Negroni Bar

Somewhere in my whirlwind madness of the last two weeks, I made a quick 36 hours trip to Munich in search of a better blender, some decent pizza and this place: The Negroni Bar.

First the blender:  If my memory serves me correctly, in North America, it is possible to spend $100 to $150 on a decent blender from a company with a well known reputation and brand name.  When I moved to Prague, I was blenderless, and sought out a local alternative.  I purchased something cheap and stopped using it half a year later due to questionable engine noises, low power and odd smells.  I went to three stores in Prague as well as search on three online local stores only to find a handful of overpriced, low end blenders or a handful of overpriced high-end models.  I thought I would have better results in a city such as Munich, but after visiting MediaMarkt, and Kustermann, I decided that spending 229 Euro on a KitchenAid blender that costs $130 in Toronto was rediculous and not going to happen.  Operation Blender- Failure.

Next the pizza:  I’ve been to Munich before and found a great spot for pizza called Riva Bar.  I decided that if I was going to walk away blenderless, I might as well enjoy some good pizza in compensation. The pizza was decent on this trip, but I remember a better tasting pie on my first visit.  Quelle dommage.

What salvaged the quick jaunt to Munich was a bar called Negroni.  I wanted to check this place out on my previous trip to Munich but never got around to it.  Why I sought this place out is for the following reason:  My husband is Negroni obsessed.  I thought it would be cool to go to a bar that specializes in this beverage.

FYI-If you have never had a Negroni, it is an aperitif made with Campari, gin and vermouth with a squeeze of orange.

We head to Negroni after our pizza and thankfully find two seats at the bar (the last two seats) for an up-close look at this mixology heaven.  The atmosphere is low key and very relaxed. There were candles lining the bar and a big impressive wall of bottles.  There were three bartenders very focused and hard at work mixing, stirring, shaking, pinching, and designing some of the most beautiful looking drinks I’ve ever seen.  We sampled three drinks (between the two of us- not each) and each drink presented very layered and complex flavours.  The last one we tried was a negroni with other ingredients (sorry, blanking on the name) including slices of apple. It was served in a mint julep cup and must have revealed three or four different flavours in one sip.

They have a full restaurant menu in addition to something like 140 cocktails.  What I liked about this place was that they give you some background, history and interesting facts about their drinks right in the menu itself. I snapped two photos and posted them on my Instagram feed but the lighting was so dim (and romantique!!) that it is not even worth attempting to repost these images on the blog because they are fuzzy and hard to see.

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3

This is clearly a bar for savouring and enjoying mixology.  We had a great time and the food that was coming out of the kitchen looked wonderful.  While I didn’t get a blender and didn’t have knock-out pizza, I was pleased with the experience at Negroni.

Sedanstraße 9, Munich  +498948950154

West Elm Market

If you are a West Elm fan, here is some exciting news for you: This past week, West Elm launched a new concept store called West Elm Market in Dumbo (I used to live there!), New York.

The Market concept is focused on comfortable, affordable, well designed items for kitchen, garden and personal care.

More West Elm Market stores (in shop-in-shop) format will follow in Toronto, Nashville, Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle.  This looks pretty exciting for all you West Elm fans.  I hope to visit the Toronto store when I am back in March.

Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

Arts + Science

Photo Source: New York Times Magazine

I love the industrial, yet natural looking interiors of Art & Science, a “general” concept store in Tokyo, Japan that offers up functional luxury items “to wear, to dwell and to eat”.

Photo Source: Think Silly

Sonya Park, the well known Korean stylist and owner of Arts & Science, has done a wonderful job curating a collection of high quality and well designed items for her five stores in Tokyo.

Photo Source: 1, 2

Torvehallerne Market: Inside and Out

I blogged about Torvehallerne market a while back (see: Torvehallerne Market) and FINALLY got the opportunity to go take a tour myself when I was in Copenhagen earlier this month.  Running back and forth between the two market buildings was a treat.  There were so many stalls to check out and sample, it could have kept me busy for weeks.  For that reason, I found myself returning daily during my weekend trip.

The market is centrally located in the city and spread out over two modern, industrial looking buildings.   There is a large uncovered paved section, in between the two market buildings, that seemed to resemble an outdoor extension of the indoor market which had several stalls selling beautiful fresh produce and some guys playing live music.

