Scandinavian House Cafe

Last night I celebrated with another friend for her 24th birthday! Happy birthday Emily!! We went to dine at the Scandinavian House Cafe on 58 Park Ave (NORTH! It's between 38th and 39th street NOT 32nd and 33rd - like googlemap LIED to me!) Just to clarify if you guys ever want to check it out. (There's also a 'restaurant MONTH' going on where you can get a pre-fix for $35) Decor was nice, there was a huge tree in the middle of the restaurant which was a little strange and interesting all at the same time. There were like little shops surrounding the place and a whole theater in the basement. There was some kind of piano recital going on while we were eating- but we didn't hear anything, I just saw it when I passed by.



IF YOU LIKE IKEA SWEDISH MEATBALLS... this place will BLOW that out of the water! The meatballs here are amazing! So tender and juicy, they are like little round pieces of chocolate that melt in your mouth! They are served with mashed potatoes under it with gravy and some "lingonberry" sauce. (WIki tells me that its a very popular fruit/jam in Scandinavia! Packed with Vit. C for those who need it! (until me, who is currently Vit. D deficient.. haha) A few of use ordered the "Smorgas burger" (as shown in the middle image above) It was pretty delicious. It was like having the Swedish meatballs enclosed by a lightly toasted bread, with a huge chunk of cheese and tomatoes, with a side of baked potato chips surrounding it. They gracefully gave us a little dish of ketchup in the middle of the table for easy access too.

Eating burgers in a nice little joint on Park Ave is somewhat frustrating. I didn't want to be messy and get it all over the place. The burger is super tall, so it's not like you can take a HUGE bite out of it and not get it all over the place. It felt like the toothpick in the middle was just for show. I glanced over at the other tables around us that ordered the burger, and some other guy just took off the bread and ate the meat and insides of the burger-- OK WHO DOES THAT?! WHO!? IT'S A BURGER, EAT IT LIKE ONE!! Sigh, well for $11- that isn't that too steep of a price for it. I mean, doesn't outback or applebees charge like $10 bucks for a platter anyway?

Anyway, somehow I managed to eat it without too large of a mess. I tasted the waffle dessert with whip cream on top too (courtesy of Em), and it was pretty good. Very crispy and light. The chocolate cake that Jeff got was a bit too sweet for my liking, but it came with some ice cream to balance that. Anne and Jeff both got the Cloudberry Duck. (Cloudberry is another type of fruit!! I wiki'd that one too!) It has a very cute name, but didn't look all that beautiful. I didn't take a picture of it either, but I heard it was good.

Taste: 2/5
Atmosphere: 2/5
Cost: $20-$50 (depending on your orders with or without wine) :)