breakfast in hamburg and the European diner

For all you breakfast lovers out there, listen up!  If you find yourself in Hamburg, here are two great spots for breakfast. I am slowly collecting a list of European breakfast spots and sometimes feel a bit like Guy Fieri in the television show, Diner’s Drive In’s and Dives! I’ve eaten breakfast in over 20 cities in the past two years, so the “experience” is mounting.  When you find a keeper, I call it the equivalent of finding a good American diner in Europe.  They have good, reliable food, good energy, often a unique decor, and a menu that includes a few local specialties (most important).

I spent three days in Hamburg and prior to my trip, read through several blog posts, newspapers and online review sites to figure out where I should have the most important meal of the day. My first and third stop was none other than Cafe Paris. Cafe Paris is located in the center of Hamburg and is housed in a space that dates back to 1882.  The original slaughterhouse was later converted to a turn-of-the-century French cafe and today is beautifully adorned with iconic French cafe decor features such as its dark wooden tables, Art Deco posters, banquette seating, a long bar with wooden stools, floor to ceiling subway tiles and a jaw dropping Art Nouveau ceiling.

Cafe Paris Hamburg Breakfast

The menu features standard French fare such as hard boiled eggs, croissants, baguettes, jam, cheese, juice, Croque Madame, and Croque Monsieur. It also includes a few breakfast twists including a “Moroccan” version of French toast topped with roasted tomatoes, goat cheese and orange marmalade, an “American” breakfast that comes with a pancake, a fried egg, peanut butter, and syrup and the local “Hamburg” which consists of a piece of toast, crab salad, herring, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs with chives and a glass of Hamburg’s local Holsten pilsner (a brewing company founded in 1879 in the city’s Altona-Nord quarter).

July 2013 CPH Marbella Hamburg1

On my first visit, I tried the Moroccan and on the second visit, I opted for something a bit lighter (just some muesli and a hard boiled egg with green tea). I must note, I returned twice to Cafe Paris (out of three breakfasts) for another bite of their croissants. The baguette was nothing to write home about but their croissant was some of the freshest, butteriest, light viennoiserie that I have tasted outside of Paris.

I will post about my second breakfast at Mutterland in a follow up post- equally worth it.

July 2013 CPH Marbella Hamburg2

Other breakfasts worth a visit around the continent in addition to Cafe Paris in Hamburg, include Cafe Savoy in Prague, Cafe Schwazenberg in Vienna, Cafe de Flore in Paris, or the modern Cafe George in Amsterdam, close your eyes and let your senses observe the hum of a well oiled dining institution hard at work and churning out diner classics European style. If you have any other suggestions to add to this list of where to find a decent breakfast at a ‘European diner’, please share your suggestions in the comment section below.  I am always up for exploring new places that are worthy of “diner” status.

Cafe Paris, Rathausstraße 4, 20095 Hamburg

 

| 0 comments

Where I am headed…. + Google Map Frustrations


View Hamburg 2013 in a larger map

Google Maps- why do you frustrate me so? I have a love hate relationship with this program.  I am en route to Hamburg for a few days where I will be doing some work for Issue 05 of Countlan magazine and taking a good look at this cool city just to the south of Copenhagen that has been on my list of places to visit for quite some time.

I made this Google Map of Hamburg with a list of places that I would like to visit and I can’t stand how it looks. I wish I had an option to customize icons beyond what is offered in the Google Map program (every time you see a swimmer does not mean there is a swimming pool).  Likewise, when you go to print the map, half the addresses don’t show up on the left side panel- you only get names of places.  This means, I have to get back online to search the address to plug into a new map.  So annoying! Any solutions out there that you would like to suggest?

You can follow along on Instagram or Everplaces if you’re interested in what some of these places look like.

I will share some photos next week.

| 0 comments

A trip to Höganäs and Magasin 36

A few weekends ago my husband and I were invited to celebrate our friend’s 35th birthday in the quaint coastal town of Molle, in Sweden.  Molle is just across the Straight and accessible by ferry from Helsingor (just north of Copenhage- and also where Shakespeare’s play Hamlet takes place in Kronborg Castle), so we decided to rent a car and make it into an exploration weekend.

