Posts Tagged With: arctic char

Great Arctic Eats – Narvik, Norway

 

Do you love to eat? Are you like Goldilocks in that you don’t like too many or too few people around?  Do you like the cool, bracing outdoors? Do you like history, beautiful mountains, and skiing? Well, Narvik, Norway is the place for you.
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There are 24 restaurants listed in TripAdvisor(tm) for Narvik! Let’s dine at the top five eateries.
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The must-go-to restaurant is Linken Restaurant and Bar. Be sure to try their turbot and cod. Fiskehallen also serves great local game such as venison, reindeer, wild boar, and ptarmigan with berries. Ptarmigan with berries! Where else can you get that? And wild boar! You can’t get that in my home town of Poway, California. They also serve reindeer-and-roes soup. Go there, go there and have a meal for me. The rooftop view from Linken is fantastic. Take in the town of Narvik and the beautiful mountains. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They also have reindeer tartar. Enough said. Go there.
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Second on our restaurant tour is Fiskehallen. As might be expected from a restaurant whose name means “Fish Hall,” it specializes in fish and seafood. But they do fish so well, perhaps even having the best fish in Norway.  The atmosphere is cozy, the portions are big, and everything is served by a friendly staff. Be sure to dine on their huge, fresh shrimp (OMG),  cod, Arctic char, and pan-fried halibut. Their side dishes are also tasty. Save room for their rich chocolate pudding and ice cream.
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Winning the bronze medal is Milano Restaurant Narvik. Scandavia’s Arctic Circle seems to favor Italian restaurants named Milano. Perhaps Milano is a chain and is winning over all the Northern diners. Milano of Narvik certainly serves great Italian food. They specialize in tasty pizzas. They also serve chicken meals and kabobs. Their large portions are served by a great, caring staff. The tea is great.  If I were to go there, I’d be tempted to sample a slice of their nacho pizza. Nacho pizza, north of the Arctic Circle, who would have guessed it? I am happy to relate that Milano Restaurant gave food during the Christmas season to locals hurting from the recent recession.
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We now visit Kafferiet Resurante og Bar.  Enjoy large portions in a cozy atmosphere. Be sure to try their reindeer shank, cod fillet, and leg of lamb.
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Special mention goes to Sushi Point.  A great staff serves tasty, fresh sushi at a good price. Sushi in the Arctic, this is a great town.
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The four best ways to reach Narvik are by: air, sea, car, and train. The fifth through seventh best ways will most likely take significantly longer and be less enjoyable
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Be sure to visit Narvik Krigmuseum.  This museum does a superb job of honoring the achievement and the courage of the Allied forces fighting the German invaders in 1940. Not only does it relate the fierce battles, but it also devotes a section to analyzing the big questions of war and human rights during conflict. It’s interesting and informative exhibits make it well worth a visit, particularly for history buffs. There’s also a nice little coffee shop and gift shop. Go there
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Then take the cable car to Narvikfjellet. This is resort is quite popular with the locals. It boasts of world class off-piste skiing. I don’t honestly know what off-piste skiing is, but it is world class. This skiing resort has some of the largest vertical drops in Scandinavia. Yikes for me, but fantastic for dedicated skiers. But don’t worry,  Narvikfjellet is also suitable for families and beginners. Admire the breathtaking view from the top and enjoy scenery from the cable car.
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You should probably visit Narvik Kjøretøyhistoriske Museum. Kjøretøyhistoriske translates as Vehicle History. That’s all I really know about the place. The museum earned a rare, perfect rating of 5.0. Yet no one left a review. Why? Why was that so hard? Perhaps the exhibits entranced the visitors so much that they were at a loss for words.
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Next on our museum tour is the Narvik Museum. It receives a still quite good rating of 4.0. However, its guests proved to be much more helpful than those went through the doors at Kjøretøyhistoriske. This museum tells the story of Narvik’s development. It emphasizes the stories of the iron-ore mines, the rail transport, the harbor, and the town’s tunnels and bridges. A section of the museum devotes itself to the great fire that destroyed the town’s old wooden center. Don’t forget to ride in an authentic iron-ore car.
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Finally, please visit the Polish War Memorial and pay your respects to the braves Polish sailors who died fighting the Nazis in 1940. They are especially worthy of our admiration for they sailed all the way here, despite losing their homeland to the Germans in 1939. To remember.
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As always, “Good eating. Good traveling.”

