#WhatMattAte in Copenhagen

Smørrebrød is a traditional Danish dish: an open-faced sandwich on rye bread. In this particular instance, the front smørrebrød is potato, red onion, fried onion, chives, thyme, and a garlic aoli on rye bread. It was wonderful.

The Story Behind #WhatMattAte

I remember my first experiences with gardening. I was just a kid, planting seeds in a vegetable garden behind my house. We would spend weekends watching a pile of dirt transform into a jungle of peas and squash and rhubarb, pulling carrots from the ground, climbing trees in our yard to pick cherries. I remember the smell of sweat and soil and jasmine and honeysuckle and being left in wonder at how farmers could grow truckloads of fruits and vegetables and get them to grocery stores and restaurants and refrigerators in time for us to pick out perfectly ripe avocados and tomatoes. Have you ever wondered about that?

I fell in love with cooking when I was a teenager, in a kitchen with my mom. She cooked like an artist. There weren’t recipes. She did everything by feel. I would spend hours apprenticing under her in the kitchen: smelling how different spices worked together, honing the ability to see when something was done, understanding that a kitchen can be a wonderful place for trial-and-error. I remember how satisfying it was to really master making pizza dough from scratch. And, I remember discovering (after ignorantly rubbing my eyes and nearly sending myself to the emergency room) that those cute, little orange peppers aren’t sweet - they’re called habaneros.

I learned that cooking didn’t have to be about following rules and recipes - that it could be about innovation and imagination and creative expression.

Following culinary giants like Anthony Bourdain, I’ve had incredible food experiences all over the world: from hole-in-the-wall barbecue pits in east Texas to Michelin star restaurants in Vienna. My love of food is rooted in a vegetable garden, and as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate the cultural significance of cuisine: from its ability to connect people across social classes and language barriers to its ability to tell stories about history and tradition. There’s a sensory richness to food: to the way something looks, smells, and feels. And, there’s an element of craftsmanship that I have a tremendous respect for: an appreciation for the time and attention that goes in to making a really good molé sauce or macaron.

The hashtag #WhatMattAte started off as a joke with some friends to document my quest to find the best food and dining experiences in any city I visit. Today, it’s still largely a joke, but the quest is very much real. I keep detailed lists of the best bakeries, coffeeshops, and restaurants in every city I’ve been to: from internationally acclaimed fine dining to taco trucks on the side of the road.

Copenhagen Cuisine

For those who don’t know, Copenhagen’s culinary scene is among the best in the world. Led by fine-dining juggernaut Noma (voted Best Restaurant in the World a staggering five times), the city has become a place to be for up and coming chefs, bakers, and sommeliers to learn from some of the best culinary minds on the planet. The city is host to fourteen Michelin-star restaurants, and the trickle-down impact of that much food knowledge in one city is real. The city is teeming with food talent that has branched off from the fine dining world to launch world-class bakeries, bars, and burger joints.

Knowing that Natalie and I only had sixty hours in the city, we decided to keep things relatively mellow. Given that we were dressed like a couple of hikers (our fanciest footwear at the moment is a pair of Birkenstocks), we opted to exclude anything resembling “fine dining” from this trip to the city. Instead, we opted for hitting any restaurant we’d heard good things about within walking distance of our Vestboro apartment, with an emphasis on exploring the bakery scene.

Now, while I appreciate all kinds of gastronomic experiences, my truest love is for the bakery. I could eat bread and croissants and pizza every day until I die. And, after reading one food critic describe the people of Copenhagen as obsessed with baked goods, artisan coffee, and hygge, I knew I would feel at home in this Nordic metropolis.

What follows are three lists: my favorite bakeries we ate at, my favorite restaurants we visited, and a list of places that I can’t wait to go back for.

Our Favorite Copenhagen Bakeries

Hart Bageri. Hart Bagari was co-founded by René Redzepi (co-founder of Noma) and Richard Hart (former head baker at Tartine in San Francisco). The story goes that Redzepi lured Hart to Copenhagen by promising to co-found a bakery with him, and the rest, well, is history. If there is only one bakery in Copenhagen we could come back to, this is it. Our favorite items here were the Dreamcake Croissant (a croissant with almond creme, coconet caramel, and roasted caramel flakes) and the Cardamom Croissant (croissant dough tossed in cardamom sugar and caramelized to perfection).
Mirabelle. This is the bakery that’s attached to Bæst (more on that later). All of their pasty dough is a sourdough that’s developed in-house from starter and aged for four days before achieving it’s destiny. My pastry of choice here was a Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant. Mirabelle makes their own chocolate hazelnut filling, and it’s really just a special, pleasedon’ttalktomewhileI’meatingthis moment. I didn’t want it to end.
Anderson & Maillard. Another Noma alum (Milton Abel) teamed up with legendary coffee roaster Hans Kristian Anderson (not to be confused with Hans Christian Anderson) and started an amazing bakery and coffee shop. One of their signature items is an Espresso Glazed Croissant, which is just what it sounds like. But, what really blew our minds here was the coffee Soft Is (frozen yogurt). Now, I’m not a big fro-yo guy myself, and I definitely didn’t plan on getting that when we walked in here - but, when Destiny calls, I answer. And, wow. Do yourself a favor. Get yourself a coffee soft is at this place.

Our Favorite Copenhagen Restaurants

Bæst. A pizzeria founded by Noma alum Christian Puglisi. He brought in a pizza oven from Naples. They cure their own meats. They have their own dairy so that they can control every step of the cheese making process (they advertise that they stretch their mozzarella each day at 2:30pm). And, it’s the only pizza place I’ve been to in the world that (1) doesn’t do takeout, and/or (2) has a 7-course tasting menu. This place blew my mind (and, I’ve had a lot of good pizza in my career). I won’t get too into the details, but do yourself a favor and come here. Get the tasting menu. Leave your kids at home (or in America). Treat yourself.
Torvehallerne Market. Home to more than 80 food vendors - from wine bars to coffee bars - Torvehallerne is an awesome stop any time of the day, no matter who you have with you. We stopped at Hallernes Smørrebrød to experience the Danish gastronomic experience that is smørrebrød (an open-faced sandwich on rye bread), and frankly, thought it was great. But, we could have easily spent a weekend shopping or eating our way through Torvehallerne.
Hija de Sanchez. A simple taco shop run by Chicago-native (and former head of pastry at Noma) Rosie Sanchez. This is the casual version of her sexier, dinner-only tasting menu restaurant, Sanchez, which we couldn’t swing on this trip. Regardless, the conchita de pibil tacos were great (I’ve made and eaten a lot of tacos), and going to her full-scale restaurant is definitely on my list for our next trip.

Our Copenhagen Wishlist

No doubt, we’ll be returning to Copenhagen for a more food-focused trip. When we come back, here’s the list of places that are high on our list to check out:

Bakeries