Stockholm

Meatballs and pickled herring. Definitely not the most enticing of food, but Sweden's culinary culture is stepping up. The Sweed's know that their typical foods like that of England, Ireland and other northern countries won't bring people to visit the country and just don't stand up to other European cuisines like France, Italy and Spain. But the recent trend is to change that stereotype and create interesting, local dishes with a modern and more flavorful twist.
Walking around Stockholm's city center, many restaurants offer local fish and meats such as elk, deer and moose or herring, arctic char and salmon. Many of the restaurants now have studied chefs who have traveled and worked throughout the world learning preparation techniques which they use on the dishes typical to Sweden. I was shocked to have such a good meal on my last night in the city- in fact I avoided completely these restaurants choosing Thai and Italian places which are scattered all over the place.
At the Von der Lindeska Valvet, my cousin ordered the traditional meatballs which were juicy and where made from a good quality of meat covered in a creamy sauce and paired with fresh lingonberries. I went a different route with smoked arctic char on a crispy pita smeared with a horseradish mayo as an appetizer and veal carpaccio served with warm whole bread and a drizzle of honey mustard. They were both simple but well put together plates that I never thought I could enjoy so much. We didn't have a chance to try the meats, unfortunately because of my prejudice against this cuisine and I am angry at myself for that. Such a beautiful city surrounded by water, I guess this only means that I'll have to go back to visit sooner than later.