Of the many things that the Danes are famous for, the smørrebrød (not to be confused with the Swedish smörgåsbord) is one of the their tastiest inventions. Smørrebrød—literally butter (smør) and (og) bread (brød)—is one of the staples of Danish cuisine. Rough and heavy rye bread is sliced, and buttered to form the base on which the chef piles on other ingredients. Today, the term references not only the base of buttered bread, but the piles of toppings (Pålæg) that cover the top of this delicious bread.
Aamanns is a fairly recent restaurant (2006) that seeks to apply the tenets of "New Nordic Cuisine" to the traditional open faced sandwich. By all means, they have certainly succeeded with store openings in the international airport in Copenhagen and abroad in New York City.
Pan Fried Fish (left):
This was one seriously stacked piece of toast.
From the base up there was: a fried fillet of white fish, pickled red onions, a remoulade made from pickled green tomatoes, herbs and lemon, and a collection of various herbs and flowers on top.
I feel like I'm repeating myself whenever I talk about fish in Scandinavia, but...this fish was beautifully cooked. The outside was crispy and crunchy and the inside was flaky and moist. I can't ask any more from a piece of fried fish.
I'm a huge fan of pickling things and pickled onions are great. They were sweet and tart, and crisp.
The remoulade was a great twist on this interpretation of "fish and chips". Instead of a tartar sauce, the chef created a similar sauce using pickled tomatoes instead of relish and a bevy of herbs instead of just capers and dill. It was creamy, a bit rough, and was a beautiful contrast to the much lighter fish.
I still don't understand the fascination with garnishing plates with a small garden's worth of greens, but hey, what do I know? I got some of my daily requirements for vitamins and other than that, the greens didn't contribute.
Overall, a great dish. Awesome take on the traditional fish and chips.
Cured Veal (right):
From the base up there was: cured veal, béarnaise cream, fried mushroom chips, sautéd mushrooms, and some micro greens.
The cured veal was very similar to the Italian bresaola but it was a bit more pungent in flavor and a little dryer. Was a little salty and the texture was definitely a bit too hard for me.
The cream was very rich. It tasted like a standard béarnaise sauce, but more concentrated—almost like a butter version of béarnaise. The combination with the cured veal was ok, the flavors were a bit intense though.
The fried mushroom chips were great, lots of umami and a delightful crunch.
The sautéd mushroom and micro greens weren't that important, they seemed more like window dressing, noticeable but not impactful in any real sense.
Definitely less good than the fish dish, but still something I'd be happy with eating every day for lunch.