Review of Maaemo in Oslo, Norway

Norwegian for "Mother Earth," Esben Holmboe Bang's Maaemo sits nearly astride the tracks of Oslo's main rail station in a neighborhood you'd call rough if Oslo had rough neighborhoods. The exterior sports parallel modern steel lines to its corporate office building neighbors, so Maemo's main entrance is easy to miss among the generic glass and metal surroundings.

As we climb the stairs ten minutes before our reservation, a heads-up member of staff trolling the area for lost guests finds us and asks if we're headed to Maaemo. It will turn out to be the first of many manual tasks that staff must go out of their way to help fix because of design choices and physical layout. More on that later, but suffice to say that said tasks were executed with almost unspeakable dignity and good spirits, bordering on joy, that pervaded everyone I met at Maaemo. An excellent restaurant, and well worth the visit.

OSLO, NORWAY, OCTOBER 2017

SERVICE: 9.0/10

FOOD: 8.5/10

PRICE PAID: $445PP (INCL. WATER, APERITIF, SAKE, 1 GLASS OF RED WINE- PRE-CHALLENGE)

VALUE/MONEY: 6.0/10

FINAL SCORE: 8.0/10

Looking around, the table setting is entirely fitting with all preconceived notions about high-end Scandinavian design. Clean white lines, simple wood rectangle charger (the placeholder plate that greets us as we sit), delicate colors, lots of natural materials and understated touches. As we get ready to kick off, we are brought over a warm towel gently scented with geranium flowers. It's a nice gesture, and perhaps a nod to their other Scandinavian 3-star friend, Geranium.

Shortly after seating, the sommelier approached us to inquire about a glass of Champagne or if we were interested in a pairing option- they offer both wine and non-alcoholic juice. I asked for the wine menu, which seemed to take him a little by surprise, but he proceeded to bring over one of the most complete and beautifully designed wine lists I've seen outside of France. Due to high import duties as well as absurd prices in Norway generally, everything was several notches above reasonable (the dirt-cheapest bottles tended to be around 800 NOK, or $100, and a more average price was around 1500 NOK, ~$190. They had everything all the way up to a 1998 Domaine de la Romance-Conti for 110,000 NOK, or about 14 grand).

On offer for aperitifs was a lovely Non-Vintage Brut Nature Champagne by Tarlant. 90 points from Wine Spectator and $25-$35 per bottle in most decent wine shops, Maaemo charges a pretty absurd 245 NOK ($31, or the price of a full bottle) per glass. The wine was an excellent prototypical example of the zero-dosage brut nature style; dry, with strong mineral and yeast notes like those you might find in a light French bread. Equal parts pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier, there's a touch of vanilla and brilliant effervescence. The house Tarlant is in its 12th generation of ownership (!) and if you hear it from them, they think the brut nature style is the best way to show off the terroir when compared with the sugared-up cousins of brut or demi-sec. This glass paired nicely with almost every one of the first small bites we were offered.

Because all the wine bottle and pairing prices were truly off-the-map expensive and didn't show us anything about Norwegian cuisine, we opted for one of the Norway-produced sakes produced by Nøgne Ø, a brewery of growing international fame in Grimstad, south of Oslo.

Course 1: Chicken Foot + Oxalis Leaves, 8/10

In what was the first of many dishes dutifully trotted down from the kitchen above the dining room, a member of the back of the house brings over a deboned chicken foot proudly coated with oxalis leaves (AKA Wood Sorrel) in a dense layer resembling birds' feathers. We are told that the chicken is 100% free-range from Northern Norway, and that the oxalis is from a forest nearby. Small spheres of fermented lingonberry juice twinkle on the purple leaves, resembling a jewel. Though a touch awkward to eat all at once, the flavor is like a decadent chicken nugget. The acidity from the lingonberry juice cuts through the fried-fatty flavors, pairing very nicely. Goes great with the brut-nature Champagne. In a nice presentation touch, the white stone underneath is hot. 8/10.

Course 2: Fried Dough + Cep Mushroom, 8/10

The second bite is a small, complicated-looking nest of fried sourdough yeast starter (the same one used to make the sourdough course later), sprinkled with dried cep mushroom powder, and an emulsion made from cep oil. Also included are some winter chanterelles with some pickles and salt. It's a little awkward to hoover the entire thing at once with all the strange angles and protrusions, but the crunch is satisfying. The cool mushrooms offset the still-warm fried dough in a subtle and pleasing way. 8/10.

Next, a tiny bite of hay smoked roe in a bed of dried flower leaves. This is some truly top-class plating, using an earthy element like flower petals to visually offset the very ocean-heavy taste of the smoked roe. The smoke and salt flavors punch through in a delightfully satisfying way, and the soft egg texture pairs perfectly with crunchy shell. 10/10.

Next up, some pretty amazing “Rockfish Tacos;” Norwegian mountain trout fermented in barrels with salt and sugar for six months is served with potato bread and traditional fixings; pickled onions, horseradish, and dill. We are instructed to eat them just like a taco, which yields an experience similar to potato pancake; Heavenly-rich dill and cream. 9/10.

