Smørrebrød, not Smorgasbord

Smørrebrød is simply buttered bread. But the Danes, not usually a people given to excess (except for weekend alcohol consumption) don't leave it at that. Instead, they create works of art you can eat. The toppings can be meat, fish, vegetable, whatever you like. Here it's herring from Bornholm, a Danish island closer to the Swedish, German and Polish coasts than Copenhagen. This version was served to me at Promenaden, one of the fancier eateries at Tivoli Gardens, operated by the local Nimb restaurant group.

The bread must be the dense Danish rye found everywhere. Dark in color, tasted on its own or with just butter the bread is sour to the point of tartness, especially when sliced, baked to dry it out and served like a bagel chip with beer. But the bread finds its natural habitat topped with a generous smear of butter, and the fixings. The protein can be any form of meat or seafood imaginable, but some vegetable crunch, whether in the form of a little bit of onion or the sprouts here, is also usual. Cheese, of course, is always a welcome main ingredient or garnish. By my observation, shrimp seems the most popular, but not gigantic prawns: instead Danes favor the tiny northern shrimp from Greenland.