Salt and spice and everything nice

Salt is a cosy little restaurant in Kadriorg. The place can sit up to 30 people and it's literally home away from home for both: those enjoying a quick business lunch or those sipping bubbly over oysters during dinner. The menu features classic dishes across the world, made using the freshest ingredients from the local markets and other European countries. And believe me, they take the "across the world" part very seriously here: San Francisco crab salad, bavette and cucumber noodles, marinated with soya and maple syrup, Sicilian shrimp stew, celery veloute with Vacherin cheese and salted granola, their famous grilled octopus, - these are just a few to name from their constantly changing menu. The open kitchen jazzes it up even more - everyone can see the masters @ work. The heart and soul of the fingerlicking good food habitat, the lady of the house is my former boss from ZARA, Tiina Treumann, enthusiastic and talented in many ways.

I wanted to visit Salt for a long time and Tallinn Restaurant Week came in handy. We started off with some lovely chicken liver pate with red onion jam and roasted olive bread, followed by Korean style ramen noodle soup with crispy pork belly, poached egg and kimche. Chocolate delice with salted caramel and pumpkin cream with crue de cacao and mandarin sorbet were both perfect to seal the deal. Extra points for the atmosphere and Tiina's personal and hearty service. We will definitely be coming back for that tdf octopus and those oysters.

Open from Tuesday to Friday for lunch and dinner reservations and Saturdays for dinner only.

Photos by Lauri Laan. Courtesy of Flavours of Estonia.

Food for people

What better way to start off gloomy, foggy November than go out and celebrate? Restaurant weeks were first conceived in New York but have since gone global encouraging diners to celebrate eating out as a cultural event. A decade on, restaurant weeks are now held across the globe and have become annual drawcards for locals and visitors alike. The Tallinn initiative started a little over 4 years ago and has gone viral ever since. It all started with some 2 restaurants and now there are 44 of them taking part in the act of offering dining out as a cultural experience to all foodies and foody wannabies at heart. The table is yours.

We started off Tallinn Restaurant week with a late night Monday dinner at Neh. Neh is Pädaste Manor seasonal kitchen in the city. A bistro style foodie heaven that invites to meet Estonia’s best culinary team (Chef de cuisine, a 30-year-old Danish Yves Le Lay has worked in several Michelin establishments in his home country) whose true home is at Pädaste on Muhu island. In this city sanctuary they continue to pay respect to Nordic islands’ cuisine, authenticity of produce and flavours of the season. Neh might be just a touch less (much more less) sophisticated than Alexander at Pädaste (Estonia's number one restaurant for 4 years in a row) – and the style is casual rather than fine dining – but they say that it fits the city. And you know what? It does.

We helped ourselves to a 3-course degustation menu which consisted of creamy white fish soup with sunchokes & dill oil, braised island beef cheek with parsley root, parsley purée, bacon and lingonberries and Kadri plums with milk foam, ice cream made of plum stones and sealed with fresh liquorice. Simple, laconic, yet yummy. Paired with a very descent wine package, this was truly a meal to enjoy. Extra points for the smooth, up to the notch service. Yeah for Neh.

Photos by Lauri Laan. Courtesy of Flavours of Estonia.

Happy go lucky

They say learn when to leave a party. This year we've decided to spend a one day only at the Positivus music festival and boy, does that "squeezing the best things out of a one day visit" helps you get the ultimate festival experience or what? The weather was amazing, so we spent a couple of hours at the beach. Alongside few other novelties, the traditional Food Court was supplemented with Food Trailer Park and Fresh Garden, so we got to experience some pretty good grub. And I mean GOOD: Čarlstons' BBQ chicken wings were to die for and Terra's Caesar salad was more than decent. Good old familiar Fazenda was also present, their veggies and yummy cookies were delightful. Especially around midnight. Anyways, enough about the foodies meeting. Here's a photo of me and my best friend Alex rocking at Ellie Goulding performance. Did I mention that we've managed to do some shopping as well?

I'm wearing a Jessica Simpson floral shirt and a headpiece by a Latvian designer at Amber Sisters Design. It's orchid leaves but hey, they kinda look like Playboy bunny ears.

Some great shots of this day can be found here at the Positivus Festival Flickr account. And last but not least: if You're going to Positivus, make sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

Dirty business

By my sis @ flickr.com/eigi

Tallinn Music Week and Visit Estonia introduce Estonian music at #Positivus festival

The largest music festival in the Baltics, Positivus will take place at the lovely beach area in Salacgrīva, Latvia, during the upcoming weekend. Tallinn Music Week is present to introduce the freshest acts of Estonian music scene to Estonia's southern neighbours and all those others by offering a full programme of Estonian music on Palladium/Tallinn Music Week stage on Saturday and Sunday and hosting an Estonian music tent on the main walking street of Positivus.

Positivus takes place for the 8th time. This year's headliners include Kraftwerk, Bastille, Elbow, The Kooks, Ellie Goulding, Temples, Laura Mvula, Anna Calvi, The 1975 and many more. For a fourth year in a row, Tallinn Music Week hosts the stage of Positivus festival during the annual Tallinn Music Week festival in March and, vice versa, every year in July TMW packs its camping tents and brings Estonian music acts to Positivus.

