Old Country Buffet this year had a two day Easter "Feast". It started on Easter Saturday and went though Easter Sunday. The meal featured carved ham and carved Prime Rib and the price was raised to $13.99 for this buffet meal.
We decided to go on Easter Sunday. The meal was being served all day until closing and we arrived at about 6:30 pm. There was a short line to get in and once we paid we waited about three minutes to be seated. The restaurant was crowded but not much more so than a usual Sunday at this time. Before we went I wondered if OCB was really serving Prime Rib or if they were cutting their usual Roast Beef to appear to be Prime Rib. I hoped for real Prime Rib as it is a favorite. When we were seated the first thing that I did was go past the carving station and saw what looked from the distance to be Prime Rib - boneless, but most Prime Rib served at buffets are. I also looked around to see what else might be special for this Easter dinner that I just paid $13.99 each for along with $2.29 each for soft drinks. This was the most expensive meal price that I have ever paid at an OCB and add tax and tip on top it gets even more expensive. There did not appear to be anything else being served that was any different from any other Sunday at OCB - later, I did find that they had an Easter sheet cake out for dessert - a single layer yellow cake with green frosting with green colored coconut on top and a few jelly beans on each piece. The usual price at this OCB for Sunday dinner is $11.99 and for seniors, $10.49. Were we paying $2 or $3.50 more just for Prime Rib or for the privilege of their being open on Easter Sunday?
We dine at OCB fairly regularly for Sunday dinner. Everything that is usually there on Sundays was there for this "Feast". The Prime Rib - and that cake - were the only additions. After soup and salad, it was time to go up for Prime Rib. As I was waiting on the short line while the carver was slicing Prime Rib, turkey, ham, and steak for those in front of me, I saw that he was shaving off thin slices of Prime Rib. He was carving less than he usually does when he carves Roast Beef. No, this would never do! When I got up to him, I asked for a "thick" slice. He obliged and cut off a piece about three eights of an inch thick, not as thick as a usual slice of Prime Rib even at a buffet, but more than anyone else was getting. He put it on my plate and I saw that it looked a bit odd in the middle and at the bottom.The top looked as expected but not the rest. I added a baked potato to my plate along with some green beans and headed back to the table.
Back at the table, I looked more closely at the bottom and middle of the slice. It was slightly pink in color with grey but it did not really look like beef. It was smooth on both sides and seemed dense. The top was just right. There was a coating of way too much salt, pepper and what seemed to be the seasoning used on OCB steaks. Below that charred coating was a layer of fat - again, as expected with Prime Rib and below that fat meat that looked as it should with the appearance and texture of beef. I wondered if the top looked like this, what the heck was going on with the rest. The texture of the middle and bottom of the slice - the entire slice - was more like ham than beef. It chewed like ham and was dense like ham. The taste was fairly neutral - beef-like is the best way to describe it. The top - which as I say looked right (and good) tasted just like Prime Rib. What type of cut of beef was this? The only way to describe what this is like is to say that it was very similar to a certain roast beef fast food chain's roast beef used on their sandwiches - not exactly beef but a beef formed together, not looking like roast beef, not having the same texture as roast beef, and not having the same taste as roast beef. Could this be like that? I have no idea, but it was unlike any Prime Rib that I have ever had and I have had Prime Rib from fine restaurants and every day buffets. Never before had any have the texture of what this had below the top eighth of the meat. I very much enjoyed the top, but the rest was chewy and a great disappointment - and it raised the price of dinner! Just in case it was this one roast that was out when I first went up, I did go back for a second piece. I asked the carver again for a "thick" slice of Prime Rib and he carved a slice about as thick as the first. Again, it looked just like the first - and when I ate it, this piece was exactly like the first - some odd cut of Prime Rib - if Prime Rib REALLY was what it was.
There was no rush for Prime Rib at the carving area. Most people were taking ham, turkey, or steak - getting just what they would have gotten on any Sunday for dinner for less money. Those that got the Prime Rib had slivers of it put on their plates. Real Prime Rib could not be sliced that thin. This one slices smoothly into paper thin slices.
