International Women's Day Brunch Buffet

Bølgen og Moi – Take 2
After the last disaster pizza from Bølgen og Moi, we decided to give their brunch a try. The Italian Rabblerowser, my friend Nina (of A fame), SpicyDog, and I met up at the trendy bar/café/fancy sitdown for some much-needed girl time. What better way to celebrate girlfriends, on International Women’s Day no less, than with an all-you-can eat brunch buffet?

The brunch was spread out unceremoniously across the bar. The food, while ample, was light and traditional Scandinavian fare. What set this brunch a notch above the ordinary was the quality of the products served. It was obvious that the vegetables, meats, cheeses, and fish were very fresh. The spread had the basic cold cuts: ham, salami, leverpostei (liverpate), and sliced white meat (I didn’t have it so I don’t know if it was chicken or pork or what). In addition to the meat slices, they had an array of high quality smoked salmon and pickled herring. For their salad options, they made available a lightly dressed green salad, a tomato and red onion salad, and a cucumber and red pepper salad. They had cold roasted potatoes, a corkscrew pasta salad with bay shrimp and amazingly tasty smoked salmon, and a lightly dressed bowtie pasta salad. I don’t remember exactly what was in that bowtie salad as the 2 pasta salads eventually became one when my plate filled up. For the vegetarians in the group, they also had cold omelet squares filled with spinach and mushrooms. For hot options, there was rosemary roasted chicken, a roasted pork loin, and a creamy fish and shrimp soup. The soup was a disappointment. It was light on the cream and the flavors of the seafood came out strongly – perhaps a bit too strongly. Where it was strong in seafood flavor it lacked in basic seasonings such as salt and pepper. The other major disappointment was the dessert bar. It was a pretty site, with their row of yogurt shots and neat little squares of American style desserts. The bar featured cheesecake, brownie/chocolate cake, and carrot cake. The carrot cake was very dense and light on flavor, though the cream cheese frosting was great. The chocolate cake was dense and had the texture of a dried out brownie – I was not a fan. The cheesecake was the only dessert I enjoyed. It was dense and sweet with the only flaw being the soggy crust. Thankfully, I loaded up on the lovely brunch items and the soft, slightly sweet brown bread they served fresh so I did not miss dessert at all.

As with most restaurants in Oslo, it was more expensive than what I would like to pay for a brunch; especially considering this brunch did not include a complimentary glass of champagne or a mimosa. I suppose you don’t pay for the food, though. You pay for a relaxed ambience, a secluded corner to laugh and gossip, and the chance of a Norwegian celebrity sighting. I hear celebs frequent this establishment but considering all of us at the table were foreigners, none of us could appreciate that last point.