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.

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.

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Great Arctic Eats – Kiruna, Sweden

 

Great Arctic Eats – Kiruna, Sweden

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Kiruna, Sweden June 14, 2018 City views of the iron mining town of Kiruna

Are you a diner who avoids countries that fought in a World War, but loves good dessert rolls, meatballs, potato sausages, and the Northern Lights?  Do you get anxious and feel closed in towns with more than 20,000? Do you revel in Lutheran humor? If you answered yes to these questions, then you owe it to yourself to fly to Kiruna, Sweden. It’s your kind of town.
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There are 30 restaurants listed in TripAdvisor(tm)! Thirty! It would take you ten days to visit them all, providing you went out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Truly, this is an Arctic dining paradise. Let’s  visit the top six eateries.
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The top rated dining establishment is the highly loved Stejk Street Food. This established gets a 5.0 out of 5 from TripAdvisor’s food critics. Well done, Stejk Food. You’ll never forget the restaurant itself. It’s inside an warm, authentic Sámi tent. They serve tasty Swedish street food. Their Arctic reindeer and moose subs are fantastic. It’s also vegetarian friendly; try the halloumi (It’s a semi-hard unripened cheese made from sheep’s and goat’s milk.) The staff is friendly and professional. You really should go here.

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Second on our restaurant tour is Cafe Safari. They are known for their great coffee. Definitely try their moose and reindeer. For dessert, you would do well to order their cakes. Treat yourself to its wonderful kladkaka, a scrumptious chocolate sticky cake. I’ve made this desert. Here’s a link to my kladdkaka, so can see what its like. This cozy restaurant is also vegetarian and vegan friendly. Don’t leave without sampling delicious ligonberries.
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Winning the bronze medal is Camp Ripan kitchen. Its terse diners love it’s good Swedish, great ambience, and friendly staff. It’s vegetarian and vegan friendly.

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People think highly of SPis Mat & Dryck’s is great mussels and Arctic char. Friendly staff serves good Swedish  and other European food.
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Our fifth dining stop is the rather excitingly named Landstroms Kok & Bar. Patrons rave about its excellent reindeer, elk stew, and other local delicacies, all coming in big portions. Accompany your tasty meals with good beer. What more do you want?
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The last dining establishment you must go to is Arctic Thai & Grill, for it serves good, tasty Thai food. Besides any restaurant with the words “Arctic Thai” is worth investigating.
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Kiruna, unlike many of the other towns reviewed in Great Arctic Eats, has a road going in and out of it.  This feature cannot be overestimated, particularly if wish to get there by car. Pogo sticking or hang gliding there simply isn’t practical. However, once there, the town has many worthwhile things to see.

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Be sure to visit Kiruna Kirkya .  This large wooden church was built a century ago for the Sámi people. It has been voted to be Sweden’s most beautiful building. And it’s downtown, so you can walk to it. Well, perhaps during a wintry snowstorm

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Then reserve your spot on the Snowmobile Aurora Expedition with dinner. Snowmobiles, dinner, and the Aurora Borealis. What more do you want?

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Go on TreriksrÖset.  According to Kiruna’s visitors, it’s a beautiful hiking trail with points of interest.

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Visit LKAB’s Visitor Centre. It’s the world’s largest underground iron-ore mine. The town of Kiruna was built around this mine.

Finally, see the Esrange Space Center. It has a science museum, an observatory, and a planetarium. A family that visited noted they went there. They also recommend that you go there as well. Yeah, tourists in Kiruna really don’t waste many words, do they?

But perhaps the visitors’ words are taken away by the many wonderful things to see in and around town.

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As always, “Good eating. Good traveling.”

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– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.

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.

Categories: Arctic eats, things to see and do | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Arctic Eats – Cambridge Bay, Canada

Great Arctic Eats – Cambridge Bay, Canada

Do you like to eat well, but hate crowds? Do you quail at visiting the same local restaurants one more time? Do you wish to chill out in new soundings? Well, I have the place for you. It’s Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, Canada. Chilling out and shunning teeming urbans mobs will be easy peasy in this getaway  above the Arctic Circle.
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There are four restaurants listed in TripAdvisor(tm).  So, the competition for your dining dollars will be fierce. Let’s sample the local cuisine.
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The top rated dining establishment is the highly regarded Kuugaq Cafe. They serve the best muskox that I know of. You simply cannot visit here without dining on their tasty muskox chili and muskox chili. And if you love fish, may I suggest their delicious Arctic Chow chowder? Kuugaq Cafe regales its dinners with superb lattes and baked goods. The owners don’t neglect the international culinary scene either. Try their tasty Trinidad stew and pizza quesadilla.

