Noma is Copenhagen, Copenhagen is Noma. They are intertwined the way musicians reflect root and spontaneous influences. For us, we are in the middle of both; five days of frosty, windswept, Nordic Copenhagen and two meals at its geographic mirror called Noma. All of it feels severe and subtle, cozy and edgy, intellectual yet simple, bare but rich, soothing while cutting. Wintertime Noma and Copenhagen emit chords that are both skin deep and penetrating to the core. It all takes time to process.
When I used to go to Grateful Dead shows, they were universally defined the day after by setlists, and for years forward through holistic reflection. Friends, it will take some days to embody and then reflect upon Noma beyond the ingredients and details that make dining at Noma unlike anything else that even the most ardent and hardened foodie will experience anywhere else. My two boys, both in the middle of their own Copenhagen and Noma immersions, began verbalizing some personally core processing table-side at Noma last night. They have agreed to reflect, as I am compelled to, and share some short essays here in the coming days.
But like the morning after Dead shows, fans and friends that could not make the event want something, anything that puts them in the concert hall next to you, some one dimensional reflection that can be universally agreed upon. While we promise to offer deeper reflections the mysterious melodies made inside this simple Danish waterfront building demand, just for those that need to know, what follows are letters and words that add up to the intoxicating Noma playlist from February 20 in Copenhagen.
Of course, the wines first:
*** 2011 Veyder Malberg Grüner Veltliner Hochrain, Wachau
***** 2007 Clos Rougeard Saumur Blanc Brézè, Loire
**** 2010 Moric (Roland Velich) Blaufränkisch Reserve, Eisenstadt-Burgenland
Now, the table food:
Nordic coconut
(it’s a whole raw potato, no coconuts in Denmark-onion straw to drink mystery milk)
Malt flatbread and juniper
Moss and cep
Crispy pork skin and black currant
Cheese cookie, rocket and stems
Dried carrot and sorrel
Pickled and smoked quail’s egg
Frozen cod liver and caramelized milk
Æbleskiver and muikko
Leek and cod roe
Fresh milk curd and blueberry preserves
Brown crab, egg yolk, and herbs
Onion and fermented pears
Beets and plums
Califlower and pine, cream and horseradish
Pike perch and cabbages, verbena and dill
Grilled fish head
Wild duck and pear, kale and beech leaves
Gammel Dansk
Brown cheese and sloe berries
Today Copenhagen, tomorrow Noma lunch, more on the entire fabric soon!