste and looks!  The pairing for the langoustine was Jean-Marie Berrux "Le petit têtu" 2013  The interior of Kadeau is designed like a small cottage with wooden furniture and even a cast iron oven.    Dom Frantz Saumon "Minérale" 2013  Chefs with tattoos plating your dish, as it should be  Grilled turbot with new onions, fermented cep mushrooms & mussels  Onto red wine and we got a Domaine Chandon de Briailles "Les Lavières" 2011  The main dish was yet another highlight...  Pork with yellow beets and pumkin  We had seen a picture of the bonfire on Instagram before we arrived and we had to copy it. The image looks nice, but the real thing was so much better.  Live fire. The smell. The warmth.  Markus offering us some wine to go with the cheese  Champ Divin Cuvée Pollux Jura 2009  As the sun was setting we were asked if we wanted to enjoy the final plates outside, sitting by the second bonfire.  We accepted the offer and moved out for the last rays of a setting sun  The dessert wine pairing; Elixir De Bobal Cueva Mariano  Blackcurrant, cream and salsify  Rhubarb, blue cheese, fermented honey and birch  Good night Bornholm  Grilled apples on sticks to end the meal
My first mission for the second trip with the awesome #KulTour guys, was to meet them at the airport in Toulouse, France. In my luggage I had cooking equipment and even our very own Figgjo porcelain!
Once JK and Finn-Erik arrived we drove south to Luchon, close to the border of Spain. Our hotel for the first night was located there. An arch typical French and quite spooky and old restaurant was awaiting us for my first meal of the journey. The staff didn't speak any English, but we somehow managed to make them understand that I could not eat gluten. Luckily they could make up a gluten free menu for me on the spot. 
Fish mousse with dill and chives
Ravioli for JK and Finn-Erik
A Saint-Émilion Grand Cru to go with our meal. Château Vieux Rivallon 2001.
JK enjoying the wine
Entrcôte on a bed of zucchini and topped with foie gras. Shallots and herb butter.
A dessert platter including créme brûlée, panna cotta and brownie to name a few...
Finn-Erik in deep dessert trance
The next morning we crossed the border to Spain, and drove to the city of Les. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal what we were shooting here, but I will say it was slimy and crazy fun! Next up we had to scout for the second location of the day. Just by chance, after 30 minutes of driving around we suddenly ended up in the most amazing location you could ever imagine. Just watch for yourself in the Vlog!
Almost as quickly as we had entered, we also had to leave Spain again. The hotel for the second night was back in Foix, France. The second restaurant of the trip had a beautiful view to an old castle. The menu had no gluten at all, which was just perfect for me! 
Beautiful view of the castle
A apéritif of foie gras soup
Foie gras, caramelized apples, a cream of peas, green asparagus, grapefruit and chervil.
Strawberry sorbet
Today I am leaving to France again to record three episodes from the 9th of June until the 14th of June. Sadly one of those days is my birthday, which is not ideal, but we did just have a great birthday weekend in Helsinki. We will be posting about it here in the weeks to come.
Don't forget you can follow #KulTour and Two Foodies Eating in many channels: #KULtour Instagram: kultournorway Snapchat: KULtour Facebook: TV2KulTour Two Foodies Eating Instagram: TwoFoodiesEating Snapchat: TwoFoodiesEat Facebook: Two Foodies Eating  Herring, frozen emulsions of oyster, horseradish and sea urchin & warm parsley broth Ylajali is closing. This is their final chapter. When the news broke that Even Ramsvik would conclude the adventure of his one Michelin star restaurant by the end of this year, we knew it was time to finally pay him a visit. Due to the same reason as we wrote in our Maaemo feature, we had not been here before. In hindsight, a big mistake. Ylajali turned out to be a remarkable dining experience.  The name Ylajali is closely linked to the location at St. Olavs plass 2 in Oslo. In this very building lived the character Ylajali from the book "Sult" by famous Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. In the real world the building has housed an old apothecary for almost a century. If you go right, in stead of left, you enter Tekehtopa, which is "Apotheket" spelled backwards. Even Ramsvik now runs this café as well. From a separate kitchen, mind you, and with a completely different style. The food is more rustic and simpler, but very tasty and with great value for money!  The menu at Ylajali is made too look like the first copy of the book from 1890. The meal, like a novel, has a prologue, four chapters and an epilogue. Booking a table at Ylajali was not easy after the newspapers wrote that 2015 would be the last chance to dine here. In fact, we weren't able to book for two people at all. Only a table for four was available this day. We tried to get someone to join us, but a sudden Ylajali evening isn't something most people do spontaneously. In the end we asked to change our reservation and the restaurant was nice enough to comply. It turned out to be a quiet evening, though, which was weird considering the difficulty to book. We are guessing a lot of people have placed several bookings this year, and cancels last minute...  