Minds that plot delicious platters
Denmark restaurant packs punch in its barbecue
Denmark may have a vibrant economy, beautiful furniture and, according to Oprah Winfrey, the happiest people on earth (sorry, Disneyland, apparently the folks in Copenhagen are more content than those in Anaheim).
But can the land of the Little Mermaid seriously compete against Memphis, South Carolina, Texas or Kansas City as a landmark for barbecue while also crafting some decent beer?
Well, Terry and I, along with our son, Scott, and his girlfriend, Virginia, decided to travel to Copenhagen to investigate this ridiculous suggestion.
Our sleuthing led us to probably the most outrageously named restaurant ever, WarPigs. Black Sabbath fans (any of those still alive?) might recall the tune with the following catchy lyrics, “No more War Pigs have the power,/ Hand of God has struck the hour/ Day of judgement, God is calling/ On their knees the war pigs crawling,/ Begging mercies for their sins/ Satan, laughing, spreads his wings.” Wow, I can’t stop humming that!
There we met with Shane Gardiner, the Irish-born General Manager of this restaurant that seems to have lost its way to Tennessee. The locale for the eatery is the former heart of the meat packing/ slaughterhouse district of Copenhagen.
With picnic tables and benches, you won’t mistake this for fine dining. But then if you’re thinking of trying to impress a date by taking her to a barbecue joint, you clearly don’t know barbecue.
Actually, the ambiance is exactly right for what WarPigs is, a casual joint with great beer and the only decent pulled pork I’ve ever had in Northern Europe.
Shane is a kick. He is disheveled and exudes a devil-may-care attitude. But this is a façade. Shane knows his beer, knows how to run a restaurant, knows how to let Chef Andrew Hroza, a transplanted Chicago native, be creative.
Andrew served us up samples of chicken, brisket, beef ribs (absolutely massive), spareribs and pulled pork. He’s perfected his technique, using Post Oak from a small Danish island that’s cured for six months before being tossed into a smallish smoker and kept at a moderate 225°. Andrew wants a balance of meat, seasoning, and smoke to bring out the best attributes of each ingredient. As I said, the pulled pork was glorious and the chicken well balanced. The dry rub was quite spicy. Copenhagen is not a cheap city – but take heart, you can have your fill at WarPigs and still have some kroner left.
As for the beer, the selection is rather sparse. There were only had 22 house beers on tap. Not wanting to get lost on our way back to our Airbnb, we limited our sampling to six.
First was the Raspberry Ale that Terry really enjoyed, saying that it had a sweet finish most beers lack. Next up was the New England-style IPA lovingly called Frank the Tank. Light and refreshing, Shane says it’s one of the most popular. Then a German pilsner termed Passion of the Heist. A light beer with a wheat nose. Following was the lactose, coffee IPA, Caps Lock Nitro. Not my favorite, but then I’m a purist. I want my beer to taste like beer not my morning brew. Then we got to my favorite, Moonbase of Filth (such a lovely title), an oatmeal stout. A dark beer that’s not overwhelming, Filth has tons of flavor. We finished with El Dorado, made with hops from California. Scott said, “A flavorful, light style beer.”