No Noma for us, but we didn’t even notice.  From our first meal of assorted open-faced sandwiches to the last sublime dinner at Kadeau, we feasted on Danish cuisine. We made numerous visits to Torvehallerne, Copenhagen’s open food market convenienty located just a few blocks away from our hotel, because how else could we make a dent in all the options? The photo above shows only a small selection of Smørrebrød from the eponymous Hallernes-Smoerrebroed. (For more info, or to try them at home, check out Danish Open Sandwiches – an entire site devoted to these delectable items.) It is not possible to do justice to Torvehallerne in one post; trust me it will be a highlight of your trip.

To single out a few other stalls in Torvehallerne:  Arla Unika (above) sells their amazing Danish cheeses: click here for mouthwatering close-ups. Lauras Bakery has the outstanding dark breads which are the perfect complement.  If jet lag is setting in, or you just need a great cup of joe, then The Coffee Collective is the place. There is plenty of seating inside and out to relax and enjoy your purchases.

In the United States we have Mallomars, in Denmark they have Flødeboller.  It’s not even close. We first encountered flødeboller in our hotel room, where they were the perfect antidote to low blood sugar.  There are numerous versions, some of which are displayed on the lower rack in the photo below.

Our favorites were by Summerbird, a 100% organic confectionery with a stall in Torvehallerne,various boutiques around Denmark and (thank goodness) has mail order on their website.

We had an excellent meal at Studio, on the waterfront in the Standard Hotel, but found it a bit precious. More to our taste (pun intended) was the cozy and inviting Kadeau. Both feature farm (or sea) to table cuisine with creative interpretations using the freshest ingredients.

We walked all over the city and spent hours at HAY (an absolute must visit) and  in the Royal Copenhagen flagship store, where we revived ourselves with cappuccinos, more smørrebrød and hindbaer snitter at the Royal Smushi Café. What is a Smushi? Allegedly, a combination of sushi and smørrebrød; more the latter than the former, but it makes for a great name! (Maybe hindbaer snitter qualify- as the pastry smushes the rasperry jam filling.)

Hindbaer snitter (raspberry bars),  are right up there with flødeboller. We loved them so much, we made some at home and had a Proustian moment of our own.