"The Dry Rub": NOMA- The Worlds Best Restaurant

Warning: This is the first guest blog entry for the Dry Rub and it's an outstanding piece. Sarah and John did it right. Though next time, I suggest John just burns six $100 bills, he may get more out of that. Knowing John for as long as I have, I honestly thought the closest he would ever get to Copenhagen was the chewing tobacco he used to use in college. Thankfully, he met Sarah, which I can honestly say is the best thing that has ever happened to John. To say she "classes up the joint" is an understatement.

And I'm also not shocked he got lost on his way there. Some of my epic "getting lost" moments have been with John in Cape Cod and the Bahama's. Neither experience I can put in writing to protect the innocent.

So here is Sarah and John's entry. Enjoy!

Two distinct accounts of dining at the number ONE restaurant in the world NOMA

The Dry Rub has been so gracious to let my fiancé and I do a guest blog about Noma in Copenhagen Denmark. For those who don’t know Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen. Opened in 2003, the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine. In 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, it has been ranked as the Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant magazine.

It’s the Dun dun DUNNNN!! of food!

Let’s begin at the beginning. I was working in Sochi for the Olympics. My fiancé, Sarah and I had a plan after the games to visit Moscow, St Petersburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Not knowing a thing about these cities I was open to any helpful recommendations. When I talked of my future travels to “foodie” friends and they freaked out about going to Copenhagen and the restaurant Noma. They were adamant about going there! They said, “with all due respect…

How don’t you know about this place?” Now with my interest peeked I went online and attempted to make a reservation. Noma politely wrote back and said it takes a least month to secure a reservation. This was cutting it close. In my mind I thought we’d never get in. The Olympics ended Sarah and I went on our merry way never thinking about Noma again. Then one afternoon I got an email from Noma saying we had secured a reservation at their communal table for one of the nights we were in Copenhagen. I was totally shocked and happy but more shocked because I never thought we would get a reservation and this was going to put a major dent in my wallet. I did research on Noma and found out roughly what it would cost to dine there and just my luck WE got a reservation. Noma was a cutting edge restaurant that foraged for food. So I knew it was going to be a different type dinning experience for the both of us. My fiancé Sarah would like to say she has a more refined pallet while my taste is more like Atouc “Leader of the Stone Age.”

Our experience could go either way. We weren’t sure what to expect!

Here is a first person’s account of what went down.

Interviewer’s question: Walk me through the start of the night and getting to the restaurant?

John: I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I was planning on having the greatest meal of my life but I knew it could be the weirdest food I ever had as well. I didn’t know what to think. I was like Chastity Bono! I mean Chase.

Sarah: John’s dragging me down this sketch alley… what’s he getting me into now?

Interviewer: What was it like when you finally got to Noma?

John: We got lost! It’s in this dark alley tucked behind some apartments on the water. With the help of another couple, who we’re equally as lost, we finally stumbled upon it. Just in time! How could we get reservations to the greatest restaurant in the world and not be able get there? We approached Noma like a teenage girl who stumbled upon Justin Bieber. We were like crazy fans. We snapped selfies under the restaurants sign. We were so excited!

Sarah: After we posed for selfies we entered Noma. As we walked into the front door I was completely surprised we were literally greeted by the entire staff at the entrance. I was under the impression they had us mistaken for Paris Hilton. Could they possibly welcome all of their guests like this? Anyway we got the full tour… walked through the kitchen and we were introduced to the head chef. Really cool! After they sat us down John announced that we would not be doing the wine pairing because it was an additional $300 per head. Cheap A$$!!!

Interviewer: Tell me about sitting down and the first dish?

Sarah: We were the first people seated at the communal table, the place has a great vibe and the waiters are on point. We ordered drinks while we waited for the rest of the table.

John: As the table was being seated we meet people from Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and American. Everyone was there for the same reason… to have our taste buds blown away!! We waited in anticipation for the first dish to arrive. I’m pumped I’m ready to have something from the best restaurant in the world. They place the first dish on the table and voila it was cherry on a stick.

Interviewer: Talk about the cherry on the stick?

John: It was a cherry on a stick! I know the cherry was dipped in something and the stick was carved especially for me but it was an F#$*ing cherry on a stick. I was in for a long night.

Sarah: Let’s just say it wasn’t an actual cherry but an edible gooseberry foraged in the woods. The stick was hand carved by one of the 45 interns that work for Noma. However, it was only a berry on a stick. When it was presented I could tell by the look on John’s face this was going to be an interesting evening. After we quickly ate the berry we were presented with our next course. Which John would appropriately say was a cracker. An exceptionally great cracker that was made from cheese, rocket and stems but I started to feel as if we were going to leave hungry. The third course on the menu was a Nordic coconut… basically a large radish hallowed out with a straw and an interesting juice inside. Needless to say after one sip John passed his coconut my way. I now have two exceptionally large roots in front of me. Well maybe I was mistaken I might not leave this place as hungry as I thought.