Raw shrimps, dill emulsion and crispy shrimp shell crumbs. Our waiter, the head sommelier, was with us the entire evening. He was attentative, knowledgable, polite and did his job in every way. However, we notice a difference between restaurants like Ylajali and Kontrast on one side, and Noma and Maaemo on the other. At the latter two the waiters managed to connect with the table in a different manner, almost become part of the group, but in a way that felt very right. We didn't get the same feeling at Ylajali, but in stead we had both Even Ramsvik and chef Matthias Bernwieser come out to talk with us several times. No complaints, just an observation!  Semolina and Finnish "Baeri" caviar. Similar to a dish we had at Maaemo.  Reindeer from Røros, emulsion of söl, crispy onion and nasturtium.  Quail eggs glazed in brown butter and leek ashes, with potatoe and leek ash chips. One of our top picks on the menu.  Smocked haddock brandade fried in carbonated sourdough, mayo with oil from smocked haddock skin & bones, stockfish.  Chicken skin topped with King crab from Varanger, acidic onion powder and chervil.  Veyder-Malberg. Liedbedich 2013. A Gründer Veltliner to match the first couple of dishes  The book was split into chapters, and we are about to enter "Cold Norwegian Waters".  Grilled leek, hazelnuts, cress & löjrom with Røros sour cream. Possibly the highlight of the evening! There is so much flavor in leek, which the grill manages to bring forth.  Ojai Vineyard. A very good Chardonnay from 2013  The bread serving of beer bread & butter with "Nyr". We could not help to once again see some similarity with Maaemo, not that we suggest any of them copies the other. The flavor was different in any case.  Strips of squid from Skagen heated in nut butter, & cockles cured in homemade fish sauce of sardines and squid. Sauerkraut juice with brown butter flavored with juniper. Nasturtium stalks  Wagner-Stempel. Heerkretz 2013. Anders was happy to finally get a Riesling  Langoustine from Frøya, baked in a wood-fired oven for 9 seconds. Fermented redbeets & estragon.  Our waiter presented parts of the 13th dish to be served while it was in the making.  Mussels baked with hay.  Domaine du Pelican. Arbois Chardonnay 2013. The always interesting Jura wines...  Celery sorbet, raw celery and sourmilk. Presentation once again resembled another restaurant in this town.  "Skrei" poached with elderflower capers, celeriac and the flavor of the hay baked mussels. This dish was completely covered in foam. Not our favorite presentation.  Eric Rodez. Blanc de Noirs. Suddenly we were back on champagne, which we also started with (a De Sousa - Cuvee de Caudalles).  Porridge on barley and millet, conserved mushrooms from last year and ramson. A creamy sauce from goat parmesan from Hamar. Butter flavored by snails was later added.  Our neighboring table happened to be a wine importer who follows our blog, and he was generous enough to buy us a glass of one of his wines. Pflüger Herrenberg Riesling 2013. Thanks Tølløv!  It's getting dark outside when we are served confit pig's head, kale & black garlic.  Another taste from Tølløv. Monteraponi Baron´Ugo - Chianti Classico Riserva 2009.  Different cuts of 7 year old dairy cow, matured for 12 weeks. Brushed with melted fat from the same cow. A bonus dish which was one of the most interesting servings.  Back on track with the wine pairings; Domaine des Baumard - Quarts de Chaumes 2010.  "Hitra Blå" granulated, almond praline & bitter salad.  Fritz Haag - Brauenberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr. Riesling Spätlese 2012. Anders' favorite of the evening of course.  Grilled apples dehydrated and rehydrated in apple juice, made into a compote together with sago. Caramel with dried yoghurt and aerated nitrogen ice cream of quark and green juniper berries.  Fattoria Selvapiana. Vin Santo 2006 to match the sweetness of the desserts  We've only seen a similar preparation by the table at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London.  Ørskog style "svele" in the making, next to our table. From Even's home town.  Traditional Norwegian "svele", a thick pancake, with hazelnut ice cream, prune syrup and salty caramel  Even Ramsvik showing us around in the kitchen and backyard Even could reveal that he definitely will start up again after closing Ylajali. He is scouting for the perfect location, and they already have a few in mind. He simply needs a bigger kitchen and dining room to truly release his potential in the restaurant world.  The wood-fired oven where they prepare a lot of the dishes  Chefs in the kitchen. Matthias Bernwieser on the right  The petit four. Aerated Manjari Valrhona chocolate, "Nyr" cream with spruce & dried lingon berry. Served with a Chemex brewed Konga Yirgachefe coffee from Supreme Roastworks.  Ylajali gives you a goodie bag with their amazing beer bread when you leave.  The next day you can make the bread again and recall the meal from the night before. |
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AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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