The rest of Memorial Day weekend was super hectic as the first part was. Lucky the first part was fuelled by that fabulous dinner at La Griglia in Kenilworth, New Jersey. I crossed the Hudson and was in NYC for the second half of the weekend, which included a nice Sunday dinner with a friend at Chama Mama for some nice Georgian food.
Memorial Day was very busy, which involved a trip to Rye to visit the usually-closed Jay Family Cemetery. Then a fun Mets game with a friend. But I still needed dinner, and I rushed across from Flushing to Brooklyn to visit Wayward Fare.
I miss the cooking of my former Chef Akhtar Nawab. Sadly he wasn’t in on this holiday Monday, but he left his able team to make sure I got some good food like the last time I was here.
I sipped on a cocktail and ordered quickly as they were near the time of kitchen closure. I relaxed with a drink and soon my first item arrived.
Oh, I love these king prawns, cooked over open flame so nicely. You can eat the whole thing, which I did. Really excellent. Great start! More wine, and then my main course arrived.
This is quite interesting, it’s a risotto dish with skate cheeks, Really flavourful, cooked very well. The olives really added a nice touch to this dish. Another winner!
I was exhausted from the very long day, so I decided to have a simple dessert.
Nice way to end this evening. One last drink, then back to my hotel in Manhattan for my 4am wake-up… Fun trip!
Wayward Fare is always recommended!
Wayward Fare 554 Vanderbilt Avenue Brooklyn, New York
I found myself in New Jersey over the Memorial Day weekend for various things. It was a busy few days, but I didn’t really plan much on the food side. I was running around these two days but staying around Kenilworth, which is near Newark Airport.
I had a nice dinner catching up with a friend at Ava’s Kitchen & Bar on Friday evening, but I was on my own Saturday. Although I hadn’t planned on finding somewhere nice, I ended up at La Griglia not far from my hotel. And this was indeed a pleasant surprise.
It was a very busy night despite it being a holiday weekend during which many locals left town; the bar was full but a little patience paid off. I am glad they got me to wait, because I was very impressed when I saw the menu.
With a martini in hand, I ordered, and relaxed. Chatting with some locals and sipping on a nice gin martini, all was well. And then the first item arrived.
A half dozen nice littleneck clams. Not the best I’ve had, but I always enjoy them more than oysters. I think I like the texture as a bonus.
It took a little bit for my primo to arrive, but it was worth the wait…
A beautiful tagliatelle dish with morels and asparagus. A very generous portion (they “accidentally” brought me the full size order) with a lot of morels, which I absolutely adore. This was utterly fantastic, one of the best pasta dishes of the year so far, cooked perfectly.
I was seriously happy when I finished this dish. Then my secondo arrived.
Some nice soft shell crab. Really tender and delicious. I’m not a fan of too much stuff on the crab, and this was about perfect. You can really taste the crustacean here. Fabulous dish!
Oh, I really lucked out here tonight! I was full so this was the only dessert I could do.
What a nice way to end the night, alongside a double espresso and a grappa. I did not expect my Saturday night in New Jersey to yield one of the dishes of the year, that’s for sure. A totally unexpected treat.
If you are in New Jersey, this place is heavily recommended!
Well, this trip is drawing to a close, sadly. It’s not ending on such a great note, no thanks to that rather lacklustre dining experience last night at Spichrz. But I headed out of Toruń early in the morning for a nice comfortable ride to Warsaw. I have to say, the Polish rail system has been impressive.
I rolled into Warszawa Centralna mid-morning and dropped my bag off near my hotel. I had a long morning and early afternoon exploring, visiting old haunts and checking out new places. I love being back in this city where I have visited over a dozen time over the years. It feels so comfortable.
And to make it more comfortable, I wandered to Butchery & Wine for a late lunch, as I’ve done a few times in the past. Quickly seated, I ordered as quick knowing what I want. Soon a glass of local solaris was in my hand and I relaxed. This has been a good trip, it has recharged me. Even if Toruń (and a bit of Bydgoszcz) turned out pair-shaped, this was overall one excellent trip. Ah, my starter!
