Gluten Free Stockholm

On our Baltic cruise trip we spent our first and last nights in Stockholm. The first night we stayed in the Elite Eden Park Hotel, which was located across the street from the park that houses Sweden's National Library. I asked at the desk where we could find a restaurant with good fish and they recommended the Zink Grill which was only a few blocks from the hotel at Biblioteksgatan 5 and very walkable on a beautiful sunny summer evening. The Zink Grill had some outdoor seating available, so we sat outside under a canopy. The weather was wonderful, but I noticed that there were baskets of small blankets, so I suppose that there are some days when the outdoor section is open that are possibly not so balmy.

The restaurant turned out to be more of a meat sort of place, but I ordered the cod dish on the menu with a side of spinach with a Riesling that was offered by the glass. What a simple but great meal! The cod could not have been flakier or tastier. The spinach nearly equaled the Platonic spinach that I had in Mississippi last year. The Riesling was sweet, but complex. Great meal. Great evening.

Our last day of the trip was spent at the Stockholm airport. We had lunch and dinner at the airport. The prices were outrageous, the highest we have ever seen, but I had really lovely lunch at a sushi bar between Terminals Four and Five. I explained to the cashier/waitress that I was celiac and she said that the California roll could be made gluten free by substituting salmon for the crab. That worked. She also brought gf soy sauce to the table for me. I ordered edamame beans as well, and the tea and miso soup were included with the lunch. That was the first time I have gone into a sushi place since my diagnosis and I am so glad that I went there. Europe seems to have a greater understanding of the whole gluten free process. Everyone always knows what I am talking about and what is required.

The evening meal was at the New Orleans Bar, also located in the area of the airport between Terminals Four and Five, but separated by a very long afternoon nap at the Radisson Blu Arlanda Hotel. I looked over the menu and didn't see a lot that I could eat, but there was a shrimp salad that looked plausible. I told the waitress that I had to eat gluten free, and she assured me that the shrimp salad would be okay. I did not expect much. I was pleasantly surprised by a large salad with a lot more shrimp (small but plentiful) than I have seen other places. There was also a poached egg on top of the frisee lettuce. It's the first time I've seen that, but it was surprisingly good. I did not order any fries, but with the assurance from the waitress that their fry basket was dedicated, I ate some off other people's plates, and they were about as good as a fry can get.

Three meals, all different, all gluten free, all really good.

Cathy