Overrated food

I had eaten alot of fresh wild pacific salmon, before I said no more.

But I always prefered bottom fish anyway.

@wanderlily

I've yet to meet anyone who likes lutefisk the first time they try it: don't give up though. Personally, I think it's delicious, if and only if it's been perfectly prepared (both the fish itself and the various side dishes). Also, it has to be accompanied by plentiful amounts of aquavite (another acquired taste) and beer, which is one of the reasons it's not suitable for minors. It's certainly something else - also when compared to other traditional Norwegian seafood.

W.

#61: as I said above, Georgia definitely struck me as over-rated. I had some extremely tasty food there, but there seemed to be an overall lack of variety. Maybe I was just unlucky, but I was there for three weeks and ended up feeling that it didn't really live up to its reputation. The wine was great, though.

Wow, what are the traditional sides served with lutefisk? I have some Scandinavian heritage (via 19th C immigrants to Chicago) and while my family has preserved some traditions, seafood dishes have not been among them.

About Georgia, what kind of food did you have there? How does it differ from Russian cuisine? I have had the pleasure of sampling Georgian wines at an excellent restaurant in DC called Russia House. It is a little oasis of Eurasian high style here. It's the kind of place where you can spend $20 on an appetizer and a drink while someone at a nearby table is spending $500+ on caviar and champagne.

http://www.russiahouselounge.com/index.htm

Here's how the Sons of Norway prepare and serve lutefisk. They say lutefisk "must surely be the strangest culinary effort credited to the Norwegians but what a treat when prepared properly. Everyone of course is not a devotee of lutefisk, but those who are defend it vehemently. Others go to the opposite extreme and claim it's a national disgrace."

How the Finns & Swedes serve it is discussed here. Also, how to make your own from scratch.

Can't say I've ever eaten it--I've just never had the chance.

I wonder what the difference is between lutefisk (as in Nutrax's link) and klippfisk as mentioned here. The lye?

@bjd

The basic difference is that lutefisk is made from unsalted fish, whereas klippfisk is preserved through salting. Another difference is that the latter is a highly successful Norwegian export. (According to some, it's even the reason Brazilian girls have such deliciously rolling hips.)

W.

Ah, but the Brazilian girls are getting their bacalhau from Portugal!

And they're getting their hips from their West African ancestors.

In no specific order:
Caviar
Champagne
Nutella
Capers
Salmon