I love the kaszanka (black pudding) here, it’s always done super well here. On a bed of white asparagus, this morsel of bloody goodness hits the spot. Then you get the egg yolk on it, and it’s heaven. So good. I needed a refill on my glass, and good timing, it comes as my main course arrives.
Plus a side of carrots, which was very tasty, but also left me quite full. Thank goodness for the 20k steps I put on earlier in the day!
I closed up and thanked my server as I headed for a short stroll back to my hotel. Sigh, then it’s packing and getting ready to head back to North America…
Butchery & Wine is always a safe and excellent place for a meal, as good as my many previous visits!
I was going to grab some food but decided to move onto my next destination as the weather was starting to look shaky. I got back to the luggage locker and…it won’t open. I had no way to get my stuff out. There was no contact on the machine. I found a URL but the number did not work. Shit…
To make a long story short, I found someone who got me the right number, I found someone who could argue with them on my behalf, and their rep showed up and demanded a payment to liberate the bag. Ugh. Pain in the arse, and it cost me about 90 minutes of a precious day.
I headed off for Toruń in a foul mood, and sadly things didn’t improve there. Transport chaos (including a disabled car at the city’s major tram junction), plus a crappy “hotel” that had so many problems, I was done. And sadly, Toruń, a city I have wanted to visit since childhood, turned out to be such a letdown. Should have gone to Malbork…
Oh well, trying to make the best of it, I headed to dinner at Spichrz, the restaurant in one of the nicest hotels in town. I was eventually led to a table next to the coat hook, which plagued me all night as people don’t see where their coats go when they hang it, hitting me time and time again. At one time a zipper ripped at my skin and the person was like, “what did I do?” Ugh.
The server was not very friendly as I ordered a cocktail, which was also disappointing. I see this place looking like a service shitshow, so I ordered a bottle to not have to deal with that person. They had that beautiful local chardonnay I had last night during the allilum dish at Sztuczka so I went with it without question. May be the first time I bought a bottle of chardonnay in a decade? Of course the food beat the wine out…
The veal tongue was nice, but on the thin side. It never delivers the full flavour of the tongue when it’s so thin. Could have been an epic dish.
Oh, now my bottle of wine shows up. Ugh… Then also my crab soup…
This is why I always insist on the Polish menu and not the English, as clearly this is a crawfish soup. They dropped the English menu (despite me not using a word of English) on me and disappeared at the start. The soup was big, but nothing special. Too bad.
I was enjoying the local chardonnay as it was the best thing served to me all night. And eventually the main course arrived.
It’s really hard to mess up sturgeon, but they almost did. This one was at the brink of turning into a brick. Nice pea shoots, and the dish was good enough to enjoy, but it is a light year away from the one last night at Sztuczka…
The poor service, the not-great cooking, the annoying clientele, and I’ve had it. I had a quick liquor that again failed to meet expectations, and headed on out.
Oh, Toruń, you were so disappointing. I should have stayed in Bydgoszcz…
I’ve had a great time here in Gdańsk, but sadly it’s rolling to a close. All good things come to an end, right? After that very filling lunch at Mercato, I had another very busy afternoon and I was running a bit low on energy. But I have to say overall so far this trip has been very healing, therapeutic, and enjoyable.
My final night in Gdańsk brings me to Sztuczka, where I read interesting things. I headed there by bus and was immediately greeted at the door by Sommelier Maciej Parat, who would be my primary server as well. I was soon seated but noticed I am the only one here this wet Wednesday evening.
I happily went with the full tasting menu with the pairing, so we start with a nice little Polish bubbly as we get started quickly!
Some sourdough and fermented butter with mushroom powder, pretty ordinary. But the amuse selection was quite nice.
A cute śledź (herring) under the bouquet, really nice bite with the horseradish and dill.
The foie waffle with pickled lemon was an interesting combination that worked really well!
And finally the cheese-filled pączek (donut) with mushroom was another inspired combination, with an intoxicating aroma. So far this has been an excellent start! I am feeling pretty good here. An idoia blanc is poured and we start with the main dishes.