On the menu since they opened in 2009, this next dish is an emulsion made from oysters from Southwestern Norway, called Massive Cloud Oysters. The warm sauce is a reduction of cream and white wine. The emulsion has the texture of super-overcooked pasta, and barely holds together. The emulsion is made by mixing raw oyster with rapeseed for texture. It’s then put through a high speed blend at middling temperature to give softness. Salty, exceptionally flavorful broth. Close to perfect. 10/10.

Next: quite simply, one of the most perfect Scallops I’ve ever had. Roasted in loads of butter and cooked with a bit of chamomile gel and some sauce made of white asparagus fermented in the previous year. Decorative flowers give the dish a floral note, while the ferment of the sauce gives it an overall cheese-like quality. Absolutely delicious. 10/10.

Next, an exquisitely simplistic presentation of cod from far northern Norway. The fish is so light and so fresh it almost literally melts once you take a bite- the texture is as soft as whipped butter. Salt is the only additive, and the “cream of celeriac” broth is rich and vegetal. 9/10.

At this point in the meal, we received some updated place settings specifically for the bread course.

Next, a course of sourdough with what can only be called a very long story to accompany.

The bread is made with a live culture that feeds off the natural yeast in the air which is used as the leaven. Only three ingredients are used; flour, salt, and water. The flour is from the heritage Norwegian grains that the restaurant mills themselves each day. The butter, no surprise, is also made in-house; they first make sour cream, then separately produce light buttermilk then blend them together for an extra-rich result. They let it ferment for five days, taste every day to see how sour it gets, and refrigerate when its absolutely perfect.

It’s all exceptionally good and the result of a ton of focused, serious work. But, I mean... it’s bread and butter. 7/10.

As a pairing, we are offered a glass of Ine Mankai’s Red Rice Genshu “In Full Bloom,” a rich sake replete with red-vegetable notes (mostly beets!) and savory flavors. It accentuates the bread and butter quite nicely.

The Reindeer heart is slow-baked in the oven overnight and then smoked heavily and grated atop a bed of pure cream underneath. This dish tasted like a mountain of melted Camembert. Ungodly rich. 9/10.

Next, a Quail egg yolk cooked in bone marrow fat from beef, with tapioca pearls for texture. Tastes like hamburger helper! 9/10.

As the final main course, duck that has been grilled and glazed for thirty minutes together with salted plums and plum vinegar. A sauce made from roasted bones of the duck and lingonberries accompanies. “A Christmas dish we serve all year round!” 9/10.

As a pairing, we are offered an exceptionally lovely 1996 Albeisa Barolo Riserva. Tons of dried fruits on the nose, and the classic tar and roses notes that are accentuated by the brilliant aging. The perfect pair to the rich, fatty duck.

As an interlude between the savory courses and dessert, a lovely dish of Bleu cheese course from Stavanger made into a “snow” is presented next. The course is made by taking the cheese to a deep freeze of -197 degrees, and then blending to get the snow effect. Black trumpet mushrooms and a gel on the bottom made of maple is a perfect sweet offset. 8/10.

The first dessert arrived next: “Aquavit Pears.” The pears are baked with syrup flavored with Aquavit, then dehydrated for 10 hours so they get they achieve their diminutive shape and very concentrated flavor. Then they're filled with a grilled-pear gel, so you wind up with many layers and flavors of pear. Finally, they are sprayed with a little more Aquavit to give them some of the freshness/sharpness/bite of the aquavit. Creative and refreshing, 8/10.

Course 14: Fermented Blueberry Sorbet, 9/10

Next, a sorbet of fermented blueberries, with another sorbet from caramelized goat's milk underneath. In between is the oil from the roots of rhubarb, which has a flavor more or less precisely reminiscent of Jolly Ranchers. We are recommended to mix everything together, and the advice pays off - the mixture is sweet and fruity with a base of creaminess from the goat’s milk that is almost indescribable. 9/10.

So, dairy products are kind of a big deal in Norway. What they have done here is take the best organic butter they can find in Norway, caramelized it, made an ice cream of it, put hazelnuts on top an molasses in the middle, and that’s all she wrote. 10/10.

Described as a typical setup you would find at grandma's house on a Sunday, a pile of sugary waffles is flanked by four large pots of jam, caramel, and vanilla.

Norwegians grow up hiking in the summers, and the story we are told is that when you’re coming in from one of those hikes, you immediately see your grandmother, and she has the waffles ready. I buy it. 10/10.

Made from a traditional pancake batter with flour, eggs, fermented jam, and butter.

After dinner, we were walked upstairs to the kitchen for a tour of the lovely (if extremely compact) facility where a truly global team of approximately 15 people serves about 24-28 covers per night. When you factor in the front of the house, the staff-guest ratio is close to 1:1.

A fantastic, young crew! All excited to be there and exceptionally well-organized.

Norway- Maaemo- Three Stars in 2019