SEL and I attended the preview event of Nordic Food Days last night at the House of Sweden.  The festival runs from today through the 26th.

The food was good and (as expected) seafood heavy.  The seafood was imported from Scandinavia, “packaged within four hours of being caught and flown directly to DC.”  Chef Siggi Hall of Iceland (who will be working at Vidalia for the festival) got a laugh by saying that Icelandic lamb is the best meat in the world.  Not sure he got the joke, but the lamb was shredded and very good.

They ran out of Nordic beers very quickly, but I did get to try a stout and a barley wine, both of which were good.  There were three specialty cocktails:

• Summer Meadow (Christiania Vodka, elderberry flower, sparkling Norwegian VOSS water)

• Reindeer’s Tear (Finlandia Vodka, lingonberry juice, fresh berries)

• Nordic Breeze (Absolut Vodka cucumber spritzer with fresh cucumber)

All three drinks were good.  I preferred the Reindeer’s Tear, and was surprised that I liked the Nordic Breeze (which was very refreshing).

Congratulations to the Nordic chefs:

“At this year’s Bocuse d’Or in Lyon – one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in the world – the chefs representing the Nordic countries did remarkably well by taking the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh places.”

Edit: I have a partial menu from the event:

• Grilled Norwegian Diver Scallops, cauliflower, hazelnuts, lemon
• Baked Norwegian Cod “Bocuse d’Or,” beetroot, browned butter, Jerusalem artichoke
• Pan-Fried Norwegian Halibut, tarragon, summer vegetables, mussels

-JAY