A beautiful pieróg with potato and bursztyn cheese, topped by some caviar. Fabulous dish, the foam added some intensity into this dish that I craved. Chef Sebastian Klamka came out and explained that his philosophy is to minimise waste so the foam was created from the scraps of this dish.
He also told me that as he had just joined this restaurant, replacing the owner-chef who had some health issues, today was the first day for his first tasting menu here. And I was the person to give it the first test ride. Awesome!
He ran back to the kitchen and the sommelier poured a nice Spätburgunder from Hesse that was really delicious for the next course.
Excellent beef tartar, sourced from Szybki Wół – the project of Wojciech Korfel, a chef-turned-farmer who specialise in supplying restaurants in the area with fabulous local beef (he was the person behind the now-shuttered Prologue). Aged, with some kohlrabi, and you have a real winner. Excellent!
So far this dinner has not missed a step. Great flavours, excellent execution, fabulous pairings, and impeccable service. Of course this is essentially a Michelin test run with me, but it is easily passing the test. Then a stunningly nice Polish chardonnay is poured and we have the next dish.
This was a celebration of seasonal allium, from charred leeks to ramson, all brought out by the beautiful sauce that rendered more of the allium scraps. I think calling it a celebration is the perfect word.
But I have to say this chardonnay is stunningly good. I am generally not a fan of chardonnay, but this one had so much character from the grape and not from the wood it really made me smile. Paired perfectly with this dish. The next up, with a delicious Côtes du Rhône is one of my favourites.
Jesiotr! I have not had sturgeon since late last year. I absolutely adore this fish. Not smoked. Just cooked nicely, like this one. Chef told me it just arrived today. Lovely sauce made from the bone, which he said will get better with more time. The fennel and trout roe was a nice touch, but the fish was just awesome as was the sauce. It so needed a spoon to drink this up!
And I love sturgeon. In fact the last good one I had was at…Brutalisten… So good.
The sommelier, who has been pairing up the wines perfectly, pours a valpolicella for the next dish.
You can’t visit Poland and not have kaczka (duck), and they don’t do bad duck in Poland. Not even close, this was superb, cooked absolutely perfectly with beautiful meat and lovely skin. The sauce, again adds an intensity to the meat that is so complementary and appreciated. Good beets, and the verbena was a nice touch. Another winner! This is surely one of the top dining experiences of 2026!
Jagnięcina (lamb) is the final (wah!) savoury course for the evening, and it is quite nice. Chef admitted he was not happy with the quality of the lamb, bemoaning the lack of fat and deep flavour. I agree the lamb was a little neutral, but his excellent use of a sauce crafted from the lamb saved any failings of the meat’s quality. A delicious dish that shows the chef’s ingenuity in saving a dish from an ingredient he through did not live up to his expectations.
A nice little brioche to mop it all up too, excellent! All of that came with a delicious chilled etna rosso, perfect for this dish. Oh, all of this was excellent!
I’m sad the savouries are over, but I am also full! This has been a fabulous dinner so far. But what, I’ve been invited to the kitchen counter?
For a palate cleanser at the counter, we focus on jabłko (apple) with this nice little sorbet, but there’s a hidden pepper note here that just adds to the appeal of this item. Really nice! Also gave us a bit of time to chat, as I learned that he used to cook with Chef Coen Dieleman at Geranium in Copenhagen (before Chef Dieleman took over at Brutalisten in Stockholm) and other places I know well, so I can see how his journey has shaped his cooking philosophy. And it’s a philosophy I really like!
Back to the table, and Sommelier Parat pours a nice Późny Zbiór to go with my dessert, and it is again an excellent pair. And it says plenty about the Polish wine scene. As I’ve said before, it’s gonna be the next big thing.
The dessert is based on the humble mleko (milk) and miód (honey), a tested combination that comes out very nice here. Throw in the chamomile broth and the touch of lemon in the ice cream, it is another excellent dish.
Then we have the last dessert based on, what else, rabarar (rhubarb), and again quite nice. The yoghurt parfair was nice, alongside the sauce (again, I never say this!) and the artichoke chips. Nice!
