Shopping and lunch go together like peanut butter and jelly,
or soup and salad, or burgers and fries. Although Swedish
meatballs and IKEA are an appropriate duo, they have neither
the right ring nor the compelling taste of those other
lunch-food buddies.
That doesn’t stop shoppers from standing in line to
order – cafeteria-style – a plate of meatballs and mashed
potatoes smeared with what IKEA calls a cream sauce; most
would consider it gravy. Thank goodness for the dollop of
lingonberries for color and flavor. Of course, there are
other menu items: baby back ribs, spinach crepes, Caesar
salad and spaghetti with meatballs. I suspect, though, they’re the same meatballs covered with a
tomato-based sauce rather than the brown goo.
The beige, walnut-shaped meatballs are dense while the potatoes are creamy; however, the true star
of the plate is the cranberry-like lingonberry sauce. It’s sweet and tangy, the perfect foil to the
otherwise bland meatballs. It’s served as relish, but can also be used for pancakes, sandwiches
and other meats.
The price is alright at $4.99. If you forgo the accompanying undistinguished salad and beverage it’s
two bucks less. What the IKEA restaurant has going for it, of course, is location: it’s inside the
store. Based on the lines, shoppers do work up an appetite wandering through the maze of displays in
the upscale warehouse. Next time, though, I’ll go straight for dessert and grab the Chocolate Overload Cake,
because it just has to be better than the meatballs.
Two plates
The Blue Page Special 
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