A Dose of Denmark in New York

When passing through Racine, Wis., on road trips, a favorite stop is the I-90 gas station with the Danish bakery showcasing kringle, the delicious, buttery, flaky, fruit or nut-filled pastry associated with Scandinavia. According to this article, the southern Wisconsin town best known for Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings is also best known as the center of Danish culture in the U.S.

So with sweet kringle on the brain, on a recent New York trip I enthusiastically trekked to TriBeCa to visit a dear friend and and experience a taste of Denmark at Aamanns-Copenhagen, now open at 13 Laight Street, sharing a building with the Tribeca Film Festival office.

From the street, Aamanns beckons with huge black and beige signage highlighting culinary treats. They had me at pork, potatoes and currants.

Inside its glass doors, the restaurant's cozy dining room, white walls and tabletops, light wood fixtures and tea lights were warm and welcoming on a chilly December afternoon (come July the same dining room will feel cool and calming relief from sweltering summer temps).

My friend recommended the house specialty, smørrebrød. That's Danish for open-faced sandwiches, and at Aamanns, each served on rye bread. My first two smørrebrød, from the lunch menu, were the smoked cod and chicken salad. They had me at hazelnuts. My friend enjoyed the gravad laks and panfried white fish, which looked as tasty as my selections; both were filling, popping with spice, and best enjoyed with knife and fork.

The Aamanns menu also tempted with herring, pâté of pork, aquavit (a Danish libation) and smørrebrød of braised duck. I'm not much of a tartare fan, but for those who enjoy their smørrebrød on the raw side, the beef or fresh kale options may entice.

I was so swept up in conversation and savory smørrebrød, I did not notice whether kringle made the menu (it did not, as Aamanns is an authentic Denmark restaurant in the U.S. not a "USA version" of an upscale Denmark restaurant), though looking at the online menu now, Aamanns' fresh Danish cookies, honey cakes and a sweet rice-infused (though not pudding) desserts look to be great treats for my next visit.

Another bonus about Aamanns is their pricing. Whether enjoyed in the dining room or for takeaway, their food is a filling and great value for a Manhattan lunch or dinner. I envision many an Edelman colleague (offices one block north), or film festival patron, enjoying Aamanns for a quick midday bite or an after work/after film treat. It was worth the trek from the Guggenheim, and from Atlanta, to experience Aamanns-Copenhagen, and I hope the folks in Racine will take notice and fly east for a taste of the real deal (rest assured, kringle also remains as real a sweet treat).

Heading to Aamanns, I had no idea that Copenhagen cuisine enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, earning Michelin stars and drawing chefs from around the world. A great New York Times article by Julia Moskin, who also wrote the first (and glowing) review of Aamanns, gave me a better background on the rise of Danish cuisine. I wish this came to my attention when Chicago, Rio, Tokyo and Madrid were duking it out, for the 2016 Olympics hosting duties, at the IOC Session in Denmark in 2009. 

To Aamanns-Copenhagen, skål!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver; Brian Harkin/New York Times; Marta S. McAdams/ms-takes.com/Tribeca Citizen; HonestCooking, Snackish, and via Gloobi

Chicago 2016 One Year Later

Has it really been a year? A year since "Black Friday" in The Windy City?

Until receiving an email from World Sport Chicago on Friday, it almost slipped by this weekend: The anniversary of Rio de Janiero winning the 2016 Olympic Games bid, and Chicago's first-round elimination in the big vote at Copenhagen.

The loss for Chicago was a disappointment to thousands of people, notably the hard-working army of volunteers who donated time and resources to World Sport Chicago and the multi-year bid effort.

On this day, there are likely folks in Madrid and Tokyo pondering their Olympic dreams denied as well.

It still hurts thinking about the stunning news delivered via satellite when my girlfriend, her sister, thousands of Olympic enthusiasts and I stood shoulder to shoulder in Daley Plaza on a Friday morning. Like Phil Rogers expression and the "face" of the plaza's famous Picasso sculpture, the devastating news -- Chicago was out -- left us all breathless and frozen. Stunned silence. Like a kick hit everyone in the solar plexus.

I was very happy to learn yesterday, however, that one year later, World Sport Chicago, NBC 5 in Chicago and others collaborated to create a one year later video titled "Making Big Plans: The Story of Chicago's Olympic Dream" to focus on the positive aspects of the bid, and (I suspect) to close the books on the 2016 with an inspirational message for a future potential attempt to host the Olympic Games in Chicago. This was a classy move.

