Food, glorious food!
When we travel, be it near or far, R is always worried about me and if the place we pick to eat will have anything for a vegetarian (moi!). My thinking is this, I will find and make something that is as vegetarian as it can get. There is always the option, to politely ask the server or establishment owner to make me something vegetarian. And 100% of the time, they can and they do.
Let us start by going over what makes a restaurant worth visiting. If you see lots of people there, chances are the food is good. Be weary of restaurants that are empty. It is empty, for a very good reason.
We hit places that have menus visibly posted outside each restaurant. No second guessing pricing or what the lunch menu is or what is included in each entree. Anywhere in most of Western Europe they have an english translation of their menu. Not all, but a good number of them have english menu. Or if you are sincerely lost in the translation, ask your server. They might not seem it, but they speak english. And make the effort to thank them in their respective language.
There are great restaurants all over each city. The trick is to find one that works best for you. We love just trying a place just because we loved the way it looked, the menu is reasonably priced, it was packed or we were just too hungry to be choosy.
In Germany, I found a place this sold great sandwiches. The tables and chairs were all taken but they are considerate to leave (some of them) and vacate their tables as soon as they are done. So we sit. And at the hotel where we stayed, the cook spoke no english, so we got creative. I asked the reception to translate my vegetarian request for me. She even came and checked on us later if everything was as I had wanted it. Now how great is that? Right?
In Stockholm, we found a nice gelato place just because we went to a pharmacy and passed by this very nice ice cream place. Best ice cream ever!
In Sweden, we found another ice cream place, not only organic but vegan as well. Delicious and worth every lick. How did we find it, you might ask? We ask a store clerk to point us to the best ice cream in that small town. His recommendation was spot-on! Loved it! I know we will be back just for that. It was that good!!
Sometimes, you get a miss. So what. Lesson learned. Just Yelp the place and review it. Sometimes, the food is good but bad service or the other way around. But that is what is great about trying new restaurants when you are traveling.
There is this particular restaurant in Stockholm that we loved so much, we wanted to eat there again before we left town. The day we came back they were closed. But it's okay, we walked a few doors down and we had a blast of a lunch in this bistro that served the best tortellini with goat cheese and porcini mushroom as stuffing. The sauce was so good, I had to use my spoon to scoop every bit of it off the plate. We ordered a nice appetizer -boy, the sliced cheese and the toast was fabulous. Just the right balance of flavors and textures that my tongue was singing the Halleluyah even before my entree was served. And remember everything tastes great when you share it. R, almost always love the food I order for myself. But he had to agree that his plate was a very good dish as well. We wiped off that bounty off our plates - clean!
The proprietor of the bistro was happy to chat to us after our meal. Somehow, the veggies, cheese and butter in Sweden are all great tasting and fresh. Very fresh. I guess it is probably because they change their menu according to the season and what produce are in season. To guarantee freshness, they use what was picked this morning and not something that was sitting in the shelves for days.
Oh, yeah! I will be back. Or should I say, we will be back.
R got this for his main dish. Lox (salmon) served with potatoes, I think. Creamy sauce with dill was drizzled over the potatoes.
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