Tartare

Stockholm, December 10, 2015—

YOU MAY RECALL my fondness for steak tartare; I've written about it here a number of times — last May it became a running idée fixe the blog. And when dear Catharina mentioned, in a note, a favorite restaurant here, and that restaurant turned out to be something of a traditional bistro, naturally my hopes began to run in that direction.

And there it was on the menu: Råbiff med tillbehör, helpfully translated by Google as "steak tartare with accessories." The latter arrived in a cunning stack of porcelain dishes which swing out from their chrome-plated standard. I don't know what epoch that accessory represents; this is a very traditional kind of place — the restaurant is three hundred years, my waitress tells me; it's been in this room since 1905, and I think not that much has changed in the meantime.

The beef was good; and, importantly, it was hand-chopped, not ground. The capers were delicious; the egg fresh and flavorful. And those delightful dishes offered diced beets (declined), little capers, mustard, and chopped shallots and salt, a thoughtful inclusion

The French fries were very good — Sweden has fine potatoes — and a little copper pot, tinned of course, contained quartered tomatoes and chopped onion that set things off nicely. Truly a delicious meal, a fitting successor to yesterday's equally traditional table.

Madiran, Château Beaucaire, 2009: solid, proper, and inexpensive

•Mäster Anders, Pipersgatan 1, Stockholm; 08-654 20 01
☛Restaurants visited in 2015 are listed at Eatingday's Restaurants