Scandinavian Food

[CulinaryJen]

Is there any Scandinavian restaurants in New Jersey? Perhaps a food store, or maybe a gift shop? Curious, plus doing some research for an article.

[tug]

Have you considered Ikea?

[rlibkind]

Ikea would be the best bet for a meal. There are a number of food vendors who show up at Scanfest each year at Vasa Park in Budd Lake (usually held Labor Day weekend), but few of them operate actual retail establishments.

One that does is Viking Bakery, 34 First Ave., Denville (973)627-7333. I haven't visited their shop, but their kringle I tasted at the festival a few years was okay, though not nearly as good as you'd find in Racine, Wisconsin. Viking is pretty much a neighborhood cake and bun bakery, as best as I can determine.

Here's a link to a list of food vendors from prior years at the festival. I've perused it but can hardly find any that have actual stores/restaurants in NJ other than Viking.

Scanfest Food Vendor List

If you're in North or Central Jersey (I've even made the trip prior to the holidays from my home in center city Philadelphia), the best bet for purchasing food products and ingredients would be to make a trip to Brooklyn. Nordic Delicacies isn't far from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Bay Ridge, which still retains just a bit of Norwegian heritage (largely overwhelmed by Arabic culture these days).

Nordic Delicacies has a good range of packaged products (much wider selection than Ikea), plus a number of meat and other items they make on-premises. Certainly holiday items (like pinnekjott, dried lamb rib) have to be ordered in advance. I particularly like their rullepolse (brined, pressed, herbed cold cut). Here's a website link:

Nordic Delicacies

[tug]

The two Ikea's I've been to in Northern NJ do have a Marketplace with Swedish/Scandinavian food available outside of their restaurants. They are hardly bastions of goods and specialty items, but they do have a few items.

[Curlz]

My co-worker is Swedish, so I threw this question her way; she's not aware of any restaurants and said she buys a few things at Ikea but orders most of her products on line from a place in CT or her folks send things from home.

She did say there's a Scandinavian Festival coming up in New Providence NJ next Saturday, though (11/21). A quick Google turned up the 31st Annual Scandinavian Import and Gift Sale...maybe you can find some items there?