IMG_1816

The ferry transports cars, people and bikes and takes about 20 minutes to cross from one side to the other. I can’t remember the last time I drove a car onto a boat to cross a body of water, but it’s a blast.  On land, you wait in line until the ferry docks and then you are signaled to drive onto the boat.  Once on the boat, you park your car in a line behind all the other cars on deck and get to exit the car to go upstairs on deck.  This particular ferry was more like a mini cruise ship.  It had multiple cafes and restaurants, beautiful lounge seating and duty free shopping.  I’ve never seen a longer line to buy liquor and candy in my life.  My favourite was sitting outside on the deck.

Once across, you are motioned to return to your car and continue your journey to your next destination.  Simple as that.

IMG_1817

Our first stop was to check into our beach hotel, the Kliterrhus, in a town called Ängelholm.  Driving up to the main building reminded me of a beach hotel in New England (in the US).  The hotel was very pretty  with it’s light wood furniture, white and blue beach decor, and accents of seashells, old photographs and wainscoting.  Our room looked right out onto the beach.

IMG_1818

IMG_1819

IMG_1820

Unfortunately the weather was not conducive to a day on the sand.  Scandinavian summers are known to be changeable.  We saw, sun, we saw dark clouds and we saw rain in 48 hours. The temperature also went from hot to cold.  Being outside and enjoying the view was good enough for me.

On the day of the birthday celebration we decided to spend the day exploring the city of Höganäs as we weren’t expected until late afternoon. Höganäs is a town in Sweden that developed a reputation for its ceramic production.  Perhaps you are  familiar with the ceramic brand that bares the same name, Höganäs Keramic?  In Höganäs, we had two spots on our agenda for the morning: Magasin 36 and the Iittala Outlet.

Magasin 36 is a smart and exciting re-purposed piece of industrial real estate  in town that has become quite popular with the locals.  The building dates back to 1835 where it was used as a factory for salt-glazed utensils and also housed a few large kilns.

Today, the property has been converted into a fabulous mixed use retail, restaurant, cafe, grocery store, museum, office and artist studio space with a focus on vintage and gastronomy.

It’s a breathtaking space and a lot of fun to visit.  Magasin 36 is split over two levels and what looks like two buildings.  There is a cafe on the ground floor when you enter the space  and you can order lovely baked goods (cinnamon and cardamom buns – I went back both mornings for a cinnamon bun and a tea).  Behind the cafe you find the stunning local-focused grocery store called Hoganas Saluhall with tons of organic produce, freshly baked artisan breads, local farm products from around Skåne (the south western region of Sweden), meats and other specialty food delicacies.  We picked up a lemon sourdough bread and a few interesting flat breads to bring to the birthday party later that afternoon.

IMG_1821

IMG_1823

IMG_1825

Magasin 36 also houses a number of furniture, antique, clothing, art gallery and home accessory stores.  On of my favourites was a shop/gallery called Hoganasgrouppen that made neat ceramic “puck-looking” coasters to protect surfaces from heat. Butiken Hoganas also had several cute items. I could have purchased one of everything!!

IMG_1858

IMG_1857

IMG_1853

IMG_1852

Another interesting part of the building is the re-purposing of the old kilns into a museum to show what the area became known for. In this section of the building, you can walk right into the kilns to see what they look like as well as visit the adjacent ceramic studio/store where tableware pieces and flower pots are still being produced and sold today.

IMG_1847

IMG_1846

IMG_1845

IMG_1844

IMG_1842

IMG_1841

IMG_1839

IMG_1838

Walk up a large set of stairs to the second floor and you find a large restaurant build around the tops of the ceramic kilns that looks down onto a portion of the grocery store.

IMG_1837

IMG_1835

IMG_1834

IMG_1831

Lamb411 Hoganas Magasin 36

And if that is not enough food and excitement in one building, on the same property, around the corner from Magasin 36, you’ll find a car garage that was converted into a 1960s American (Swedish) gourmet burger joint/bar.  We stopped in for lunch and had one of the tastiest burgers in a long time.  The meat is local, the buns are handmade on premise, the beer is also locally brewed.  A lot of thought, care and consideration was put into the menu and ingredients used at this burger garage.  It was also very busy on a Saturday afternoon with locals lining up for pints of beer and burgers.

