Estonian Food

Elk at Rataskaevu.

Estonian food is so different than Italian food. But in a way, very familiar. I went a well known restaurant, Rataskaevu, in old town Tallin and ate in a picturesque tavern.

Rye bread at Rataskaevu.
Rye and poppy seed bread from Moon.

Of course, I tried the elk. But I did not like it as much as the salmon soup and the rye bread.

Salmon soup at Rataskaevu.
Salmon soup at Moon.

Near me was an international group of friends who had travel over from Stockholm, Sweden, for lunch, emphasizing how small the distances can be up here in the Nordic-Baltic region where the transportation and WIFI are fast.

Rataskaevu.

In Tallin, all the restaurant staff spoke excellent English. It make visiting quite easy.

Blinis at Moon.

Tallin is a favorite city for many people and I asked one where he thought I should eat. He recommended Moon, and it was delicious.

Pickled appetizers at Moon.

When I admitted to the waitress that I did not like the pickled appetizer platter, she admitted that generally one needed to be drinking vodka with it.

Chicken Kiev at Moon.

The “Chicken Kiev” was the best I have had. It was light, moist, juicy, buttery, crunchy, and delicate.

A hand pie, dumpling, at Moon.

Best Sushi in Santo Domingo

rnSQheZhm7nz_ArdDB5HGoqpHojHZXG32XMoTW_GHUH4IvtBrreMwsxCKwNux3cfHdUMnBoj96Xm0--E_SXZnfw9xdsTVl0yVmKyGE1l3ZyfGlZVwyJWYDWWp-rSaem3nIkDZmxnYYXeOEcGpXLVfS69mRb6d5fcl35ppOQPjbWIi_wTiEjmIz1SabI didn’t expect to find a good sushi restaurant in Santo Domingo (sorry, don’t be offended, DR!) but I did. Shibuya is located on the ground floor of the Blue Mall (one of the most expensive high end malls in the city) and it is part of the SBG restaurant chain. SBG has a cafe on the same floor. While Shibuya is Japanese, the dishes are a fusion of Japanese-Peruvian dishes.

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-7nSXy9n4-1OaRa9WOfxHigPGcNOmTFlQucYJFWjiHX9APK8NkT3aqDrPOR4jfcoRI888paTHCZroTmhtXxSP1Vj2AaAVfIC37xLbMo9Dfh8S9RZXZMKkdlMXP_44uCl6yB63hS1C_bPaLTw3tamykrZN6k1j2X4OclN-i7XDp2m37GdT-UTApOV_LThe sushi place has excellent sashimi (raw fish like the salmon in the first photo — a double portion), tiridito dishes (Peruvian “carpaccio” of fish — thin slices with sauce. See the photo of the fish in the yellow sauce, above.), and ceviches (classic Peruvian style in photo above, with deep fried sweet potato deep and Peruvian corn). Many of the other dishes are good as well, as are their cocktails. I liked their “tuna tartare” which was like a large portion of Hawaiian “poke” (raw fish salad mixed with soy sauce, green onions, sesame seed oil, and chili or mayonnaise… you get the idea) with extra ingredients.

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NXmEAj5nlX-RBFJZvg2FsgKcQmhQtZB_n1nvL0Y8ItoAUK6vzB6TdhbkMgKNT7a04quiDFEvsZZHLzPZn8qD8AGwWoLUp5NJg7kKTERoq-81LQ2HzP76DD7HMyxfkHc6MBKEAf7t8rJoI1yvD2f9GIcCvANbSvMhlRMJhFQUtXTIyNiDVl0PTAFBtmAnother surprise at this place is their coconut cake dessert. Not at all Japanese, but is a nice nod to the Caribbean. Try it! I wasn’t convinced as I recall the straw texture of desiccated coconut… this cake tasted like warm apple pie.

As for this place being the best sushi place in the DR, I didn’t eat at too many sushi places but this place was so good that I looked forward to eating there. Who needs to go anywhere else? It’s not this local fish place…

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Jarring Silvers

IMG_0561Of all the places I’ve been in the last year, I’d say that visiting small town Alaska was the most exotic place by far. Even the language was foreign to me. Take for example, the phrase, “We will jar silvers.” I rarely ever hear jar used as a verb and even more rarely hear silver used in the plural. IMG_0577

It turned out to be simple. The semi-dried silver-bellied salmon needed to be pickled for the long Alaskan winter. And they were. My contribution was to photograph the process. Seven hours later, I had the opportunity to taste the pickled salmon. Pickling takes much longer than I expected. A pressure cooker has never been so closely watched!

IMG_0603As I said, one of the most unusual experiences of the last year.