Friday food

In preparation for my big book signing last week, I made a stop at the local HQ for all things Scandinavian: Ingebretsen's.

Located on East Lake Street in Minneapolis, Ingebretsen's has been around for years with its beautifully decorated building. Today it's surrounded by all sorts of Hispanic businesses, and it's not far from the Midtown Global Market. The store--or actually, stores, as there are two of them right next to each other--sell a wide variety of Scandinavian goods. Should I point out now that my Norwegian grandmother would have been scandalized at the idea of Norwegian goods being mixed in with Swedish and Finnish items? Heavenly days! What a scandal. But apparently Ingebretsen's has been able to achieve detente. The store offers books, linens, knickknacks, craft items, specialty cooking gadgets, and the company offers a variety of classes and trips to Scandinavia.

But let's be honest, the Scandinavians are all about food. Food as comfort, food as filling, food as a representation of love.

Lefse on the left--the well-known potato pastry. I love lefse. This isn't quite as good as homemade, but it was pretty close. In the middle, Gjetost, which gives me another item to cross off my omnivore's wish list. On the right, Fenn Uusto, a creamy, mild cheese which has already been grilled. Now it simply needs to be heated up and eaten with crackers or chewy bread. It's got a squeaky texture, not dissimilar to the Greek Kasseri cheese used in saganaki.

Not shown was the wonderful meat counter. I picked up some Swedish potato sausage and didn't--but should have--gotten some of the Swedish meatball mixture. There were other kinds of meats I'm not familiar with and would have asked about, as the butcher was friendly and knowledgeable, but when I was there he had his hands full with a small elderly lady who wanted to know exactly how long the jerky had been dried and with which spices and how much each piece weighed and the possible caloric value of each piece and and and...I took my packages and went home.

But I'll go back. 

Comments

[Miss T]

I like Gjetost, but I've never tried that other cheese.

[Carrie K]

The building alone is gorgeous. sounds like the interior had treats as well.

I've never heard of either cheese. I feel so provincial.

[Esther]

I've put this on my list of places to visit during my second trip to Minneapolis!