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August 15, 2004
Zetor Restaurant, Helsinki, Finland
Zetor Restaurant was described as a 'tractor restaurant' by Fodor's Scandinavia guide, so of course, we were curious to try it. Tucked away in a large hotel/restaurant complex, it took us a couple of attempts to find this restaurant. My first impression was that this is a rustic looking establishment. But what would you expect of a 'tractor restaurant'? Walking into the restaurant, it soon became apparent why this is a tractor restaurant. There were no less than three full-size tractors inside the restaurant. Around these tractors were benches built in so that one could dine in a group around the tractor. I think you need to have a large group to eat at one of those tables, because our group of three did not. Instead, we were shown to a picnic style table in a room decorated with posters like of the group 'Leningrad Cowboys'.
We all tried the rye beer that was available. I can't say much for it, but then again, I'm not a beer connoisseur, and tend to think that all beer is bitter. Todd and fellow Syn Ack Labs member John Schweitzer liked it just fine, though. I ordered a salmon soup, which was advertised as having won several awards. It was also labelled as 'low-lactose', and the creamy salmon and potato chunks with liberal sprinklings of dill was just the ticket to chase away the cold chill I had from walking around in the cold rain all day.
The entree of arctic char with boiled potatoes was good, but not as spectacular as the salmon soup. I could have just ordered a large portion of soup and dined on that alone, it was that good. For dessert, I was deciding between the rhubarb parfait with strawberry jam, or the spelt pancake with whipped cream, syrup, and bits of buckthorn candy. When I asked the waitress which one was the better choice, she said, "Definitely, the pancake." So, I went with the pancake, and got to see what buckthorn candy was. If you've had hawthorn candy before, that's what it's like. If not, I can't think of anything else close to it except maybe prune paste, but that wouldn't be doing it justice, because most people do not look favorably upon prune-anything.
Overall, I'm glad we visited Zetor Restaurant. The food was decent, and not overly pricey. The atmosphere inside the restaurant certainly gave us a lot to talk about. Apparently, John is a fan of Leningrad Cowboys, and I got to learn all about who they are.
Posted by Kathy at August 15, 2004 10:50 PM