I asked for an espresso and local tipple to go with the final items: rokitnik (sea buckthorn) and kajmak (kaymak). The former, of which I love sea buckthorn as my readers know, came out fabulous with white chocolate and a touch of carrot; the kaymak also excellent with sunchoke. So good.
I was really blown away by this dinner. I’ve only really said this maybe once a year or so. As good as the dinner at Carbon a few nights ago was fabulous, this was truly memorable. The last few first visits that blew me away this far was probably a list of my all-time favourites, like Off Alley, or going back further the now-gone Senses, or even Koks. This was truly something special. It was odd to be the only customer, being the first customer to taste a new tasting menu by a new chef. But that proved to be a magical experience, not one misstep, not one bad dish, not one bad pair, just perfect all night.
Too late for this year, but I will be absolutely stunned if they do not get a Michelin star next year. Stunned. They blow a lot of Michelin-starred places in Paris away. Definitely blow the stuff in the US, with all those pay-to-play guides, away. This is culinary delight and grand hospitality merged in a relaxing atmosphere, with the chef exuding his cooking philosophy well on every item, served with finesse with some inspired pairings.
My only real recommendation? We need SPOONS on many of these dishes because the sauces were so ridiculously good! And my readers know I NEVERsay that!
I look forward to coming back next year when I has its well-deserved Michelin star (or two). In the meantime, Gdańsk is worth a trip already. But now there’s something so special it’s really worth taking an evening to truly enjoy the experience here at Sztuczka. So good…
Despite drinking until all hours after that dinner at Tygle, I was up bright and early and spent part of the morning in Gdynia. Then back to Gdańsk for more exploration, as this is such a beautiful and photogenic city. I eventually wandered to my lunch destination, Mercato.
It wasn’t very busy, and I’m usually not a fan of hotel restaurants, but I read good stuff. So I sat down and chilled. I ordered and soon a nice glass of local solaris is in my hands. Ahhh… A really nice and drinkable wine, and soon I was rewarded with food.
Ahhh, this śledź (herring) dish is absolutely fantastic. The stuff on this plate helps in so many ways, especially the pea shoots! but the herring itself is beautiful and sizeable (under all the stuff). Fantastic! This was the first of three “starters” I ordered and here’s the second.
This calf’s tongue dish is really good. I appreciate more of those fresh pea shoots! Also a hefty portion, so I worry if I over-ordered! Good flavour for sure, working so well with the mild horseradish as well. Really paired well with the solaris! Next up, oh my…
A surprise, calf brain. Fried up in a very Central European way, although the breading was a little too harsh and the brain was sadly not seasoned on its own. Something that is often forgotten, but becomes a bigger issue with thicker breading. Not bad, but I guess they wanted me to drown this in the hollandaise (on the side). But it did its job, and I was full…
I finished my wine and had a coffee before thanking the non-local staff. I got outside just as the bus arrived, so perfect timing to zip back towards my hotel.
Mercato is a good place to enjoy some good food, with some very interesting dishes. Worth an exploration!
Well, that was a short but good trip to Sweden, capped by that fantastic dinner at Carbon last night. The next day I took the convenient Ryanair flight to Gdańsk, where I have only done a lightnight fast trip decades ago. I am spending the longest part of my trip here.
A quick trip from the airport to my hotel near Gdańsk Główny and I went off exploring in the hills for the rest of the wet afternoon. Constructive, but also saw how bad local traffic get for the busses…
I was tired but was ready for dinner. My dinner destination tonight is Tygle, which was my second choice from my research (tomorrow night is my top choice). I had a wonderful stroll around the old town towards the river.
I got to a very busy Tygle, and was eventually seated at the covered patio area. Not a fan of the space heaters, but I was hungry and not picky. They forgot to put in my cocktail (and I checked that they never rang it, so whatever…), so I decided to get a bottle of local red so I don’t need the service on what looks like a very crazy night for them.
A really nice bottle of local St Laurent, and I chilled after putting my order in. A relatively meh amuse greeted me…
A little nibble as I enjoy the wine and sights. I love the view of this city and eventually my first course showed up.
