IKEA | three little birds travel

During my two weeks in Scandinavia I had one goal in mind….I was determined to try as many Scandinavian dishes as I could! When I travel, I make it a point to try the local cuisine because it’s authentic and it helps give me a sense of how food changes when it gets to America.

Example…In Greece I didn’t hear one person scream “Opa!” when serving my saganaki. In Italy, I was never served olive oil and parmesan cheese for my bread. Maybe somewhere this happens, but I ate A LOT and it never saw it!

All I knew about Swedish food was from IKEA in the form of their meatballs (no judging). If I’m being truthful…I’ve never even tried a Swedish meatball from IKEA (gasp)!! I also heard rumblings that there was going to be a lot of fish, whale and reindeer meat. I don’t eat fish and I’m not sure about you, but whale and reindeer meat isn’t part of my normal diet.

All in all, I was absolutely DETERMINED to hunt down these foods and try them once and for all!!

First up…Whale! I found this at the famous fish market in Bergen, Norway. My sister and I walked up and down the market until we were sure we found the best tent! After a little help from the crew, we chowed down on a small portion of whale and potato salad (sorry PETA). I expected whale to taste like fish, but it actually tasted more like gyros…kinda.

A short distance away from the fish market, we were lucky to come across the hot dog stand that was on our list – Trekroneren Hot Dog Stand. This isn’t your ordinary hot dog stand though…this one serves REINDEER hot dogs!! I confidently walked up to the stand, paid my 55 NOK and nervously ate my first bite. I thought it would have a gamey taste, but it actually tasted like a normal hot dog. I was a little bit unimpressed, but happy that I had now crossed two items off my list!

Last on the list…meatballs! We found these all over Sweden, but decided on a small restaurant close to our hotel in Stockholm. Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with potatoes and lingonberry jam and that’s just how mine were served! They were tasty and I promise that the next time I go to IKEA, I will order some and officially compare the two!