TMW partners at Positivus include Raadio 2, Ministry of Culture, Enterprise Estonia and Estonian Tourist Board.

www.tmw.ee

#visitestonia
#positivus

Silver lining

I was fortunate enough to attend an exhibition opening a few weeks ago. On Thursday, 20th March Colours of the Golden Age. Classical Estonian Painting from Enn Kunila's Collection opened at the Mikkeli Museum in Kadriorg. I had a chance to meet Enn earlier this year and I must admit that I admire that man. I doubt that there's anyone other with such an exquisite taste for collecting Estonian classics. You can never go wrong with this man's picks: what we have here is pure gold. Easy on the eye and pleasant for your soul.

Colours of the Golden Age focuses on the period from 1910 to 1945. The exhibition, which is located on two floors of the Mikkeli Museum, includes 50 works by the best Estonian painters: Konrad Mägi, Nikolai Triik, Ants Laikmaa, Ado Vabbe, Endel Kõks, Richard Uutmaa and many others. The works can conceptually be divided into three parts: landscapes of the homeland, views of nature painted abroad, and works portraying people. What is so special about this exhibition, You may ask? One peculiar thing in particular: the darkest the times, the more optimistic the art masterpieces are, created during that time. Make sure to stop by.

The kids are all right

I've always wanted to visit the popular K|I|D* restaurant in Riga and boy, it was worth waiting. Both of the K|I|D* cafe-slash-restaurants-slash-bars will welcome you with a great interior design, healthy menu and friendly service. Both located in central spots of the quiet centre and the town centre respectively, they are just a walking distance from the touristic old town.

Offering both, seasonal menus and all time favourites, there is absolutely no doubt that you will find something to tingle your taste buds. How about a salad made of dandelion leaves (5.90€)? Or whipped goat cheese with fresh berries, marinated pear, nut powder and coffee crumbs (5.80€)?

A Curious Invitation: The Forty Greatest Parties in Fiction

I've stumbled upon this piece of reading advise on Design*Sponge the other day and how cool is that?! In "A Curious Invitation" author Suzette Field chronicles forty of the greatest fictional parties. From Bilbo Baggin's Eleventy-First Birthday Party to Dmitri Karamazov's Revel at Mokroye and Satan's Rout in Master and Margarita to Gatsby's Saturday Night Parties and Queen Alice's Feast, - for each party, Suzette describes the hosts, the venue, the guest list, the dress code and the food and drink served. I'm so getting this book for myself!

Fashion having fun

Don't you just love a healthy dose of self irony? Well, I do. Especially when it comes to accessorizing:

Ashish SS 2014

Charlotte Olympia Caviar clutch

All four of the above by the genius Charlotte Olympia. You have to admit that when it comes to fashion having fun, no one else does it like this lady. Bam!

Follow the yellow rubber ducky

It's not a secret that one of my all-time-favourites in Tallinn is Sfäär Resto & Store. Opened back in 2010, right before Tallinn got its European Capital of Culture status, the place is still up and running. In this high-ceilinged restaurant and clothing store, interior architect Kristiine Lõuk merged vintage furniture classics, authentic period materials and immaculately white-painted limestone walls into a whole. The restaurant was even nominated for the Best Public Interior in Estonia the year after. In other words, the place is über-cool. Extra points for Ittala tableware and the giant yellow duck.

They've been pretty much sticking to the same recipe for success: the menu barely changed. Go ahead and try their bruschetta with shrimp, tarragon mayonnaise and poached egg (7€). I'm a sucker for it. Or the organic Saaremaa beef tartar (9€) - it rarely gets better than this. Also, a former colleague of mine was a solid believer that Sfäär serves the best Pavlova in town. Well, seems to me that she hasn't been to Cafe More, but I have to give it to you - no one makes Red Velvet cake better than Sfäär. Unfortunately, you won't be able to try any of those two, unless you're fortunate enough and they're listed on the chalkboard next to the bar: they can only be found under the cake of the day offer (3€). But trust me, it's worth the extra mile. Even if it's not there today, I'm sure You will find something satisfying on the menu to ease the disappointment and step into the long commitment with this lovely little resto. Good luck, Chuck!

Le duck

All images from Sfäär.ee

The myth of effortless chic

There is no such thing as effortless chic. If you are secretly harbouring the dream that some day you will be able to consistently, thoughtlessly reach in to your closet and pull out a super-chic ensemble, well, you are fighting a no-win battle with yourself.
The most stylish people I know have spent lifetimes searching for what complements their body shape, their professional and personal lifestyle, local climate and how much they can reasonably budget for this pursuit.
Let me stress that this is not about how much money they have, but how attuned they are to their reality. It's an almost zen-like sense of self-awareness.
They don't obsess daily about what they wear but they all tend to be cautious shoppers. they make the tough decisions in the dressing room, not their closet. It stands to reason that if you only fill your closet with what works then just grabbing things from that closet will be a million times easier... hence the perception of "effortlessness".

Scott Schumann "The Sartorialist: Closer"