Well, this isn’t your grandma’s kaszanka (black pudding) for sure. The crawfish was nice, but for me the star was the egg and the samphire, as well as the kaszanka itself. The cod liver was an unique add. Really interesting.
I enjoyed more wine before my main course arrived.
Wild boar. It was cooked well, the tenderloin was the star here. The dish was overall good. Not special, but solid.
The broccoli was a little meh, the almond sauce a little too intrusive. But it did its job.
The place was a bit chaotic so I just enjoyed my wine until It was done. I settled up and headed out for a stroll back to my hotel on this nice night.
Tygle isn’t anything to write home about, although the kaszanka dish was quite interesting.
*Well, I ended up at Mirzam, a nice cocktail bar en route back, and ended up staying and drinking most of the menu… Well worth it! This is a place I’d recommend!
A long day in Göteborg, fuelled by that excessive and excellent seafood feast at Sjömagasinet, and I was a happy soul. I wandered until the late afternoon when I was completely out of energy and headed back to my hotel. Sadly this was the end of the Swedish part of this trip, but I will end it with dinner at Carbon.
When I was doing research for my trip, I was intrigued by the menus at Carbon. When I booked, I opted for the 8-course instead of the full 11-course, as I thought it would work better at this point of my trip. When I booked my hotel, I didn’t notice that Carbon was literally 8 steps away, so…that worked out!
I made the very quick stroll over to a busy restaurant. Not many fine dining restaurants are open on Mondays, which helped make it a busy night for them. I arrived at 8pm and was ready to enjoy a nice evening of good food and drinks. I went with the wine pairing as well.
To show how keen they are to accommodate, the sun was shining directly into my eyes and they quickly noticed and pulled the shades down. At least I can see now! By the way, bear with me on the photos, I’m still getting used to this new phone camera (after my last phone decided to brick itself in Kyoto in March). You can expand them as always.
We begin with a sparkling apple cider from Denmark, which was quite nice.
Some snacks, and they are quite good. The artichoke nibble was nice, as was the oyster with fermented rhubarb. The chicken croquete with aged cheese was the star of the trio tho, fabulous.
Then we have a delicious tomato and cucumber consommé, really intense but drinkable, helped on by some excellent peas. A reat taste of the approaching spring!
Then a foie brûlée, which was very interesting. Throw in a top-up of the sparkling cider, this was very enjoyeable.
And finally, an apple and herb sorbet as an initial palate cleanser. There’s some flakes of “buzz button” flowers that is instantaneously recogniseable if you know it. Really nice way to transition.
So far this has started really well. Very good service from the excellent server as well. He pours a nice Kerner, one of those underrated things I love to drink. And we have the lumpfish roe dish.
Wow, really good, with smart use of acid. The asparagus was nice, but the green strawberry was an excellent touch. Very refreshing of a dish actually. Then we have some bourgogne chardonnay that made me smile, accompanying the next dish: scallop.
Oh this is good, with juniper smoke. The leeks and butter sauce really helped this dish along. So nice.
Again, this dinner is really making me happy as I had almost given up on tasting menus after so many bad ones in the past 6-12 months. But this is a winner, no weak dish so far, almost perfect execution by the kitchen with fabulous service. Now we switch to a nebbiolo for the lamb.
Oh my this lamb is really nice, throw in morels, ramson gnocchi, and broad beans, and we have another winner. The lamb actually taste like lamb! I was told they source it from Skåne – the region where I was yesterday (around Malmö and Lund). The best lamb I’ve had in months.
Interestingly they now bring out the bread, which was sourdough with honey and twice-fermented butter. Nice, interesting that it comes out at this stage. I was a little sad now that I chose the 8- instead of the 11-course dinner, as the savouries are done. That was fantastic!
A pour of tawny port and we have pão de queijo, which sadly was the weak dish of the night. The guava was overwhelmed by the saltiness of the cheese. Maybe that was the intent, as the second dessert balanced out the pair.
Focused on rhubarb, this was delicious. The vanilla and verbene ice cream added to the overall effect. Nice end. And they brought out an excellent final pairing: a nice sparkling rhubarb wine from Denmark, from the same place as the sparkling cider from the open.
