Good Arctic Eats – Uummannaq

Do you like to eat well, but you’re an introvert? Do you find social distancing difficult in your crowded, bustling metropolis? Well, I have the place for you. It’s Uummannaq in northern Greenland. It’s location is a perfect who ache for Greenlandic cuisine but find Nuuk, Greenland just too darn far south.

There is only one restaurant  listed in TripAdvisor.  This is because there’s only one restaurant in town or, as I like to think, its food beats the pants of all the other restaurants. Perhaps Uummanaq has enormous problems retaining Michelin-quality chefs as the great Parisian restaurants keep stealing them away. Who can say for sure? I like to think so.

This restaurant, the only one worthy enough to be listed in Trip Advisor, is Cafemma. It’s reputed to be easy to find, although I would have thought nearly every place that far north would be easy to locate.  It’s also the place to go if you’re in Uummannaq. But you can go as well. Hop on those planes, probably at least four, and go there. Enjoy its classic food. Take in the town’s wondrous views of a fjord and magnificent mountains. Spend the night there. Cafemma has rooms to stay in as well. So forget about rush-hour commutes from your hotel to your dining experience..

 

Uumnannaq’s restaurant

The population of Uumannaq is 1,407 when you are not there and 1,408 when you are.

The most exhilarating tour is the Living in Nature as An Inuit.  You’ll be hunting and fishing just an Inuit would. It’s a seven-day adventure where you get from place by dogsled. It also costs $4,050, but it really is a once in a lifetime experience. Heads up, it’s not wheel chair accessible.

But fear not. There’s a four-wheel drive excursion. and can take your pick of tours that cruise the harbor and the neighboring fjords.

For those who need to flee the crowd of the town, for those who wish to catch their own meal, but want to stay close to home, I certainly recommend an ice-fishing tour. Sure, you could do it yourself, but do you really want to lug your all your gear and your ice-fishing hut from Miami? Then you’d have to get all that out onto the ice. Yes, take the tour. You’ll be glad you did. And boy, oh boy, won’t your fresh fish taste good?

Dog sledding, ice fishing, cruises, super fresh fish, what more do you want? And Northern lights? Uummannaq has that too, usually, at least sometimes.

As always, “Good eating. Good traveling.”

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.