The Baltics offer history, charm, and a plethora of authentic culinary experiences. Travel writer, Betsa Marsh, is back with another in her series, with a new stop, Baltics by the Bite: Tallinn.
Chocolats de Pierre is a little Brigadoon of sweet revival in Tallinn’s medieval Masters’ Courtyard, a leafy little hideaway deep in Old Town.
As a concept, time travel can be so shopworn. But this time it clicks: We hop the ferry from sophisticated Helsinki, glide two hours over the Baltic and step off into the Middle Ages of Tallinn.
Helsinkians have been following this formula to Estonia for generations, and we’re lucky to be in the wake of an expert. Helsinkian Ritva Mueller is a member of the Finnish Gastronomy Society, the group that selects the Best Restaurant in Finland each year, and Tallinn is her sea-fringed backyard. There’s no one better to lead us on a cultural and culinary tour: Explore, eat, toast, and repeat.
We drink in the Old Town marvels, skeins of twisted lanes, looming stone walls, 700-year-old timbers in the rafters and roofs. Yes, we’re deep in the Middle Ages, elevated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. But step down into the heart of Ribe restaurant and suddenly we’re floating somewhere in the 21st/22nd century.
The vibe pulses as cool art, cooler food. Our amuse bouche pops up as tiny beets that have been molecularly cooked into near meringues, two halves pasted together with paté and nestled among rocks on a wooden tray. Nobody’s Estonian babushka would recognize this morsel as the workhorse beet that has fed generations.
We dive into starters, a vegetable terrine with truffle mayo, hand-dived scallops with apple-chorizo compote and braised leek, and creamy chanterelle soup. Add Prieler rosé from Austria and coarse bread, almost black with grain and berries, and this is on.
For mains, Norwegian salmon with fennel and ginger-lemongrass bisque rolls out alongside lamb rump steak with lettuce and peas.
Ribe’s Norwegian salmon is prepared with Romanesco and fennel and ginger-lemongrass bisque.
We wrap this feast with white chocolate cheesecake with passion fruit sorbet and chocolate crumble, dark chocolate mousse with sour cream ice cream and oats, and that sentimental finale, strawberries and cream. Each has its own layers and presentation drama, so our first meal in Tallinn feels like a true celebration.
Even ice cream desserts at Ribe build up to an architectural climax.
Seafood with the Tsar
After hanging with Peter the Great and his Empress Catherine all morning, we need to match their grandeur with a suitably elegant lunch.
During the Northern Wars against Sweden, Tallinn capitulated to Russia in 1710, and Tsar Peter I soon arrived from St. Petersburg to build his navy. He snapped up harbor-view acreage and built his Baroque gem, Kadriorg Palace.
The Great Hall is a blue-and-white confection of dueling royal monograms high on the walls. Sadly, the imperial couple didn’t see the villa’s completion, but the simple manor house where they stayed during construction remains on the property.
The formal gardens and allees stand at attention 300 years later, quite ready for a snap inspection from their tsar.
A few blocks away, Musita flashes gold on its walls and brilliance in its kitchen. For starters, my tiny scallops hide among a dainty apple-and-carrot dice, atop celery puree.
The scallops at Musita hide among dainty apple-and-carrot dice, atop celery puree. The restaurant, with a Peruvian flair, is in Kadriorg, famous for Peter the Great’s Baroque palace.
Tallinn chefs can’t seem to get enough of celery and celeriac, and the root anchors my main course, too: Baltic Sea perch filet seared in butter. Clouds of carrot, asparagus and zucchini ribbons hover above a celeriac cream and crayfish sauce.
Musita’s Baltic Sea Perch filet is seared in butter.
I try to turn down dessert, but who can resist a spoonful of black currant ice cream? It, too, is delicate, churned so that the occasional berry still holds its shape.
A Parisian revival
We’ve clocked more than five miles, exploring the medieval marvels of Old Town, hoofing up and down stairs at the Dominican monastery from 1246 and the 1404 Town Hall. Not to mention countless churches and Town Hall Pharmacy, Europe’s oldest continuously running, back to 1422.
Where is our reward?
Hold on for the Masters’ Courtyard, a leafy little hideaway deep in Old Town. Collapse onto a sofa pulled into the sunshine and someone will bring the pair of you a blessed ice cream soda and a slab of torte. Chocolats de Pierre has been reviving tourists since 2003. My tordiloik torte, layers of chocolate sponge, meringue, nougat and creams, is better than a B-12 shot. — Story and photos by Betsa Marsh
Chocolats de Pierre’s tordiloik torte, layers of chocolate sponge, meringue, nougat and creams, can revive even the most foot-sore traveler.
WHEN YOU GO
TIP: To toast in Tallinn, look your companion in the eye, clink glasses and say Terviseks, “Health.”
Visit Tallinn, visittallinn.ee/eng
Hungry for more? Read Betsa’s other articles on the Baltics, about Riga, and Helsinki. Read about Betsa’s experience camping like a grownup in Virginia, in this article.
0 Comments