Food in Finland

In honor of it being the last week of summer, before the holiday weekend, I will devote this week's posts to food I ate on my awesome trip to Finland this summer. There were trips to other places (like Sweden & Estonia) and food eaten there that I'll write about too. I have some readers in that neck of the woods, and hope to hear what they think about what I've written.

Today I will be featuring the food I ate during my days in Finland. My first stop was the Kauppatori (open market) in downtown Helsinki, right on the harbor where the big cruise ships depart for Sweden, Estonia & Germany. There are huge bins of berries of all kinds, potatoes, mushrooms, fish, baked goods and did I say berries? It was amazing, seeing bins full of strawberries, blueberries, cloudberries, green & red gooseberries, and red & purple currants. Look how beautiful!



I made sure I got some strawberries (so sweet!), some gooseberries (so tart!) and one Korvapuusti (my friend & host's favorite baked good; it's a sort of cinnamon roll, lightly sweet, not very sticky but really nice as a subtle sweet treat). They're also topped with the large kind of sugar crystal which adds to the sweetness.



Berries are incredibly abundant in Finland and you can pick wild berries everywhere - in parks, on the side of the road, while hiking. And so we did, in Nuuksio National Park, about an hour northwest of Helsinki.



Salmon was another item I had been told to eat before my travels to Finland, and I made sure to get a lot of it while I was there. It was so creamy & buttery, unlike any salmon I've ever had. One of my particular favorites was the Salmon Soup at Cafe Esplanad, (Pohjoisesplanadi 37, 09 665 496‎), on the main drag in downtown Helsinki. Made with tons of butter, potatoes, lots of dill and big chunks of salmon, it was perfect on the one cool, rainy day I had there.



On the morning we arrived back from our trip to Stockholm, we stopped for breakfast at Tahti Baari (The Star Bar), (Puutarhakatu 15, 358 2 231 9046) the only place open in Turku at 8am on a weekday! It was a little bleak, but our breakfast sandwich of ham, egg, salami & cheese on dark rye bread with butter was delicious.



The coffee was weak and the breakfast doughnut was greasy, but when nothing else is open, it hits the spot!



The other bits of Finnish deliciousness I ate in Helsinki were the Karelian Pies. They're made with a Rye crust (the Finns love their dark bread!), stuffed with either a rice or potato filling and sometimes topped with egg butter (mashed boiled egg & butter). Served warm they are such a delight. I ate many of these while I was there!



I also had occasion to have breakfast at Cafe Engel (Aleksanterinkatu 26, 09 652 776‎) just opposite Senate Square and the big, white Lutheran Church on top of the steps. They make great coffee and offer a number of different breakfast meals including the French breakfast (with croissant), the English breakfast (with sausage) and the Cafe Engel breakfast (with a boiled egg). Below you can see the French breakfast which was quite nice, and very filling, with fresh fruit & vegetables as refreshing garnishes.



As you can see I ate well during my travels in Finland, and I barely scratched the surface. Let me know if you've eaten at these restaurants or if you have recommendations for my next trip!

Breakfast at Cafe Gialeti's

Oh breakfast, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I rarely use the word 'favorite', but I might just feel like breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out at a restaurant. And I love finding new places to do such eating. So it went that a friend and I happened to go to Gialeti's Cafe (1658 8th Avenue, at the corner of prospect Avenue, 718-768-0500) recently for breakfast, and to check the place out. It's mostly a breakfast & lunch spot, althought they are open until 8pm most nights. You place your order at the counter and your food is then brought to you at your table. It's very casual and laid-back, with a seemingly everyone-knows-each-other local Park Slope/Windsor Terrace vibe going on. I immediately liked it.

My friend got two eggs scrambled, Italian toast and a bowl of fruit. It wasn't exactly on the menu, but they made just what she wanted and she was very happy with her meal. Look at that fruit! Kiwis, strawberries, bananas, blueberries & raspberries, all fresh & sweet & perfect! I never see a side of fruit like that!



I felt like I was taking a chance when I ordered the Blueberry pancakes, but they were delicious. They were moist, fluffy and filled with blueberries. There was even a little sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top which I thought was a super nice touch.



I also got the side of fruit and thoroughly enjoyed it. The bananas were perfectly ripe, the berries burst with flavor, even the kiwis tasted good!



I really liked this place and if I'm ever in the area in need of some sustenance, I'll know where to go. Not necessarily a place to go out of your way for, but an awesome local spot serving quality food.

Brunch at Fioré

Fioré (284 Grand St., between Havemeyer and Roebling, 718-782-8222) had been recommended to me almost a year ago and while I still haven't tried it for dinner, I had the good fortune to go there for Brunch recently. Even though it was noon, there were only two or three other tables with people at them so we were seated right away - always a plus at Brunch. It's nicely decorated with wooden farm tables, seating two or four, throughout the dining room, a long wooden bar along the right side and a small backyard in the rear.

We ordered two items off of the specials menu - the regular menu had all the standard fare, poached eggs, pancakes, plus pizza and panini - but the specials menu was enticing. Of course, we got one savory, one sweet. There was an Omelette made stuffed with potatoes, leeks, sausage and Gruyere cheese and it was delicious. Just a bit of cheese to make it gooey, but not overpowering, just a bit of sausage to lend flavor and lots of leek, which were tenderly sauteed. This came with homefries that were not as crispy as I prefer but were good, and a side salad nicely dressed with a viaigrette.



Our sweet option were the Apple Almond Pancakes with crispy bacon. The outside of the pancakes were coated with slivers of almonds and inside were caramelized slices of apples. It was actually too sweet for me. There was no need to sweeten the apples prior to cooking, and the pancakes were a bit on the greasy side. They weren't awful, just disappointing as they sounded so good. I think I was expecting more of an almond flavor, and tangy apple, instead of the sweet, heavy cake on my plate. MORE than enough for two people.



I definitely liked it and will go back to try it for dinner, as that's what I've heard is so amazing at Fioré.