"New Nordic" in NYC

[adrian]

Hello all,

I'd love your thoughts on the "New Nordic" trend in NYC (if it really exists...).

I have an upcoming trip where I'll be eating my way around the city and am looking into this trend....

Was thinking of testing Atera, Acme and Frej which seem to be the three movers and shakers ....

Any ideas/thoughts?

Thanks!

[adrian]

Thank you both very much! Do you think it qualifies as a trend or still in infancy as I suspect..?

[sgordon]

If one is simply to lump it in with Slow Food as a very similar movement, one could say it's just an offshoot - or perhaps a better word would be parallel - of that trend. If we're speaking of Nordic food as a cuisine style in NYC - i.e. using Scandinavian ingredients, flavors, etc - I don't know if it's really a trend yet. We've very few Scandinavian restaurants. The above mentioned ones (minus Atera, which has no particular connection to any Nordic flavor profile) plus a couple of generic cafes (AQ Cafe, FIKA, etc) that are more about gravlax sandwiches and Swedish meatballs and such. Used to also have Vandaag, but sadly they went downhill and eventually just went under.

[adrian]

Oh well guess it'll be a creative ethnic piece with a broader scope then....

[Hey19]

Lets be careful about how we talk about Fika, it may not be as ambitious as some of the other places mentioned, but if you want a quick lunch of a very nice piece of salmon or a salad etc, all for relatively cheap, Fika is great. A real palate cleanser in midtown. It also has the best muffins I have ever had, and good coffee. And great staff.

Yes its too bad Vandaag went downhill and closed, when it was good, it was very good.

@Adrian, I think creative ethnic casts a pretty wide net. I would find a look at slow food with a few tangents about New Nordic etc to be more interesting, and maybe more current, although both topics are fairly well trodden at this point.

[adrian]

Well trodden in the US, but this will be for a European mag

[sgordon]

Well, if we are to follow owner of Noma & patron saint of the New Nordic movement Claus Meyer's "Manifesto for the New Nordic Kitchen" - it reads:

The aims of New Nordic Cuisine are:
1. To express the purity, freshness, simplicity and ethics we wish to associate with our region.
2. To reflect the changing of the seasons in the meals we make.
3. To base our cooking on ingredients and produce whose characteristics are particularly excellent in our climates, landscapes and waters.
4. To combine the demand for good taste with modern knowledge of health and well-being.
5. To promote Nordic products and the variety of Nordic producers – and to spread the word about their underlying cultures.
6. To promote animal welfare and a sound production process in our seas, on our farmland and in the wild.
7. To develop potentially new applications of traditional Nordic food products.
8. To combine the best in Nordic cookery and culinary traditions with impulses from abroad.
9. To combine local self-sufficiency with regional sharing of high-quality products.
10. To join forces with consumer representatives, other cooking craftsmen, agriculture, the fishing, food , retail and wholesale industries, researchers, teachers, politicians and authorities on this project for the benefit and advantage of everyone in the Nordic countries.

- in the end, leaving out the "promote Nordic ingredients" stuff, it's not terribly different than a New American / Slow Food kind of thing. Cook local, cook seasonal, etc. In other parts of Meyer's philosophy, he also stresses using less fat, eschewing fat-based sauces when appropriate for cleaner flavors like vinaigrettes and such. Other hallmarks to distinguish modern Nordic cuisine from New American would be an embrace of bitter elements on occasion, char and smoke, more aromatics - using things other than fat to bring more flavor to the party.

More info here: http://www.clausmeyer.dk/en/the_new_n...

Anyway - as to who in NYC practices it? Acme, Frej, and obviously Aquavit - though they often seem to be forgotten as they're not new. But ever since Chef Jernmark took over they've been moving in that direction, away from the fanciful flights of Samuelsson and towards a more seasonally / locally based cuisine. Really, any vestiges of Samuelsson's reign in the kitchen are gone at this point - and frankly, it's better now than it was then. And moreso than Acme or Frej they highlight traditional Nordic ingredients as well.

Another - though not as refined / fancy as any of the above - is the mini-chain SmorgasChef. The have their own farm upstate from which they get most of their produce. The menu is mostly classic, striaghtforward stuff - Nordic comfort food - but they do it well enough.

Finally - though they're not open yet - Aamanns/Copenhagen will be opening soon in Tribeca. Not sure what their menu will be like, but the chef is certainly part of the movement.

[Sneakeater]

Aquavit isn't "New Nordic" the way the Noma epigones are. In practice, "New Nordic" is more than using local ingredients. It's a way of conceiving dishes, a style of presentation, and a flavor profile that are radically different from what other places do. For better or for worse, you just don't get plates of rocks at Aquavit.

[sgordon]

That's really not part of the "New Nordic" movement at all, though it has become a cliche that's been incorrectly associated with it. "New Nordic" doesn't mean "Noma Clone" any more than "New American" means "Gramercy Tavern Clone" - check Meyer's website, as authoritative a source as any, given that he's the one who coined the term, and you'll see there's nothing whatsoever about any of that there. It's really about purity of ingredients and respecting the seasons more than anything - it shares quite a bit with the Slow Food movement.

Also, you could say the same about any of the mentioned restaurants above - none of them (well, aside from Atera) are doing "plates of rocks" or whatnot.

[adrian]

Just research for a piece I'm doing. If I can't drum up enough Intell, I might stick with a " creative ethnic" theme.

[sgordon]

Here's a rather long (and dry, and occasionally unintelligable on account of his accent) presentation by Meyer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxPh9K...

[adrian]

Thanks, I see you're well versed in the subject . I had the good fortune of meeting ( and drinking for a few hours) with Mr Redzepi last year in Paris (thanks to my friend Inaki and pure serendipity) . He's got a lot going on up there, while staying simple and nice.