Sun 03/08/09 (Day 36) - Haute Cuisine

---

After a lazy morning I met a friend, Carol, for lunch at Ravintola Näsinneula. It's a rotating restaurant at the top of a tower overlooking Tampere. I've been told by a similarly culinarily-inclined friend that there exists an inverse relationship between restaurant height and food quality. This didn't quite hold true at Näsinneula as the food was exquisite; however, the portions were exquisitely small. Granted, I eat a lot, but I left quite hungry despite my five course meal. Of note on the table: A very delicate morel soup, very light with cream and chives; served in a demitasse. A seared filet (small) of arctic char on a potato and garlic puree with three pieces of potato about the size of dice; the flavor was incredible. My main was a tasty piece of roast beef on mashed potatoes and roasted pork on grains; quite good, just small. The tour de force of this meal was the dessert: A selection of local cheeses served with a biscotti, cloudberry jam and cranberry honey. So simple and so marvelous; heretofore I was unaware of how great a pair cheese and honey make. If only I could pronounce/spell the names of the cheeses.

Finishing our late lunch we thought it would be nice to retire to the observation level of the tower for a coffee. Unfortunately when we got down there we realized the cafe had closed. No coffee 😞 Carol offered up a little coffee shop she knew. I'd heard of the place, as it advertises "The Best Waffles in Finland". Sounds good to me! It's called Vohveli Kahvila and they are not lying about the waffles. I went with the Mocha Waffle, complete with maple syrup, mocha whipped cream, chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles. Also on the menu are a variety of fruit waffles, a goat cheese waffle, ham waffle, salmon waffle, taco waffle, roast beef waffle, etc. Interesting to say the least. I think I'll have to get back there to try one of the more unique waffles.

I think this is pretty a pretty good stopping point. The rest of the day was spent pondering wierd waffles, catching up on expense reports and eating kebab while Skyping the folks.

---

Photos

Haute Cuisine
I'll climb a lot of stairs for good food, but thankfully there's an elevator here.

Tour de Force
I'm not sure, but the Finns may have one upped the French on how to serve cheese. Maybe the French already have cranberry honey though. I must admit I don't know.

Amazing View
This is the lake I'd walked a couple weekends ago. You can see where the people are gathered out there.

Mocha Waffle
No words required. Just note that I asked them to go very light on the whipped cream, haha. And yes, it was about a quarter the amount on other waffles.