Al Forno–decent Italian food in an informal atmosphere

This Italian restaurant is located in the middle of town and the concept seems to be a success as there are now 4 Al Forno’s around Stavanger  - I guess everyone enjoys some Italian food. I guess it didn’t start that great as the local food critic Tore Bruland gave it a pretty bad score. I went there on a Friday night with my wife and a friend – we had no reservation but they seemed to have lots of tables available and we chose to sit upstairs to avoid draft from the entrance door. Their menu is extensive and it contains all sort of variations of pasta and pizza – but their wine list is very,very limited. We were starving when we came in and we decided to go straight for the main course and I went for the Pizza Al Forno, Nikki went for the Gnocchi con carne and our friend went for Pizza frutti de mare.
My pizza was quite good – it was topped with a spicy sausage, a bit of artichokes, lots of cheese and it had been fried in their wooden fired oven I guess as the crust was crispy and a bit black. I love my pizza together with red wine so I very much enjoyed it. The gnocchi was not that great but there was nothing wrong with it or anything – it just seemed a bit boring. And our friend did not complain about her seafood pizza either – it was served with various seafood like shrimp, mussels and calamari. I went a bit overboard and went for the tiramisu for dessert after the meal – and that was also quite good but the portion was quite huge and it was served with a splash of whipped cream from a can. I’m not sure why they had to add that – the tiramisu is great and there is no need for whipped cream on the side. To round it of I asked them if they had limoncello and they were like “of course”
Conclusion
If you like your Italian food and you just want an informal meal together with friends this could be a nice place to go. The food we had was pretty good and the service was OK. As we were about to leave a larger group came into have some food and that brought up the noise level considerably – with an open plan it can be a bit noisy there. It would have been great to see a proper wine list but I guess their main target group is not going to buy expensive wines anyway.  Most of the pizzas are from 150 to 200 kroner (25 to 35 USD) just to give you an idea about the price level. Check out http://pizzeria-alforno.no/ for more information and to read the entire menu. And here is the review from Tore Bruland: http://www.rogalandsavis.no/nyheter/article3129710.ece (NB Only in Norwegian).
Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

Matmagasinet–our new little gem in Stavanger?

It is not that easy to find new places to check out in a small town like Stavanger – and certainly not on a Sunday afternoon. We were going out with some friends and as the weather was good we looked into places like Bølgen & Moi (full), Sting (only opens at 3 PM), Hall Toll (closed on a Sunday) etc. In the end we decided to go for a new place called Matmagasinet located on the corner of Løkkeveien/Eiganesveien. Well, it has been there for a while I guess but it is new to me at least. The place is quite small and it seems to follow the concept that quite a few stores in Stavanger is following these days…it is part café, part coffee shop, part restaurant and part shop where you can buy food products (including Kusmi tea) to bring back home.  The same concept is being used my e.g. FoodStory, Ostehuset etc.  Anyway, we came there about 2 pm on a lazy Sunday afternoon and there were a table for us – they even have a few tables in the backyard if the weather behaves, how excellent is that? We decided to go for an antipasti menu as a shared starter while Nikki went for the risotto a fruite de mare (seafood risotto) while I was a bit more boring and went for the lasagna. This is not a restaurant by the way so you just place your order by the cashier and pay up front and the food will be served at your table. I tried to tell the young Swedish girl behind the counter that we wanted the antipasti as a starter but I’m not sure she totally understood my Stavanger dialect

We had to wait quite a bit for the antipasti to be served but it was a excellent platter: Brie de maux, pecorini, Parma ham, Italian salami, artichokes, olives, capers flowers(?), pesto etc. It was an excellent selection and a good starter for the four of us. The only problem was that it took so long to get it that we were only half way through it when the main dish was served – so you guys have to work on your timing a little bit! Nikki’s risotto was quite a sight when it was served. A good portion of risotto served with a big crayfish on top and with 3-4 scallops. It was of course Nikki’s food but she allowed me to taste a bit as I love risotto – the risotto was maybe a bit over cooked but with a great taste of seafood so I think good stock has been used here. It could also have been seasoned a bit more with salt and pepper but apart from that it was excellent and Nikki was also happy with the crayfish and scallops. Actually this risotto was far better than risottos we’ve had in many other fancy restaurants!