If you happen to be passing through Skåne, Sweden’s equivalent of the Hamptons, the town of Hoganas and Magasin 36 is not to be missed.

| 0 comments

The Bubble Tea Conundrum

 

When I moved across the Atlantic Ocean, do you know what I craved the most?  It wasn’t bagels and lox and it wasn’t kreplach.  It was bubble tea.  From my first sip, I developed a love affair with the Taiwanese beverage.  Toronto just so happens to be an incredible city to satisfy a bubble tea fix.

Bubble Tea Lamb411

 

Drive north of Sheppard Avenue, on Yonge Street and you’ll find one bubble tea house after another.  If “905” is more your style, drive east along Hwy 7 between Bayview Avenue and McCowan Road (try Go For Tea for an authentic experience) and you’ll be covered.   Downtowners, don’t have to look past the Spadina and Dundas/OCAD area. But what happens if you leave the confines of Toronto and venture off into the world?

 

I was having a bubble tea conundrum when I discovered bubble tea was not a universal drink, particularly in EU countries.  To double check, I spoke with a few business school classmates who were posted around the world.  It’s confirmed: Bubble tea is not universal.

 

So what did I do to satiate my craving?  I researched and travelled.  Wherever I was due to travel to a new European city, I purposely sought out a bubble tea cafe.  Hot or cold, green or black tea, with or without milk, and filled with all the dark brown, chewy tapioca balls I could suck through the oversized straw.  I was determined to sample them all.  However, I draw the line at those popping boba; the ones that burst upon mastication and splash sweet syrupy juice onto your tongue.  I guess you could call me a bubble tea purist.

 

What I discovered was fascinating:  Bubble tea was in fact, alive, kicking and even thriving in certain cities.  Leave it to the UK, Germany and Austria to lead the pack.  London’s Bubbleology, a bubble tea café themed after a science experiment, has five locations in the city, while Baburu Bubble Tea in Vienna has six shops and Berlin’s Boobuk also has six outposts in the creative city that never sleeps.

 

Stick with Western Europe and you will find bubble tea emerging in Barcelona, where Wow!Boba is not too far from La Rambla, and in Paris’ 5th arrondissement where you can sip le bubble tea at Bubble Fever.  Even Copenhagen has the Mad Hatter Bubble Tea Emporium in Norrebro.  I didn’t stop there.  In eastern Europe, you have Bubbletea 7 in Warsaw, tongue twister, Bubu Bubble Tea in Budapest and my personal favourite, Tea & Go in Prague, which opened in Karlin (Prague 8), by three Chinese Studies students from Charles University who share a passion for Chinese and bubble tea.

 

While the availability of bubble tea in European cities may not reach the same scope as in Toronto, there are plenty of good options at home and abroad and I look forward to continuing my taste test through the continent.  By the way, if you are new to bubble tea, may I recommend trying a litchi green tea bubble tea, cold with tapioca.  It is the perfect summer drink.

 

| 0 comments

A CPH Made trip down Jaegersborggade

Jægersborggade is a great street to visit in Copenhagen.  It’s not a particularly large street where you would spend hours, but it has an interesting mix of local CPH made businesses that add to its vitality and draw.  Over the past four or five years, the Norrebro street has gone through quite the gentrification process, cleaned up its retail scene and re-focused as a destination for food (Coffee Collective, Relae, Manfred & Vin, Grod, Mikkeller + Friends beer bar is around the corner from Jaegersborggade)) and shopping.

Last Tuesday, I went on a one hour CPH Made tour of Jaegersborggade and got to meet three artisans/entrepreneurs who have been located on the street for several years doing what they do best.

I visited: Karamelleriet Inge Vincents, and  Ro Chokolade (pictures below).

Lamb411 CPH Made Jægersborggade

IMG_1620 IMG_1621

 

 

IMG_1622

IMG_1623

IMG_1624

IMG_1625

IMG_1628

IMG_1630

All three owners gave our small group a nice talk and shared their experiences about working in the neighbourhood, what has changed over the years and a bit about how they got started in their respective lines of work.  For example, Karamelleriet is a business started by three members of a candy making family that spans multiple generations.

IMG_1631

IMG_1632 IMG_1634

IMG_1635

Instead of sticking to the main strip of Copenhagen, there are many interesting streets in the neighbourhoods that surround Copenhagen K.  It’s worth exploring and venturing out- plus by venturing out you tend to stumble on a lot of the small artisans and craftsmen who are not into paying high rents to be located in the centre of the city.

 

 

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
| 0 comments