The Unlikely Dish That's Become Trendy in DenmarkThis founder has turned a simple meal into Denmark's most down-to-earth hipster treat -- and he wants to bring it to New York next.

Walk through the streets of Copenhagen's Nørrebro district and you'll pass the home of Denmark's most down-to-earth hipster treat. That would be Grød—"porridge" in Danish—a 12-seat shop that serves $8 bowls of its namesake food: hot mashed oats, spelt or barley, often with milk and a fruit compote mixed in. When lunch or dinner rolls around, the menu changes to $10 to $11 bowls of risotto, Asian-inspired congee and Indian dal.

Founder Lasse Andersen says Grød's menu demonstrates the breadth of such comfort foods from around the world. "Every culture has a version of porridge," he says. "With some dishes, they take whatever grains are available, cook them and get all their basic nutrition from them. Porridge isn't only the Northern European idea of oats. It's rice in Asia and Italy, quinoa in South America, grits in North America."

Three years ago, while studying music in London, Andersen began buying to-go cups of porridge at the train station. It was then he decided to bring high-quality porridge to his hometown. Considering the less-than-supportive view of entrepreneurship in Denmark, it was a bold move.