2018 Foodie Recap & Goals for 2019!

To start off, my sincere apologies for neglecting this blog during 2018. Things didn’t quite go to plan and I found myself exhausted by stress more often than I would have liked, especially during the last two months of the year.
I really want to make something good out of this (and hopefully take it one step closer to what I want this blog to be) so I will make sure to always have some energy at hand for it. My aim is to publish something at least once a month with the main goal being once a week. Keep your fingers crossed I can do it!

While 2018 was very stressful it was also a pretty good food year for me. I got to eat at new places and old favourites, including two visits to Flickan, a 10 year anniversary dinner with my boyfriend at Ekstedt, a family birthday dinner at Hillenberg and dinner with my sister at Pubologi. I also travelled to two of my favourite cities: Berlin and London and experienced some really good food there. Which reminds me, I’ll have to do a proper post about my December London trip!

And of course, there were plenty of cocktails!

So what will 2019 hold in store for me? Well, I already know there are going to be some restaurant visits, including Farang, Agnes and Volt because we have gift certificates to Farang and Volt and gave a dinner at Agnes to my mother as a Christmas gift. I’m really excited about all three for different reasons and I look forward to when we can actually book the tables 🙂

I have also set some food related goals for myself. One is to start eating more vegetarian (at the very least cut down the amount of meat on my plate and add more greens), which gives me a reason to start experimenting with new recipes and new ingredients. Another is to start a fermentation project. My father gave me “the Noma Guide to Fermentation” for Christmas so my plan is to pick out one recipe from there to try. I promise I will post about the process and progress!
My third goal has nothing to do with cooking or eating but it is that I want to take more everyday food related photographs, such as food displays at markets or stores. I want to be better at food photography in general so hopefully this will be one way of practicing that.

I really hope this year will be more balanced than last year and that I can move forward with some of my plans and dreams.

Pork with baked cream and chimichurri butter at Flickan, March 2018

Sweetbreads with mushrooms and salsify at Ekstedt, June 2018

Cocktails at Pharmarium, July 2018

Lamb with artichoke and aubergine puree at Hillenberg, August 2018

Beef stew and jasmine tea mojito at Maison Umami, Berlin, August 2018

Lightly charred steak tartare with 36 month old parmesan cheese, parmesan milk, aged balsamic and pickled chive flowers at Flickan, September 2018

Hay baked carrot with sea buckthorn, espelette pepper and sour milk at Pubologi, September 2018

Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea at Sanderson Hotel, December 2018

New Year’s dinner at home, seared scallops with Jerusalem artichoke puree, sauteed chestnut mushrooms and browned butter with lingonberries, December 2018

Welcome to Pharmarium

For my first restaurant post I want to treat you to one of my favourite cocktail bars in all of Stockholm: Pharmarium.

You find it in Gamla Stan at Storkyrkotorget, right opposite the Nobel Museum. In the summer you can sit outside and look at the tourists and in the winter this remade old pharmacy is buzzing with life, music and happy people. There are many reasons why I love this place, one of which is that they have worked really hard to keep the old interior with the drawers that used to be full of medicinal ingredients. It gives the place a true vintage feeling which is enhanced by the lighting, decor (lots of old rugs everywhere) and a beautiful art deco marble bar top.

The other reason is, of course, their cocktails. Yes, they can make all the classics, just like any self-respecting mixologist/bartender should. But their strength lies in their signature cocktails. The menu changes a couple of times a year and always has a set theme (right now it’s called “Hocus Pocus”, inspired by voodoo, old magic and the American South). It’s never hard for me to find a favourite. The previous menu had the Tonka & Tonic, a G&T flavoured with tonka bean and their homemade blueberry tonic, it was to die for!

In The Woods and Tonka & Tonic

Being primarily a cocktail bar also gives them the advantage of letting the cocktails decide what food to put on the menu. Because at Pharmarium they don’t just make signature cocktails, oh no. They also make a signature dish that is perfectly paired with one specific cocktail. For example, the Tonka & Tonic was paired with duck breast that was served with a variation of beetroot, pickled onion and the best blueberry red wine sauce I’ve ever had.
One of my favourite dishes to date though is the carrot that was on the previous menu (seriously, that entire menu was probably their best so far!). Basically, it was baked carrot with carrot puree, shaved carrots in different colours, pickled rose petals & rose pepper, carrot leaves and a burned cream sauce flavoured with sea buckthorn. Simple, beautiful to look at and flavours working together in perfect harmony. Even my sister, who is quite picky with her food, loved it! I took her here for dinner last month and while she admitted that I was challenging her taste buds she also appreciated it and the craftsmanship very much.

Back: Avocado with coriander and Elevation cocktail. Front: Baked carrot with burned cream sauce and Planet Caravan cocktail.

I’ve been coming to Pharmarium since 2015 with both my friends and my boyfriend. At this point we have come to know some of the staff really well, which makes a visit all the more fun. I have enjoyed following their journey this far and it will be interesting to see what their future holds.

Oh, and if you ever get the chance, make sure you book a table. I promise you won’t forget it!

From the summer menu 2017: Amortentia (front) and Bad Juju (back)