This one's for you Lilymagnolia - so you can look at something prettier than pigs in trolleys, and to say thank you for being such a big supporter. Thank you.
Now we get to the good stuff!!!
Oh yes, yummmmmm Latvian food.
I was inducted into Latvian culture on my first evening - of course I had to get out and about after my 4 hour busdrive - so after a light dinner of sushi (yes, I'm embarrassed to say I had Japanese in Latvia, but I was just so desperate for something light), I ran into this place called Black Magic.
Black Magic is on the main drag of the Old Town and sells the famous Latvian elixir, Balzam. Balzam is a locally made bitters brew made with 24 herbs and results in an incredibly potent drink of 45% alcohol! Black Magic is a Balzam bar, selling straight shots, cocktails (you can see mine there in pic 1), and even chocolates and patisserie made from this lethal brew. My cocktail was made with espresso, Balzam, Coffee Liqueur and a whole heap of fresh whipped cream on top...I was a little frightened.
I am proud to report I drank two thirds of it, and I kinda liked it. It was kooky. The Balzam actually leaves a woody, earthy, herby after taste which I found I quite liked. Interesting stuff this Balzam, and only made here in Latvia.
Next on the list was, of course, the Central Market. Now, it has been said to me that Riga actually has the largest undercover food market in Europe. I went to check it out. Oh my goodness - it's HUGE. And not only inside, but outside as well. The market centres around 5 ex-Airship (Zeppelin) hangars from the war - they were moved here specifically to house the market - which are HUGE!!!! You can buy fruit, lollies, cheese, pastries, any type of fish or meat product, many of which I'd never seen before - one involving lots and lots of little fish packed tightly together in an a pickled aspic jelly type thing...hmmmmm. Outside at the other stalls you can get everything from more fruit, to fur collars, garden rakes, very thick and ugly nylon pantyhose and a myriad of gloves, beanies, and scarves, and of course the beautiful little flower posies of the flower stalls. It is a must see (just be careful there, I was warned by more than one person of the problem with petty theft here).
And of course during my 5 days in Riga, I ate at a couple of local restaurants to get the lay of the land on the local stuff.
I found a great place in the Old Town called Province. It's tucked away near the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (of course I spent 4 hours at the museum), and is well worth a visit. I had been told to try the traditional Latvian dinner of Latvian Black Peas and Ham (pic above) and Bread Soup for dessert (pic also above).
I'd never eaten Black Peas before. They smelt fantastic as my waiter put them down in front of me...soooooooo smokey and delicious. And the taste? Well they sorta tasted how they look - very al dente (read: a bit hard), a bit chic pea-like with that wonderful smokey bacon flavour. I felt very wholesome and virtuous as I tucked into my bowl of food...but the stuff is filling, and after about half way through I had eaten my fill of Latvian Black Beans and Ham.
Now it was dessert time...the guy puts down my Bread Soup in front of me...doesn't look that great, right? Well. IT WAS AMAZING. Oh my goodness, what a wonderful wonderful surprise. It's a chilled soup made from ground black bread, but has dried fruit and a fair wack of alcohol added - it tasted like a fine grained soup of mince pies but fresher - there were fresh nuts and whipped cream, and a lovely berry coulis on top...oh my goodness, I could have swum in it. REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD.
I went back to this same restaurant the next day for breakfast. I had seen Curd Fritters on the menu and had to have a go. That's the pic under the Bread Soup, above. These were also something very special. Sort of like a dense ricotta pancake, again with marinated dried fruit in the batter, and served with creme fraiche (or a light sour cream, I couldn't work out which exactly). SOOOOOO delicious.
My last local tip for you has a more modern bent. It's called Lido. I believe there are a few of these around town, but this one was almost right next to my hotel. Every time I passed it was packed. When I asked about local restaurants at Reception, they immediately sent me to Lido. I ate there on my second night, and every night until I left. It was fantastic. It's set up like a cafeteria, but with local food (ok, and a lot of Russian food too), and you pay for every little thing you choose. See the sour cream and dill on my Meat Pancakes? The sour cream costs, and the dill costs...every little thing costs! And still, for me it was a bloody cheap meal. I think I paid about AUS$6 for the whole tray of food - that's the yum soup, called Solyanka (a wonderful salty soup made from veges, tomatoes, and salty bacon), the salad (the most expensive thing on the plate), the Meat Pancake with dill and sour cream, and of course the Cranberry Juice (btw fresh cranberries are everywhere around this neck of the world). And it tasted FANTASTIC.
See those French Fry thingies next to the Meat Pancake in the pic??? OH MY GOD. Readers will know what a fetish I have for hand cut chips...well these are the BEST, yes THE BEST, in the whole wide world. I had them the following night with my Stuffed Cabbage Roll, and the night after that with my divine Beef and Gravy (the chips were smothered in the gravy)...oh my goodness, I even dreamt about them that night (now that's just sick)!!!
So, sportsfans, there you have it. It must be mentioned I found the staff at all these places (except Black Magic) quite surly and unresponsive on the surface, yet the guy at Lido cracked a small smile and said "you were here last night" on my third evening. And I even got a smile from the Province guy on my second visit - YAY!
Five days in Latvia wasn't enough. I need more time to get into the place, eat more of its good food, and try and connect with the people.
I will be back.
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