My lasagna was also a good portion and what seemed to be good chunks of meat in it. On the menu it says lasagne with meat ragu and that is actually what it tasted like…like the ragu I had in Bologna last year (see my Bologna trip report). It was maybe a bit on the dry side but I guess I’m just a bit spoiled as I make it all fresh at home from time to time (and there is nothing like home cooking right? ;-) We were actually quite full already but as it had been so great so far we decided to go all the way and also go for dessert. Nikki went for the carrot muffin and I went for the tiramisu (quite a boring choice once again). Nikki was not totally crazy about the carrot muffin as it was a bit compact and it also contained chocolate chips. My tiramisu was served in a small bowl and the taste was good but serving it in a bowl like this makes it look pretty messy if you ask me. I would have like to see more defined layers of cream and ladyfingers. I always try the caffe mocha hoping to find one that can match the one at Charlie Brown but I think I will stick to double espresso the next time.

But all in all I think we have found a small gem in Stavanger It is only a few minutes walk away from the city center but I doubt that it is as crowded as e.g. Ostehuset on a Saturday afternoon but I will certainly check it out. From the web pages I see that this place has been open since the end of 2007 and I’m wondering how I have been able to miss it. The owners, Ruth and Else, seems to have lots of experience from around the world and are inspired by the Italian kitchen – my kinda place in other words. Well guys, I will certainly be your guest again, that is for sure and I will certainly recommended your place to people that I meet. There are some details that could be improved like a web page in English, a larger selection of wine, timing of the starter vs. the main dish etc. But these things are only details – I will be looking forward to my next visit and the next time I’ll try Ruth’s famous chocolate cake.

The antipasti was about 175 Kroner (32 USD), the ristotto was 245 kroner (45 USD) and my lasagna was 28 USD).  Here is the link to the Matmagasinet homepage: http://www.matmagasinet.no/ . The also have wi-fi available and you‘ll get the password if you ask them politely ;-)

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

 

Visiting Uncle Toni again - Ristorante Allegro

I have been to Allegro a few times before and it has always been a great experience. The only problems have been the lack of tables and chairs and that it has been a bit cold in the restaurant as there has always been a draft when people come in the entrance door. To avoid the first problem I booked a table in advance for me and a couple of friends for a week night in May 2009.

When we got there I had to go to the bathroom and I noticed that there was a staircase leading up to the second floor and I had never seen this before. So I went upstairs and it turns out that the restaurant has expanded and the upstairs facilities looked better and warmer than the original restaurant downstairs. So I asked our waiter kindly if we could move up and that was not a problem.

Allegro is a small Italian restaurant and I associate it with Uncle Toni (or Antonio Bjelancic) and I think he has run the restaurant since 2001. My previous visits have been great as it reminds me a lot of Italy…the food is 'simple' but yet very tasty and it seems like he only uses the best ingredients. Nikki and I have gone here many times on special occasions. But this night it was time to see if Uncle Toni could also pass the test on my friends that had never eaten there.

We decided to go for a 5 course menu each and we started by having a 2006 Monsanto Chianti Classico. I started with the scallops in a sauce - you can’t go wrong with scallops and there were even 4 of them in this dish. The soup that came along with the scallops was thick and rich…excellent. After a while it was time for starter number 2 and it was a big prawn. I have never actually seen big prawns like this in a restaurant in Stavanger so I was a bit surprised. Once again it was a very tasty little dish.

From there we moved over to a fish on a bed of noodles. I’m not a big fan of noodles but this was not a bad dish at all. For main course I decided to have the monk fish on a bed of risotto. The risotto was a bit different than what I’m used to but it contained lots of chunks of vegetable and the fish on top was excellent.

In the middle of the meal we did go for bottle of wine number 2 and in order to compare the Chianti Classico we decided to go for a Rosso del Montalcino (Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona). For dessert I had a difficult choice…chocolate fondant or tiramisu. Life is difficult sometime. I did end up with the chocolate fondant and it was just like the one that I make at home…which means that Toni used good butter, good chocolate and lots of eggs :-)

We rounded of the meal with some limoncello and coffee and before we knew it we had spent the entire evening there. In the end we even got to meet the Godfather himself…uncle Toni and he even gave us a limoncello on the house.