Interviewer: What was next and did you like the Nordic Coconut?

John: This radish/Nordic coconut tasted like warm dishwater. I was literally handed a radish pulled from the ground with a straw in in it. It was horrible. The next few courses that were served were even less distinct. I tried each one of them and then passed them along to Sarah. This was going to be the most expensive dinner that I didn’t eat!!!

Nordic Coconut

Sarah: The meal wasn’t that bad. In fact I quite enjoyed it. We were served an interesting dish of fried moss and cep, basically a fried moss ball that tasted like a potato chip. Did I mention I’m southern so you can fry anything and I’ll love it! The fried moss was followed by pickled and smoked quail eggs, which had a similar taste to smoked Gouda… so I was ok with that as well. Not to mention the presentation was beautiful. Tiny little eggs still smoking served on a bed of straw. The food just kept on coming caramelized milk and cod liver, chestnuts and lumpfish roe (delicious), urchin toast, burnt leek, and apple (interesting), scallop and watercress, onions and fermented pears, beets and aromatic herbs, cauliflower whey and horseradish, potato and lojrom, and wild duck with pear and kale. Every dish was quite unique in flavor. I was not only eating my meal but also my fiancé’s meal. Pretty soon it became a running joke and the Aussies were trying to pass what they didn’t want my way. I love food!

Quail Eggs

Apple

Interviewer: Did you like anything?

John: The Duck was good and so was the fried moss. I mean who doesn’t like fried moss. There’s a reason no one else serves fried moss. It’s because it moss and it’s not meant for consumption! I’m glad that they like to forage and make uneatable dishes eatable but this was “ just a bit outside”, of my strike zone.

Fried Moss

I basically tasted everything but handed it over to Sarah. I felt like I was being fleeced. Finally the desert came out! I was so excited, I thought maybe we’d get a Danish or a sweet treat but once again I was bamboozled. I was served potato/plum puree. It was ok. But who wants plums for desert? How about chocolate! Danish, we’re in Denmark for Christ sakes! The potato/plum puree had the consistency of baby food. It was like I was the Gerber baby without the benefit of eventually having teats stuck in my face to wash down the puree.

Potato and Plum Puree

Everything they gave us was the opposite of what you thought it was going to be. If you thought it was suppose to be cold it was warm. If it was suppose to be sweet it was sour. I was so ready to jump into the Baltic Sea.

Sarah: As John mentioned we were served desserts consisting of aronia berries and sol (funny and suiting because when John saw this dish he was SOL $h*t out of luck no Danish here) and a potato and plum puree. Both desserts were surprisingly delicious. Then I made the mistake of ordering a coffee. I’ll let John explain.

Interviewer: Tell me about the coffee?

John: It wasn’t just the coffee it was the water as well. I’ll get back to that in a minute.

I’d like to first to say how great of an experience it was. The service was legendary the people we met were amazing. I had an unbelievable time. The problem was the food or my taste buds. When I got the bill I knew what to expect but I saw an additional charge that threw me off. I called the waitress over and I asked her, “It’s $50 for coffee and water?” After spending what I just spent you’re going to charge me $50 for water and coffee? Granted I did have one cup of coffee. It was good but not mind blowing. The waitress didn’t bat and eye yes you ordered both. I signed the bill and was ready to run the hell out of Noma. It was like nothing I had ever experienced I spent close to a grand and they charged me an additional $50 for water and coffee. No offense but I thought they could include that into the cost of the meal. Am I being cheap? That’s a rhetorical question because I just spent a thousand dollars so I can’t possibly be cheap!

Sarah: All and all it was a wonderful dinning experience and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Copenhagen. The service was incredible, food was interesting and the company as always amazing. It was a dinner I will remember forever. We forgot to mention after dinner we were given a full tour of the kitchen where the magic happens and indeed it was magical.

John: It was magical! The people were great, the food was unique and we got a glimpse of what was behind the wizard’s curtain to boot! They took us back and showed us the testing kitchen where all the crazy mad scientist creations occur. They also showed us what was on the menu for following night. It was a giant Crab like the ones on Deadliest Catch. It was huge and still alive. Why couldn’t we have that to eat? They explained to us how they have 45 interns who get a opportunity to create a unique meal every night for the staff . If it’s good enough they then serve it to the customers. Unfortunately for me when the curtain was pulled back all I saw was an old man who likes to serve twigs! “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” I’m kidding! It was pretty cool!

Big Crustacean

I ended up having a great time. Was it my favorite eating experience? No, but it was the probably greatest dining experience to date. I’m typically the type of guy who likes my meatballs round, my steak medium and my eggs over easy. I’m not fond of overpaying for twigs and berries! Even if they are from the greatest place on earth! It’s not for everyone but everyone should go so if you happen to be in Copenhagen it’s a must see but make sure you know what you’re in for.

If you do happen to be in Copenhagen I recommend stopping by John’ or dop’s. They’re both hotdogs stands and they are delicious. So good! Off the chart’s good!