Geranium Restaurant, Copenhagen

The foodie in me was elicited when I was a little girl.   On a cold snowy Sunday in December (circa 1983, I was 9) my dad took me to a Chicago Bears football game and after the game we joined two of his co-workers for dinner at the Golden Ox (sadly, now an Apple Store).  I remember that night like it was yesterday.  We ordered an appetizer sampler which had an array of bite sized delights including steak tartare.  It was love at first bite.  What was this MAGICAL dish?  Would anyone notice if I ate the others?  My dad immediately noticed my love for the dish and let me have his bite. 

At the time I had no idea that steak tartare was essentially raw meat mixed with raw egg and other tasty stuff.  One of his co-workers was quick to point it out though.  I shrugged and asked him if he was going to eat the last one?

Since then I have been an adventurous eater; some people call me a “foodie”.  I love eating food and trying new cuisine. I’ll try just about anything once (unless it’s still alive or  a creepy or slimy bug or just smells foul; I do have my limits). I believe that food is culture just like art or music.  Chefs are artists; cooks are artists.   I know there are some people who turn up their noses at paying for an expensive dinner but to me it’s an experience.  Some people pay hundreds of dollars to see a concert or buy fine art or go to a sporting event,  me, I love food and love to experience it.

I not unaware that I am very blessed to have eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world.  But Never, NEVER,  in my wildest dreams did I think that I would would get to eat at Noma.

Well, guess what?…I DIDN’T!!!!

But, not for a lack of trying. When we booked our reservations to Scandinavian I knew I wanted to try to get a reservation at Noma (hello— #1 restaurant in the world in 2012).   I was online in the middle of the night when their reservations opened for May, I had a reservation in my shopping cart and then POOF ..it was gone. SOLD OUT (BIG SAD MAD TIRED FACE)

The next day I contacted the restaurant and there was nothing they could do to get me a table for 2 or even 1 (yeah, I would have left Charlie like dust in the wind to eat there).  I even offered to wash dishes or clean toilets. Nope, no way, no can do. Oh well, maybe some day.

Being the food opportunist that I am, I quickly made a lunch reservation at Geranium Restaurant for when we were in Copenhagen.  

On May 3, 2013, after finally finding the restaurant (it’s on the top floor of a building attached to a football (soccer for my American readers) stadium (weird),  Charlie and I indulged in what was a Nordic eating experience, since this is one of the best restaurants and when the use of services like Cleaning kitchen exhaust hoods so everything is perfectly clean and secure.
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 Branches of Sea Salted Cheese

 Carrots & Seabucktorn

Dried Flower & Apple

 Cep Soup & Pickled Egg Yolk

Baked Potatoes & Sheep’s Milk Butter

  Jellied Ham & Tomato Water

    “Dillstone” & Fermented Vegetables

   “Razor Clams”

  Heather-Smoked Turbo & Moss

   Bread with Emmer & Spelt

 Onions & Melted Hay Cheese

Oyster and White Cabbage

Raw Marinated “Lamb Sausage,” Sol & Horseradish

 

 Jerusalem Artichoke, Pine & Brown Butter

  Elderflower Soda

  Rustne Som

 

Frozen Herb Tea & White Chocolate 

 

   “Naked Trees,” Dark Beer & Prunes

 

   “Green Egg”

While I did not love or even like every dish (I have an aversion to cooked but not fried oysters), each dish was an experience of Nordic flavors.   I appreciated each dish that Chef  Rasmus Kofoed presented. I could taste his attitude in his food: he cooks his food how he wants, like it or not, eat it or not.  He has a very distinctive point of view.  He is a flavor and texture minimalist meaning each bite hits your tongue and you taste the flavor and feel its texture that he wants you to taste or feel.  I tasted the brininess of the oyster, I felt the rigidity of the moss and tasted the spiciness of the onions. 

Reflecting back on my meal over a month later, I can remember the flavor each dish presented. It’s not just the food that makes a chef great but rather the experience and memories the chef creates for his or her dinners.  Geranium is an exploration of Nordic culture delivered on plates, spoons, forks   and bowls with Chef Ramus Kofoed as your tour guide. 

Geranium is currently the 45 best restaurant in the world according to San Pellegrino’s rankings.  

Per Henrik Lings Allé 4
2100 Copenhagen
+45 69 96 00 20
geranium.dk