Once again I had a great evening at Allegro and the food is excellent at this place. I’m pretty sure that their web site http://www.allegromat.no/no/index.html.htm won’t win any prizes but don’t let that fool you: Allegro is one of the best Italian restaurants in Stavanger. I will certainly be going there again in the future :-)

You can check out the location of the restaurant in my Stavanger Google map.

Regards

Gard

http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Ritz Carlton Tokyo Lobby Lounge (ザリッツカールトン東京ロビーラウンジー）

Ended up having lunch at the lobby lounge of the Ritz Carlton. Today was a great day to be 45 stories above Tokyo - the skies were as clear as they get!
The US Embassy housing compound is in the middle, along with other notable buildings like Ark Mori Hills. You can see clear to Chiba if you look closely.
It was so clear today that you could see past Haneda, all the way to the far side of Tokyo Bay - Chiba - and past. We could see Yokohama. You have to go into the restaurant "45" to see that side of the view though. Of course, Fuji was super clear, except for some clouds near the summit.
I didn't have time to snap a lot of pictures today, but I had the Linguine Carbonara (3000 yen) and it was the best carbonara I've had in Japan. Very creamy, and real bacon (think McDonald's Canadian Bacon style thick chunks). Above, we ordered the fries or "fried potato" on the side. It's not on the menu, but you can definitely just order it and they'll make it. I have no idea how much this cost.

The lobby lounge is always great, especially for afternoon tea and quick meals. The view alone is worth the price!

Here's the Ritz's official page on the lounge
Here's a Japanese review of the Lobby Lounge

Address
9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo-to
〒107-6245 東京都 港区赤坂9-7-1 東京ミッドタウン
Click here for Google Maps

Phone: 03-3423-8000

Hours:
Weekdays: 08:00 - 24:30
Saturday: 08:00 - 24:30
Sunday & Holidays: 08:00 - 24:30

Continental Breakfast: 8am to 11am
Drink Service: 11:00～24:30
Afternoon Tea: 12:00～17:00

Nero is still great - but there are some issues...

I went to the Italian Restaurant Nero in the end of August 2008 in connection with a business dinner. I have been there a few times before and it has always been a real pleasure (as you can see from this review http://eatingoutinstavanger.blogspot.com/2007/10/bravissimo-nero.html


We came to the restaurant at about 7 PM and as always it is a pleasure to return to Nero as they have a personal touch to it. When we arrived we were greeted with a handshake by Sebatstien, one of the owners of Nero, and we were led into the bar in order to have an aperitif before sitting down. We visited the restaurant in the middle of ONS week (one of the largest oil & gas conferences/exhibitions in the world) and this has some negative side effects of course. I was hoping to go for the 7 course dinner but instead I found out that they "only" had a 5 course dinner and the prices had been adjusted up :-( But what can you do...it is the same all over town during this week.




Anyway, we went into the bar to have an aperitif before dinner and I asked if I could get some sparkling Italian wine and to my big surprise Sebastien had to inform me that they didn't have any. So I went down on my list and asked for a Kir Royal and once again Sebastien had to inform me that he couldn't serve it as they were out of Creme de Cassis. I can accept the fact that they don't have creme de cassis at an Italian restaurant but it seems a bit strange when they don't have some Italian sparkling wine. But Sebastien saved the day by suggesting that we go for an Americano - no, not the coffee but the drink made from Campari, Cinzano Rosso and club soda. It was a tiny little drink at least when it was 100 kroner (18$) per glass.


Soon we were ready to get seated and we got our first dish pretty fast. Well, it turned out that it was not the first dish but just an appetizer from the kitchen: some olives, ham and some sort of bread. We also got our first wine of the evening...and Italian sparkling type wine that reminded me of a a rosé wine. It was good with the first appetizer and the following dishes. The second appetizer from the kitchen was a pea soup served with caviar (big style) and some fish. Eating large fish eggs is always a bit of an experience...it is a strange sensation to feel the eggs pop in your mouth :-)


