Copenhagen Dining Week - Marv & Ben / Grønbech & Churchill

Yes it's that time of year again, Copenhagen Dining Week! It's a great opportunity to try out new restaurants for a reasonable price - 200 kroner for 3 courses, that's about $36 - including tax. Reservations fill up quickly and there's always difficulty in paring down the list and figuring out where to go.

We tend to take one of two paths when choosing for Dining Week / Restaurant Week. Path one; find the best deal / savings. Path two; pick a restaurant that has been on our "list".

So yes, we chose Marv og Ben and Grønbech & Churchill. The second has a Michelin Star!

I apologize in advance for zero pictures of any of the food we ate. Actually, check that, I don't apologize. I hate hate hate watching people pull out their cameras to take pictures of the food they're about to eat. When the act of cataloging / reporting supersedes the act of actually eating and enjoying...well...it makes me want to vomit. Screw those people.

Sorry for the digression. Sorry again for the lack of pictures. Still not sorry.

No, Marv og Ben was not - as I had originally imagined - started by a guy named Marv and a guy named Ben. Marv og Ben actually means Marrow and Bone. We ate here on Friday the 14th - Valentines Day. Here were the offerings (courtesy of Google Translate!);

Rimet cod cod roe, sour cream and cucumber.
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Glazed beef brisket lingonberry, artichokes and tarragon.
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Chocolate & Caramel Fudge, ice cream and crunchy.

I was generally bummed by the first course. Crummy - for me - texture and pretty much zero flavor. Bummer. The second course saved things. Just a wonderful brisket, pulled in ribbons, topped with lingonberry with two types of cream sauce edging the plate. The artichokes here are actually jordskokker, Jerusalem artichokes. Delicious. The dessert was good but forgettable.

Next, Grønbech & Churchill on Saturday.

As with most starred restaurants, the level of service is - well - excellent. I think that our waiter looked very Taran Killam. Yes, this Taran Killam.



I like to think that the "Weird / Awesome French Dancing" sketch is Killam's brainchild as he owns it. Epically. It also falls under sketches-only-Collin-could-possibly-like. Fun times.

Anyway, great service. Great food. Here's the recap;

Cauliflower as "airy & creamy" soup piece of North Sea cod "carefully prepared" in mild curry & vanilla  

Endive steamed in rosemary honey and baked lemons Bright poultry with caramelized butter sauce, dried legumes and bitter February salads  

Pear & yogurt as marbled cream Clotted cream set with white chocolate, flavored with licorice root and green aniseed 

So the starter. Delicious. Imagine a very very very luxurious cream chowder with a touch of curry. The cod was perfect. The cauliflower provided some crunch. Awesome.

The main - oh my the sauce! It was a sort of lemon curd / brown butter sauce. Ridiculous. The poultry was a very nice cut of turkey breast. Normally this would be a bit on the boring side but it was cooked perfectly and that sauce...oh that sauce...it could make just about anything delicious.

I've spent so much time thinking of that sauce that I've totally forgotten the dessert. I totally dug the pear, but that's really most of my memory of things. Emily can fill us in here.

All in all, another great year doing this. Copenhagen Dining Week. Do it. It's awesome.