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Next on our restaurant tour is the fine Saxifrage Resto-Cafe. This cafe cooks great Arctic Char. (I mean Cambridge Bay really is the only place in the world for serious Arctic char connoisseur to visit.)  Saxifrage also delights its customers with juicy hamburgers and truly good fries. This cafe is known for friendly service. The staff also provides Chinese food to go on Sundays 4 to 6 pm. What more could you want? How about free medium coffee with every meal? There you go.
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Winning the culinary bronze medal is Arctic Island Restaurant. It serves a good breakfast. It’s specialties are Caesar’s salad and Black Forest cake. Visiting workers will be pleased to know that they can have their meal waiting for them at their hotel room when they come back from work.

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Honorable mention goes to the KFC/Pizza Hut restaurant. People have complained of its cost, poor quality, and lack of variety. For Pete’s sake people, this KFC/Pizza Hut lies 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It’s by far the best fast-food combo that far north. I’m amazed that KFC/Pizza Hut had the courage to build a restaurant in such an isolated place. All their ingredients must be flown in from over a thousand miles away. Not many many vendors of fresh pepperoni near the North Pole.
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Ahem.
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Speaking of flying to Cambridge Bay, the best way to get there really is by airplane. Hikers will surely be discouraged by the miles and miles of open water between the end of the North American continent and Cambridge Bay’s Island. And I have to imagine that you really won’t be able to carry the tons of food you’ll need to get there. No, fly to Cambridge Bay, even if you adore white landscapes. Book that flight to Cambridge Bay Airport (YCB.) You’ll have to fly the last leg by charter. There are no flights that go all the way from your North American metropolis to this Arctic outpost no matter what those air-fare sites will claim.

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Speaking of hikers, lovers of outdoor rambling will love the trail of Ovayok Territorial Park. See the awesome panoramic views, the wildlife, and the trails when the visibility is good.

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You won’t want to miss the Canadian High Arctic Research Station. It’s open to the public. Does your city have an Arctic Research Station open to the public? No, I didn’t think so. You must reserve your guided tour. I never suspected you’d need to do this. Is it like trying to get tickets for the next Star Wars(tm) movie? By all means, make the reservation. You don’t want to sleep outside in a sleeping bag in that frigid air just to reserve your place. Or just show up and look at the station’s brochure.
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Do you hate coming home only to find out that you’ve missed a hot-spot tourist attraction that everyone has raved about? Don’t let this happen to you. Stampede the Arctic Coast Visitor Centre. They’ll fill you in.
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As always, “Good eating. Good traveling.”

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– 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.

 

 

Categories: Arctic eats, hunks, international, things to see and do | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Arctic Eats, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Say you want great arctic food near the Arctic Ocean? Go no farther than Inuvik, Canada. The highest rated restaurant according to TripAdvisor isOur Lady of Victory Church Inuvik Northwest Territories, Canada Cafe Gallery with its banana bread loaf and great coffee. Arctic foodies still talk about the sandwiches once served there. Stampede Cloud 9 Cafeteria for the best burgers in town and wonderful poutine, a Canadian specialty. By all means head over to Tonimoes to savor its muskox ragu and fresh arctic char. If you and your date cannot decide between pizza and Chinese, why not try Roost? China Express serves the town’s best all-Chinese food. Don’t forget Northern Quick Stop which offers the best KFC and Pizzahut delicacieswithin a 1,000 kilometer radius.

Inuvik’s restaurants

People liking to sleep in or sleep it off will want to take advantage of Inuvik’s 720 hour night. After awaking nice and refreshed, you might want to take in the annual Sunrise Festival, consisting of exciting dog-sled races and community bonfire. Don’t miss the spectacular fireworks display. Mark your calendar the best you can for the Muskrat Jamboree, held in March or April. See the dogsled and snowmobile races, before dancing the night away. Patrons of the arts will want to come for the town’s Great Northern Arts Festival which boasts among other things, an outdoor carving village and an Arctic fashion show.

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.

Categories: Arctic eats, international | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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