We finally came to the first real dish of the evening...the wonderful, rich and creamy lobster soup served with crab on top. This has become a signature dish of Restaurant Nero and it is delicious indeed :-) Next we moved over to another starter: a huge ravioli served with chicken pieces, foie gras and apples. I have to admit that I enjoy fois gras in limited amounts and this was just right :-) Next in line was the first "main" course and the fish of the evening was the turbot served with black caviar on top and served on a bed of vegetables. Again a nice dish and the fish was perfectly prepared. As a resting dish before the main meal we got a tiny little dark berry shake :-)


I'm a bit ashamed to say that I'm not quite sure what meat we had for the main meal but I think it was lamb (I guess that is what happens when you don't take notes when you are eating). But what I do remember is that we all thought it was nice and it was served with Brunello wine on the side :-) To round of the evening we got the tiramisu served with dark, dark chocolate and vanilla ice cream on the side :-) Sebastien claims that this was made after his mothers recipe and it was very, very tasty and the dark chocolate ice cream was very rich :-) We also got a sweet dessert shot after this to round of the entire meal. In the end we ordered some coffee and my colleagues wanted cognac but to our surprise they did not have any cognac at all...just grappa. This is a bit strange as Norwegian love their cognac after a good meal :-) But I was even more surprised to see that the waitress had no idea what I was talking about when I asked for a limoncello. The bill this evening was about 6100 kroner (1125$) which is more expensive than the previous times I have been there.

Conclusion
This was another great meal at Restaurant Nero but as you might read out of my review this time there are a couple of issues that they need to look into. First of all you have the ONS issue where you "pay more and get less" in my opinion but I guess there is not much to do about that when the whole city adjusts to this mode. But it seems a bit strange not having Italian sparkling wine as aperitifs, not having cognac on the menu along with the coffee (Norwegians love their cognac) and the waitress that had no clue whatsoever what limoncello was. And even if we got a bit better wine we didn't get very much of it...this was however a blessing in disguise as we were going to work the next morning :-) Maybe I'm just being picky....it was a very nice meal and Restaurant Nero is still highly recommended in my opinion. Sorry for the quality of the images by the way. They were all taken with my cell phone. You can find more info about the restaurant on the homepage http://restaurant-nero.no/


Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com/ - trip reports and pictures

Mediocre food at Al Forno

In the end of August 2008 Nikki and I went into town to grab something to eat before we went to a concert. We decided to try something new and we ended up going to Pizzeria Al Forno located at Skagen in Stavanger. It was during ONS (a big oil conference) so when we came there we had to wait for a couple of minutes as we didn’t have a reservation but at least we got a table. We got the table close to the entrance door and it was constantly open so it was a good thing there were blankets on the chairs so that we could keep warm

The menu is quite extensive and I was thrilled to see that they had risotto, gnocchi, pizza etc on the menu. The wine selection on the other hand was very sad…only like 3-4 red wines that you could get by the bottle (or half a bottle) and only one kind by the glass. Anyway, I ordered the gnocchi con carne for starter, Calzone con pesto e pollo for main and Nikki went for lasagne. One positive thing with the menu was that it was possible to order small portions of the pasta dishes for half the price.

The restaurant is located in the very middle of town so the location ideal. As the restaurant was full it took quite a bit of time to get the food. I was actually impressed to see that the main waiter managed to keep up to speed with all the new guest, people ordering food etc. But I did at least get the wine pretty fast. But I never did get to see what wine it was as the waitress ran of as soon as she had poured it into my glass :-)

When the food was served I was very disappointed. The gnocchi that I had ordered was not gnocchi but dry pasta shaped to resemble gnocchi. Come on guys, you know and I know that this is not gnocchi so why write it on the menu? The dish itself was not bad once I got over the disappointment and it contained real meat and not just minced meat. Nikkis lasagne was drowning in cheese so they had been pretty generous with it. As Nikki is lactose intolerant I got to steal most of the cheese. The lasagne was OK but not the best I have tasted (but not the worst either).

After a few minutes I also got my Calzone con pesto e pollo served. It looked pretty nice as it was in a perfect shape served with a few basil leaves on top. But as I started digging into it I found out that the appearance was misleading. The pizza was extremely boring in taste as it seemed like the only content was fried chicken breast (which can be extremely dry and boring), cheese and something that I assume were pesto. But it was a big thing so at least it was filling.