I had a chance to chat a bit with my server as I enjoyed an eau de vie, and learned a lot about the dining scene in this city. I thanked him and headed on out for my 8 steps to my hotel, glad I had found Carbon. Will this dinner be in the top dining experiences of 2026? It’s close, you’ll have to see in about 8 months!
However, I would seriously recommend this place, and go for the longer tasting menu. You’ll be glad you did! Tack så mycket, Sverige!
My stay in Malmö was sadly short, but luckily I had that good dinner at Sture 1912 as the first meal of this trip. I headed off very early in the morning for Göteborg, where I last visited in the late 1990s.
The trip to Sweden’s second city took about 2 hours by train and I managed to catch up on a little sleep. But once arriving, I dropped my bag at my hotel and went exploring. It’s good to be back for the first time in over 25 years!
After a very long morning dipping into early afternoon, I needed a break. I was headed to the south-west part of the city anyway, so I decided to drop into Sjömagasinet for lunch. An iconic local haunt for seafood, I was hoping to enjoy some local delicacies right on the waterfront.
It being a Monday it was not very busy, so I got a nice table and relaxed with a glass of wine. I decided to get the small portion of their seafood special, which they told me was about an appetiser-sized portion. When it arrived, I was like, huh?
This is an appetiser-sized portion? I’m not complaining, that’s for sure! A lot of food here! The mussels were nice, especially with the aïoli. It was also nice to have some local cheeses to go along with all of this, as well as some dill I can nibble on. The langostines were good, always messy to eat, but quite nice. However, it was the prawns that rules, as usual, as each piece was like a little gem to savour, especially with some mayo.
Oh goodness this was so good. And voluminous. Took me almost an hour to eat this plate! And I had a main course coming!
This cod in brown butter sauce was beautiful, the flavours working perfectly with the flaky fish. No loss of texture or flavour here, cooked and enhanced perfectly. I somehow managed to eat all of this!
Oh my was I full! I did not order a dessert but they brought me out something.
A nice little crème brûlée, which was nice of them. But that nearly killed me! I thanked my servers for this wonderful, slightly pricey, lunch, but well worth it. I headed out and continued my trekking. With this lunch, I needed each of the 20k+ steps from today’s explorations…
But this place is definitely recommended if you are in the mood for seafood!
Sjömagasinet Adolf Edelsvärds gata 5 Göteborg, Sverige
As I took off from O’Hare for Copenhagen the previous Saturday evening, I breathed a sigh of relief. The broken record again, but work has sucked pure and simple. A week away is something I sorely needed. And lucky I booked this flight before the prices skyrocketed…
We landed in Copenhagen on-time and there was no issues getting through Schengen despite complaints online for huge backups due to failing technology. I was quickly running out for a train east. Yep, not staying in Copenhagen or Denmark, but quickly over the Øresund/Öresund to Malmö, Sweden in under 20 minutes.
I had a busy afternoon in both Malmö and Lund, where I have not been for decades. A fantastic day, and I was tired and running on fumes so chose a place near my hotel to decamp, Sture 1912.
I had a very nice evening here sitting at the bar watching this place fill up quickly. Not many places in Malmö are open on Sunday evenings, so I expected this place to fill up. It’s a re-made, old-school place that enjoys existing and new clientele, and I’m excited to join the latter!
I decided to enjoy a nice bottle of orange grenache and soon the food began to arrive.
Then you get some great quality marinated herring. Each of the three “usual” styles were quite nice, something I can eat non-stop. So good, especially when you get it locally.
And finally, some excellent calf’s liver. Maybe a tad heavy on the capers but this was really nice, with bacon in a really delicious sauce. Some local potatoes came along on a plate and took to this sauce perfectly.
Ah, what a wonderful night. I was knackered so I enjoyed a really interesting local tomato eau de vie to close the evening. I thanked the excellent staff and headed out in the still sunny evening before retiring to my hotel for some rest. A good first night, thanks to Sture 1912!
melhuang1972 