I tried to capture a couple of my favourite market stalls as I walked around but it was really busy inside and out and there were always people in my shots!  Oh well…

We taste tested a pizza from Gorm’s– and WOW!  Their pizza is incredible. The crust is paper thin, almost like a cracker.  They use fresh ingredient and create your pie like true chefs, as opposed to treating your pizza like fast food (simply reheating a slice).  When we received our pizza it was drizzled with a basil-pesto oil that kicked the flavour up to new heights.

I thought these were funny shaped radishes, so I took a picture.  They reminded me of a pill in a capsule.  When I picture a radish, I think of it having a round shape, not cylindrical.  Maybe these are special Danish radishes!

More cupcakes from Agnes.

Delicious baked goods from

My favourite stalls: Agnes Cupcakes (which I blogged about here “Birthday Cupcakes from Agnes”), Gorm’s (thin crust pizza), Laura Bakery (Bakery identity by Johannes Trope), The Coffee Collective, Nordic (cheese + dairy), A Xoco (premium crafted quality chocolate by Anthon Berg) and whoever is doing the flowers.

I was thinking about this….the thing about visiting markets (anywhere in the world) is that unless you live in the city, you’re relegated to samples and simple take away items, which can sometimes be frustrating and unsatisfying if you are really into food.  The fun of such a beautiful market like this is getting to buy ingredients to cook a meal.  I guess you can always imagine what that would be like and stick to the samples.

The meat, fish, produce, cheese, sauces and spices also looked excellent here.  Torvehallerne is a great, bustling hub in the city that is certainly worth a visit if you are in town.

OTHER PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT TORVEHALLERNE

1. New York Times Travel: An open invitation to eat in Copenhagen

2. Food Republic: Copenhagen: At Torvehallerne Market, Impeccable Taste, Design and Smoked Scallops

3. Conde Nast The Daily Traveler: Photos from the Road: Copenhagen’s Torvehallerne Market

Bedynky Box: One

I am conducting an experiment for the next couple weeks.  I decided to try something new when it comes to grocery shopping and switch it up a bit.   Instead of going to a store to grocery shop, which seems to be our routine, I am testing out ordering bedynky boxes (farmer’s boxes/green boxes) from different companies around Prague and cooking with what arrives.  My husband and I have been talking about this for a while now but never put our plan into action.  The farmer’s markets are winding down the end of this month, but we are still interested in purchased local food.  The other fun thing about shopping this way, is that you don’t always know in advance what you are going to receive so in a way, you are forced to learn how to cook with different vegetables that might be outside of your weekly routine.

I picked up my first box today from Bio Zahrada.  In it I received the following: One leek, one radishy-turnip looking vegetable, a bunch of onions, some potatoes, some very muddy carrots, a pumpkin, and four pears.  I also tried ordering organic chicken breasts, lamb shoulder and this interesting honey, almond spread (the item in the jar).

I forgot how much dirt comes on vegetables when they are fresh from the farm.  My counter and sink were covered, as I attempted to clean the vegetables.  

Tonight I cooked three recipes from 101 Cookbooks and used up  the leek, three potatoes, and an onion from my veggie box. I am not sure I could taste any difference but I felt good about supporting the local farmers and eating food that did not travel miles to get to my table.

Prior to writing this blog post, I put an order in for a new box to arrive next week, this time from an online bedynky box company called Fresh Bedynky that delivers to your house.  I was curious  to see how the two boxes differ, if at all, before becoming a repeat customer with Bio Zahrada.

Have you tried ordering a farmer’s box, or CSA (North American term)?  What was your experience like?  Leave me a comment below or on Facebook.

Happy Pills

Man, am I craving some candy from Happy Pills in Barcelona.  Have you heard of this place?

They need to expand.  I love them, their design and their concept.

When I visited Barcelona in September, I went back to Happy Pills twice to make a little take-away box of gummies to enjoy while walking around!  Their concept is adorable-In a tiny storefront, they offer different sized boxes, and jars at the entrance for you to fill with all the gummy, colourful candy that fits in.

Their website creatively states that Happy Pills is a radical solution for a) Lovesickness b) Work Problems c) Friendship Damaged d) Sustained Sexual Effort.  I say, whatever your reason, if you love gummies, there is no better way to enjoy than eating them out of a take away container or a plastic “pill” bottle.

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3, 4 (me), 5, 6

They have four shops in Barcelona, one in Bilbao and one in Zaragoza, should you find yourself needing a candy pick-me up during your travels of Spain.

Here are some other people who seem to be happy with Happy Pills:

1. Kikki.K Candy Happiness

2. We Are Private Happy Pills Candy Store (Barcelona)

3. Mocoloco BCN: Happy Pills