Conclusion
I don’t think we will be going back to this place soon. Well, maybe if we want to grab something fast to eat before going to the movies but not for a romantic dinner. I was very disappointed to see that the gnocchi was not gnocchi at all and I’m wondering if they are faking other dishes as well. Italian food can be simple and very tasty…at Al forno it was just simple. So if you want a great Italian meal in Stavanger you should rather go to Allegro or Restaurant Nero.

For this meal we had to pay 75 Kroner (about 14 $) for the gnocchi and the same for the lasagne (these were ordered as small portions) and 145 kroner (27$) for the pizza. The glass of wine was 62 kroner (12$)…the same as a bottle would cost me on a restaurant in South Africa J. So the bill came to about 400 kroner (74$) which is not bad for Norwegian standards.


Check out the restaurant homepage on http://www.pizzeria-alforno.no/ for mor information.

Bravissimo Nero

This summer I went to Tuscany and Florence and I enjoyed the food, wine and scenery there (check out the trip report on http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm ). When we got home the annual food festival had started in Stavanger and I was thrilled to see that there was a new stand called Restaurant Nero there. I asked them where they were located and the daily manager Cato Ødemark had to admit that they had not opened yet but they would soon. And finally in the beginning of October 2007 the new restaurant opened in the same place where the good restaurant Cartellet once was located.

As I’m a sucker for good food and a sucker for Italian food it didn’t take long before I got to try out this restaurant. So in the middle of October I was ready to check it out and I came there a bit early and I got a tour of the place by Cato Ødemark himself. I was the first one there and it did take long before I got a Kir Royale to start with and freshly made grissini…still warm from the oven it was delicious :-) The restaurant is not that big and I think we are only talking about 40-50 seats at the moment. Cato says that even without any advertising, people still seem to be finding the way to the restaurant so they are satisfied with the opening weeks.

I never did get to try Cartellet so I’m not sure how it looked back then but Cato explained that they had kept the original layout and the facilities looks quite stylish with a combination of brick walls, old rock foundation, red tiles on the floor, stylish art and last but not least….some funky looking furniture made in Italy of course. Inside the restaurant there is also a small cooler and the idea is to sell Italian products like pecorino, sausages etc but according to Cato they have just been to busy to prioritize this part so far.


This dinner was a company dinner and it didn’t take long before the rest of the guest arrived and we decided to go for a 4 course menu. But we all got to order aperitifs to start with and we also got a plate of snacks…grissini wrapped in parma ham, olives from Puglia, aged parmesan cheese, Italian sausages etc. When we sat down at the table we got a complimentary snack/starter and the most interesting thing on the plate was the panna cotta with mashed cauliflower and fried onion. I thought that panna cotta was only used for dessert :-) Other things on the plate were the classic mozzarella and tomato, prune in parma ham and shrimp.
We got another complimentary snack after this and it was a small soup. It was good but I’m actually not sure which kind of soup it was. It was just a little bit; just enough really as we were going through lots of food.


The first primi was salmon in two different ways served with fennel and citrus fruits. Again it was a pretty exciting combination. I don’t think I have been served salmon this way before but it was both refreshing and delicious. The next primi was the classical risotto alla Milanese…risotto with saffron. The risotto was as it should be and this is one of my favourites. On the side we got parmesan cheese and once again I have to admit that I have never had that before. It was weird to eat the cold ice cream and still taste the distinctive taste of parmesan cheese. It worked very well with the risotto and it is fun to see that Nero tried to re-invent the different classical dishes :-)

We were seated in the “chambre séparée” (I think that what it is called when you are separated from the rest of the restaurant) and as there is room for about 14 in there we had some space to ourselves and we had a direct view to the stylish blue lights in the wine “cellar”. The wine selection seemed to be a bit limited at the moment but according to Cato they are still working on installing the cooling system in the wine cellar and after that they will fill it up with good Italian wine :-)


Before we got the main meal of the evening we got a crushed ice and apple “sorbet” to freshen up the pallet. Our main dish this evening was a tenderloin I think served with fois gras and polenta. The combination of the meat and the fois gras was great and the polenta was piping hot so it was clearly fresh out of the oven. The fois gras it always interesting....it is great in smaller portions. I’m sorry to say that I can’t really give details about the wine selection this evening as we just asked the waiter to recommend new wines for each course. It is a pretty international staff at Nero: Cato is Norwegian, his partner Sebastien is from Italy, our waitress was from Poland etc. Our waitress seemed to be a bit nervous by the way and she was having a bit of trouble opening some of the wines, she seemed a bit nervous when introducing the meals etc. But all in all she did a good job.