The trailer for the film includes Patrick Ryan, father of the bid, Mayor Daley and other key players from Chicago 2016. Here's wishing someone can share a recording of the full broadcast with me -- I really would like to view it.

Love that Ryan states "Chicago didn't lose. Rio won. But Chicago won in so many ways" and Mayor Daley summed it up with, "You have to take risks and if you don't you never succeed in life, and that's why I'm glad we did it in Chicago."

In my bones I have a feeling that Chicago will someday be a great Olympic host city. For 2016, it just wasn't our turn again for North America and the U.S. When another bid team is ready to start work, sign me up to help make some big plans.

Planting A Seed For GOP Drivel Banter

OK, a quick departure from Olympics (well, actually, this post does discuss Michelle Obama, part of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid delegation, so there is a five-ringed connection of sorts).

I just read the Reuters report about the First Lady's upcoming segment on the season premiere of "Sesame Street."

To promote nutrition and healthy diet, Mrs. Obama will teach young viewers about planting fruits and vegetables. This seems pretty cool to me.

Given the Red State responses (in media report comments) to President Obama's decision to head to Copenhagen for the Olympic bid, or the recent headlines regarding Obama speaking directly to school children across the U.S., I'm bracing for the Senate Minority response.

Screaming, ludicrous headlines coming to a conservative network or website soon include ...

"Michelle Obama To Plant Seeds of Deceit and Left Agenda on Leftist PBS Program!"

"Ketchup-Gate! First Lady Plants Tomatoes With Big Bird To Help Teresa Heinz Re-Enter Political Arena"

"Obamas Want Cookie Monster to Devour Childrens' Brains!"

"Snuffleupagus (think Rep. logo/symbol) Leaves GOP To Roam Obama Garden"

Any to add?

Photo via Wikipedia screen grab from "Sesame Street"

Your Future's So Bright, You Gotta Go To Denmark

Congratulations to the two winning entrants in the International Olympic Committee's online video contest via YouTube. Participants answered the question "What do you think is the future of the Olympic Games?" with two top video creators winning a free trip to Copenhagen for the Olympic Congress this weekend. This IOC press release provides links to the winners' videos.

Chicago 2016 Bid Gets Presidential

My days usually begin with NPR Morning Edition on the clock-radio, and today's first report on the ear-ly was news that The White House announced that President Obama will join the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid delegation in Copenhagen. This is tremendous -- another first for this White House (no U.S. president has attended an IOC bid city election of the past, as I understand it).

According to The White House press release, several of Obama's cabinet members, who are also from Chicago, will join the delegation. I have got to ask: Why is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- also a Chicago native and, um, SECRETARY OF STATE (our nation's representative to the international community!) missing from the delegation? She is a huge Olympic fan, having attended the Games in Lillehammer and Atlanta as First Lady.

Well, it's not too late to add Mrs. Clinton to Obama's and Chicago 2016's All-Stars pitching the U.S. as host city. It is going to be a big week!

Rude Behavior Trifecta

What's up with all the rude American behavior this past week?

First, no lie! There was the U.S. Senator from South Carolina who spoke up in an inappropriate manner during President Obama's speech before Congress.

Just a few nights later, Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams tore into a line judge during what became Williams' final play of the 2009 U.S. Open (wondering what the consequence would be had she, or any Olympic tennis athlete, did the same in Olympic tournament play). OK, fine.

Tonight's adventures in rudeness were brought to us by Kanye West, who apparently commandeered the microphone from Moon Man trophy winner Taylor Swift (who appeared in this blog for her Olympic connections last year). I enjoy the music of both West and Swift, but Kanye speaking up during an MTV acceptance speech was totally uncalled for, in my opinion.

Kanye, please answer me: How Could You Be So Heartless? Please stick to singing, not speeches! At least he apologized -- sort of -- on his blog. I can just picture West now in his hotel room in front of a laptop typing away ... [yeah, right].

I for one remain hopeful that politeness will prevail, led by example, like this one:

On Friday afternoon, the White House, Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that First Lady Michelle Obama will be part of the U.S. delegation at the IOC Sessions in Copenhagen next month -- it seems the polite thing to do, to help the First Lady (and the president's) hometown, Chicago, bring home the 2016 Olympic hosting duties.

Oprah Winfrey is getting polite, too -- according to the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips, Winfrey may also travel to the Denmark-based vote by the International Olympic Committee. Winfrey compared Chicago to "Gone With The Wind" and Tara earlier this year, as noted on this video.

Nice to read also that Beyonce invited Swift back on stage to re-do her acceptance speech later in the evening. Classy.

Mind your manners!

Photo from Getty via MTV.com