Café Laundromat, Oslo – Restaurant Review

As far as ideas go, putting together a laundry, restaurant, library, café, and bar under one roof isn't an obvious one, but Oslo's Café Laundromat does just that. It's an ingenious concept that first started in Copenhagen in 2004 and came to Oslo in 2010. I must admit I had high hopes for Café Laundromat – all-day dining places are as rare as hens' teeth in Norway, and there was something about the quirky style of this place that just felt right.

Goodman City, London – Restaurant Review

The debate about who holds the crown of 'London's best steakhouse' rages on. However, it's clear that there are two contenders streets ahead of the others: Goodman and Hawksmoor. Admitting a preference for one or the other can be as polarising as the Coke/Pepsi, PC/Mac, Stones/Beatles debate.

Trancher, Oslo – Restaurant Review

Trancher is a cosy little restaurant located in Oslo's fashionable Grünerløkka neighbourhood. It is predicated on a simple, but great idea. To paraphrase Henry Ford, at Trancher you can have anything you like as long as it's roast beef. In fact your choice is limited even further as only entrecôte (that's rib-eye for us rosbifs) is served. This is no bad thing at all in my book as entrecôte is perhaps the king of beef – it's a wonderfully marbled cut that has such a pleasing depth of flavour. I was sold and went along to see for myself if Trancher would live up to expectations.

Reindeer Calzone – Recipe

Calzones are a great portable dish, but I prefer to eat mine while slumped in front of the TV, remote control in one hand and a cold beer in the other. I tend to save it for when I've had one of those days as there's something very comforting about the crisp, yet chewy dough, combined with the molten hot interior of tomatoes and mozzarella.

Italian tradition dictates that calzones are filled with leftover vegetables, but you can pretty much add anything you like. Here's a little Nordic twist on this classic dish that uses reindeer salami instead of the more popular pepperoni.

2011: My Ten Dishes of the Year

The year is rapidly drawing to a close and, as usual, I'm left scratching my head wondering where all the time has gone. One of my favourite things about writing a food blog is that you have a handy diary of memorable food experiences to look back on – something tangible like photos and words, something other than the ever rising numbers on the bathroom scales. Looking back at 2011 I've been lucky to have experienced some truly wonderful food, and it's good fun to look back and relive some of those memories.

Of course, what good would a year-end post be without that hackneyed favourite of work-shy journalists the world over? Yes folks, it's time for a top ten list! I did a similar post last year and really enjoyed the exercise of reminiscing over some fantastic meals, so I thought I'd repeat the process.

Young Turks at The Ten Bells, London – Restaurant Review

Let me begin this post with a little disclaimer. Way back when I was young and carefree and 5kg 10kg lighter, me and John and a couple of other friends bought a ramshackle East End boozer that was on its last legs. It was a complete and utter dive; the place was filthy with the windows coated in a seemingly impregnable patina of grime, and the rooms on the floors above the main bar were so dishevelled the place looked more like a crack house than a public house. The typical customer was some old dodgy looking bloke and evening entertainment consisted of "exotic dancers."

Le Benjamin, Oslo – Restaurant Review

Le Benjamin is one of the newer additions to the burgeoning restaurant scene in Oslo's trendy Grünerløkka neighbourhood. Opened in February 2011 by the people behind the popular Brasserie Blanche in the city's Homansbyen area, Le Benjamin comes with high expectations and strong local competition. Fortunately, it manages to deliver, and if you're looking for a casual meal of decent-enough French classics then look no further.

Maaemo, Oslo – Restaurant Review (Oct '11)

(You can read a more recent review of Maaemo from me here, here and here)

I know, I know, this is another review of Maaemo. In fact this is my fourth visit to Oslo's ground-breaking restaurant in the last eight months. I've already written over 12,000 words on Maaemo (which, worryingly, is almost as much as I did for my master's dissertation), so for more in-depth information on the restaurant see my previous reviews here, here, and here (and an interview here).

Hanami, Oslo – Restaurant Review

When you think of food in Norway today, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Pristine fillets of smoked salmon? Reindeer stew? Brown cheese? Not me. You see for me, it's sushi. Yup, Norway has enthusiastically embraced this global trend and is eating the Japanese delicacy with vigorous zeal. I'm even beginning to think that sushi has become this country's new unofficial national dish (surpassing frozen pizza and hot dogs in the process). It's particularly evident in Oslo, where it seems everywhere you look another sushi restaurant is popping up.

Norwegian Baked Cheesecake with Brunost-Pecan Caramel – Recipe

I'm a cheesecake fiend. I absolutely adore the stuff. Not those insipid excuses made with gelatine, mind; I can't abide those. No, what I usually crave is a proper Nuuu Yoik baked cheesecake, with its creamy sour tang. Nothing else will do.