News!
Plus the best things I ate in 2023 and NYE in Denmark
Hello and happy new year!
I don’t have a ‘where to go in 2024’ list or any advice for how to best live your life this year. Last year’s tips on how to be a better traveler still stand.
I do have some news. I have long been a fan of The Food Section, Hanna Raskin’s wonderful newsletter about food across the American South. And now I am thrilled to be a contributor. I’ll be writing about Louisiana’s food scene twice a month starting in February. From my introduction:
The newsletter will focus on stories about policy, history, culture, immigration, climate change, and how that influences what you eat in Louisiana. But it’s not all serious. We’ll also visit festivals, talk with local chefs, share family recipes, drink plenty of daiquiris, and dig into the great, seemingly unsolvable, gumbo debate.
I’m really excited about my first story and will share it here once it’s published so you can sign up if you’d like.
New Year’s Eve in Denmark
Christmas night we flew to Denmark to spend the week with my family.
We spent a few days in Copenhagen, where Nathan and I stayed on a houseboat. Was I influenced by Marcus on The Bear? Absolutely. We did a ton in Copenhagen and I’m going to do a full guide this summer after another visit. Then, we took the train to Vejle, where my brother lives. It’s such a cute town and so festive during the holidays. I wrote about it and the spirit of hygge last year.
Hygge (pronounced hue-gah) is, according to the Oxford Dictionary, “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.”
We visited Lego House, which was much more interactive and fun than I expected, ate at Onkel A (the place for smørrebrød), played games, opened gifts and went on a long, rainy walk.
Then it was New Year’s Eve, which, despite my brother repeatedly explaining to me last year, I was not prepared for. It seems I was destined to be surrounded by fire and mayhem at the end of 2023, from Louisiana to Denmark. Fireworks are illegal in Denmark except for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when people go insane. Think huge fireworks displays, like what you would see a city put on for the 4th of July, but these are individual people in their backyards or on the streets.
There is no regard for safety (except for the one hero with a helmet lighting off fireworks in the very center of town). It was hilarious and beautiful and terrifying.
The madness outside was a sharp contrast from the television celebration, which was as far from Times Square as you could get. A livestream of a clock tower in Copenhagen counted down the seconds to midnight, then shut off. No fanfare aired on TV whatsoever.
Oh and earlier in the night we watched the queen give an address, something she typically does on New Year’s Eve. Little did we know she was abdicating the throne. I woke up to a BBC alert the next morning. For more on her son’s coronation, Meg Fischer has a nice post. I’m generally against royal families, but she made the fair point that it gives people something to unite around that’s not a political party, and at least the new king and queen seem decent. Still though, not my thing.
Also while we were there, my sister-in-law’s first official Lego design debuted, and guess what? It’s a food truck! Look how cute it is!
Then it was off to Sweden to see the Northern Lights. Except…it was supposed to be -40 degrees in Kiruna, so all trains were canceled and we spent a week in Stockholm instead. Again, full guide coming this summer.
The Best Things I ate in 2023
In no particular order:
Fresh, hot glazed doughnuts from Mikey’s in New Roads. I cover New Roads for work and after the 50-minute drive from Baton Rouge on some early mornings these were a treat.
Peanut ice cream with a banana brown butter tart at Herbsaint.
Louisiana shrimp. Local shrimp here is fresh, delicious, and most importantly everyone knows how to cook it. Whether it’s raw, boiled, fried, in gravy on grits for breakfast, barbecued, or served any other way, it’s always done perfectly. I have not had one piece of overcooked shrimp yet. (Just make sure you’re getting Louisiana shrimp and not imported).
Crawfish bisque at Mosquito Supper Club.
Crawfish (and potatoes and especially corn) at Cajun Seafood
Royal Red shrimp in Biloxi, Miss., boiled and served with butter. More here.
A scotch egg at Jewel of the South.
Toms Skilpadder rum chocolates. A lot of alcohol chocolates are fake tasting. These aren’t.
Pineapple jam in Martinique at a roadside stand on the mountain, spooned straight from a jar. Incredible. (I got her recipe and have been trying to get it just right it to share in an upcoming newsletter about Martinique).
Sweet potato casserole at Ajax in Oxford, Miss.
Green tomato pie at Snack Bar in Oxford, Miss.
My dad’s pepper jelly (especially with triple cream brie or on an egg and biscuit sandwich)
Strawberry shortcake (in December! When strawberries first come into season here–it still blows my mind) at Commander’s Palace.
At least a hundred pastas at home, all made up, usually with vegetables, always a comfort.
A burst tomato galette with corn and zucchini. (Perfecting galette was a 2023 goal and thanks to Smitten Kitchen and her zillion varieties I did it).
A year of playing with dough. A cardamom bun from Hart in Copenhagen on one of the last days of the year. I have thought about this literally every day since then.
Best experience: Alinea. I was worried after all these years of wanting to go it wouldn’t live up to the hype or the price. But it was totally unique and so much fun, with incredible (not stuffy!) and engaging service and of course amazing food.
Reading List
What travelers need to know about the 737 Max 9 grounding
Related:
How Peru’s food culture pushed Lima to ‘world’s best restaurants’ fame
Cottage cheese is back, baby (for me it never left)
The 52 definitive rules for flying (Agree with all of these except the one about reclining. You are absolutely allowed to recline in the seat you paid for. If you have a problem with it, complain to the airlines to create more space.)
How to define a good wine? It’s complicated.
On safari in the world’s most dangerous country
Facts :
Everything is a food story. More than 90% of Gaza’s population is facing “acute food insecurity” and the country is at risk of famine. This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded “for any given area or country,” according to a World Food Programme report.
Layla Schlack on what Jewish food means to her (I love Layla’s work and was lucky to write for her once at Whetstone, where she was a thoughtful and encouraging editor. I hope you’ll give this a read.)
Palestinians struggle as brutal war sours business. Just ask sweets makers.
It’s not just a Middle Eastern restaurant. It’s Palestinian.
Global warming is changing wine (not yet for the worse)
The rise and fall of prime rib nation
Random Recommendations:
Read: Favorite books I read in 2023 included Cloud Cuckoo Land, Tom Lake, The Nickel Boys, Small Fires: An Epic in the Kitchen, South to America, and The Best of Everything. I kicked this year off with Killers of the Flower Moon and I know I’m late to this but wow, it is incredible. I cannot wrap my head around the amount of research David Grann did, and how he possibly organized it all into a book that reads like fiction.
Watch: You tell me! Please? We just started the Sopranos but are in need of something lighthearted like Schitt’s Creek, Ted Lasso, New Girl, etc.
Do: Comment and tell me where you’re traveling this year. I have a lot of backlogged guides I’m planning to post in the coming months. Any I should prioritize?
Thanks for reading!
–Rebecca 💛
Congrats!!
Enjoyed that "Jewish food" article you shared.
I recently enjoyed some lighter shows:
Never Have I Ever... Really well written!
Currently watching and really enjoying Extraordinary Attorney Woo (from Korea) on Netflix!
Congratulations!! Shrinking is a great watch. I also really loved the UK version of Ghosts. The 1st 2 seasons are on Paramount + now.