On what they tell me was incredibly unusually balmy weather, I sat outside at what is called “The Landlord’s Barn,” a rustic but chic restaurant in Krimuldas, Latvia.
They consider that they serve traditional Latvian food, but fused with world flavors. Thus, there’s everything from carrot-chili soup, blood sausage with other “ancient cuisine,” venison stew with figs, tagliatelle with vegetables and “green cheese” (with herbs).
Service was impeccable and knowledgeable.
I had the most interesting driver, Raivo (+371 28880055) throughout my visit to Latvia. He’s also a player in their local film industry. He joined me for lunch on this day. He knows about history, politics, the arts. Raivo talked about how he and others in Latvia were very concerned about what the price to heat homes would be this winter.
Since he’s at the age where he still had to learn Russian in school, I showed him the You Tube video that was a mashup of a tough Russian army recruiting ad and one of ours. You may has seen the ad done as a pink cartoon and the female recruit had two mommies. Raivo sagely and archly noticed that our ad wasn’t even trying to recruit men.
He also knew about what types of folks were patrons at different places: what was chic, what was popular. His English was lots better than he took credit for.
I started with the mixed salad with local goat cheese. It had goodies like candy cane beets, heirloom yellow and cherry tomatoes. It felt just right in the bright sun.
Charcoal grilled duck breast — duck is very popular on Latvian menus — was served au jus with grilled veggies. Simple and very good. With the light sauce, it was perfectly appropriate for a warm weather lunch.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 