To round of the evening we had a chocolate fondant with rosemary ice cream on the side if I’m not mistaken. The taste was great but I would have enjoyed having the muffin even softer in the middle. And together with the dessert we had a delicious sweet red wine.




Conclusion
We had a lovely evening at Nero this night and I certainly hope to go there again soon. The food was delicious; we got great service, the wine good etc. The restaurant is stylish and it seems to be a nice place both for a business dinner and for a romantic date.
The meal cost us about 1000 Norwegian kroner (about 185$) per person including aperitifs, a 4 course meal (with various complimentary snacks in between), wine…so actually the price was not bad compared to other fancy places in town. If you like Italian food and you want to try it with a “twist” this seems to be the place to go. If you do go there send my regards to Cato and Sebastien :-)

Check out the restaurant homepage http://www.restaurant-nero.no/ for more information. The restaurant is located in the “basement” of Victoria hotel in the middle of Stavanger so it should be easy to find.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com/ - trip reports and pictures

Simones – Italian food with a cold draft

Note that Simones has closed down :-(

We stopped by Simones to get some food before going to the movies last week. We have been to Simones 1 time before and back then we were not blown away by the food but we wanted to try it out again. Simones is located in the middle of Klubbgata close to the coffee bar Steam and it only has about 20 seats. There is a huge glass door that leads into the place and once you open the door you are in the middle of the restaurant. This is a problem in the winter time where there is a cold draft every time someone opens the door to go in or out. As a remedy they have put up heaters but it was still uncomfortable and not very cosy when we were there on a Friday night.

We came in right after a group of 8 had come in and our waiter informed us that it would take a while to get our food as there was only once chef in the kitchen and he would make the food as the orders came in. The kitchen and the restaurant is only separated by a half-wall so it was possible to see the progress in the kitchen. Due to this large group several other people chose to leave the restaurant to find a new place to eat as it would take to long to get the food. The place has brick walls so it is pretty rustic and on the one wall there was a huge 42” TV screen showing an Italian TV show and the atmosphere is pretty informal…we had three different chairs at our table to it does not look like they have a focus on the interior.

This is an Italian place and on some forum they claimed that Simones has the best pizza in town. We decided to do it the Italian way by having a starter and then a main meal. Nikki went for steamed mussels with pesto, I decided to go for a plate of tapas and my friend Olav wanted a sandwich. My tapas was not bad but pretty standard with olives, grissini, ham, chorizo, cheese etc. I asked the waiter what kind of red wine they served by the glass but there was only 1 kind by the glass…but I think they had 5-10 to choose from if you wanted a full bottle. The sandwich that Olav got was way too big as a starter in my opinion and I think they should have cut down on the portions and made them cheaper. I think I had to pay about 140 kroner (23$) for my tapas dish.

For the main meal Olav went for the spaghetti Carbonara while Nikki and I went for the pizza. There is quite a selection of different pizzas on the menu and I went for one with ham, rocket, parmesan and mushrooms. The pizzas were typically Italian style….flat and not that much topping. Normally this kind of pizza is pretty good but the ones we got at Simones was pretty…ehh…well, boring. Olav didn’t say that much about the spaghetti and I didn’t think much of it as he is normally pretty quiet. But he didn’t finish the meal and when we walked away from the place he was like “that spaghetti was not good at all”.

Conclusion: The waiter we had did a very good job…he was polite, informed us about the delay and did the job with a smile. But unfortunately this was not enough to save the day as it took a while to get the food, the food was mediocre and we sat in a cold draft every time someone opened the door. We ended up paying about 850 kroner (about 140$) for the three of us. The pizzas were about 140 kroner I think. You can read a bit more on http://www.simones.as but the menu is not published here I’m afraid. My recommendation is: if you want good Italian food go to Allegro instead.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures