FoodNet

The gourmet's guide to Europe

1903

Page 200

Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Taking the dishes in order. First came the hors d'aeuvre , followed by the junket. The raw salmon was succeeded by young capercailzie and cranberries. To my surprise the birds were very tender, and their flesh had no resinous twang ; but for the dark colour of the meat I should have taken them to be pheasants. Pancakes and cloudberries were the final item. We drank with the smorgasbord either Schnapps or a yellow fiery native liqueur; we relapsed to French and German wine at dinner, and then tasted some Swedish punch, Sweden 373 which the Swedes drink very fearlessly, but which is said to give any one who imbibes it too freely a terrible a head ” next morning. The table d'hote lunch at this restaurant costs i kr. 50 ore, and consists of a dish of eggs, which are admirably cooked, meat, cheese, and a “ sweet ” which is generally cake and cream. The table dhote dinners are excellent, one being at 3 kr. 50 ore and the other at 2 kr. 50 ore ; the first con- sisting of soup (thick soups being a specialty of the place), fish, entree, meat, and releve (generally hjarpe ), with a compote of Swedish cranberries and a sweet or ice. Here, as in most Swedish eating-places, objec- tion is taken to coffee being served in the restaurant, guests being requested to take it in the cafe, which is generally the next room. Supper is served at the Operakallaren, and the restaurant is crowded for this meal. It costs 2 kr., and consists of a smorgasbord , an entree, and meat. The Grand Hotel, a big house of many gables which stands on the quay, has a dining-room panelled with red wood, with a frieze and The Grand ceiling of cream stucco. The decora- Hotel tion of the dining-room is the great attraction of this hotel. The lunch costs 2 kr. 50 ore, the dinner 3 kr. 50 ore. The Hotel Rydberg, in the square opposite the Palace, is most popular, and the food is good. A great feature is made here of the smorgasbord table, which has a room ° e y erg to itself, and on which are a great variety of dishes, there being some wonderful combinations of smoked eels, and other fish, and eggs amongst them. There are from twenty to thirty of these dishes, all delicate and appetising. The guests eat them standing. In the same room is a huge plated spirit-stand, containing a number of different spirits, white brandy called “ Branvin,” and other drinks very much resembling 374 7^ Gourmet's Guide to Europe vodka. The crayfish, kraftor , a little larger than the French ones, excellent in flavour, and served in a terrine ; the Bisque soup ; caviare served, as of course it should be, on a bed of ice, are good at the Rydberg, and the cook manages to make even a ptarmigan toothsome. It is a favourite place for people to sup at after the theatre. The table d'hote dinner costs 3 kr. 50 ore and the lunch 2 kr. 50 ore. Caloric punch is a favourite drink here, and two men think nothing of drinking a bottle between them after dinner or supper. One of the best restaurants is the Continental, in The Conti- the big white hotel of that name oppo- nental site the railway station ; Tournedos and Nasselkalsoppa , a soup made from tender young nettles, being specialties of the house. The Cafe du Nord, in the great square, is very clean, very crowded, and very popular, although more „ . bourgeois than the others. The food