I seem to be having a run of disappointing buffet meals lately. It happens sometimes and when it does I have to discuss it with my wife who shares these meals with me to see if it is me being too critical or is what I am experiencing exactly as it is. With this - and the rest of the recently disappointing buffet meals, she agreed that they were, indeed, disappointing. I was looking forward to Prime Rib. I was ready to find just Roast Beef, but what I found - well you know what I found.
So what is the story Old Country Buffet? What was this meat that you called Prime Rib? Where is the new quality that Ovation Brands, Inc - parent company of OCB - and its president James Weedo are promising now at OCB in the foods that they serve. It was not here for this special Easter "Feast" - at least as far as the Prime Rib that raised the price of dinner is concerned.
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Friday, May 02, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
Easter Smorgasbord at IKEA
We went to another of the seasonal one night only smorgasbord dinners
at the restaurants at the IKEA stores. We have been many times now
since first discovering these wonderful dinners a few years ago. These
are dinners for the seasons - one at Easter, one mid-summer, one that
features primarily crayfish in late summer and one at Christmas. This
past year they held one that was not announced with very much notice on
Valentines Day - which unfortunately for us was in the midst of a heavy
snow storm.
We have always enjoyed these dinners and they are a wonderful value for the money - in fact extremely wonderful for the money as they only cost $12.99 per adult or $9.99 with an IKEA Family Card which are given free. The children's price is $4.99 or $2.99 with the Family Card. This price includes all you care to eat of the Swedish foods that are served along with desserts and soft drinks. As I have written before, many Swedes and Scandinavians attend these dinners and praise the food as authentic. The dinners are always held on a Friday night and there are two seatings - one from 4:00 pm to 6:pm and one from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
The foods served for the most part at each of the seasonal smorgasbords are basically the same with slight variations. What I have noticed at the last two or three smorgasbords that I have attended is that the selections have become a little more limited than they had been the first year, a few years ago, that we had started attending these dinners. Perhaps limited is the wrong word to use, perhaps it would be better to say that less is being put out. In the past there had been two complete buffet setups consisting of one very long and on short table for each setup with duplicate items. Lately this has been reduced to one very long table for each setup and a common short table for all of the buffet lines.They send you down the long tables on each side - reaching from side to side to take what you want. This means that four lines then converge on the one small table which this year held poached salmon.
This Easter Smorgasbord held the Friday BEFORE Good Friday was very crowded. The room was overflowing with guests (though as we were going in, they were still offering tickets meaning that the 7 pm seating had not sold out). The lines to the buffet tables were long - though they move quickly and at a steady flow. The staff that IKEA assign to these dinners are top-notch and go out of their way to make this a party atmosphere for all. At the Hicksville, NY IKEA where we attended this Easter Smorgasbord, we were near the beginning of the line when the buffet tables were opened and the guests were invited up to begin to dine. The tables were full of everything that was on the printed menu that is out (at the dinner and in advance) to tell you what is being served. There were two types of herring, a variety of salads, Swedish meatballs, Gravlox, marinated smoked salmon, platters of sliced ham, Prinskov sausages, poached salmon, cold shrimp with the heads on, breads, boiled potatoes cheese, shrimp stuffed hard boiled eggs and more. There are various toppings and dressings that go with specific dishes also out in serving bowls on the buffet tables.
I decided to start my first plate primarily with salmon and herring - though I could not resist my favorite Prinskov sausages and I took a couple of those. I took several spoonfulls of each of the two herrings and also several slices of Gravlax and marinated smoked salmon. I added some beet salad to my plate and went back to our table. My wife - as regular readers know - does not eat seafood and will not eat shrimp with the heads on - took ham, meatballs and tossed salad along with boiled potatoes. I was going to wait until my next trip up for ham. The problem was that on the second plate - which was not too far into the evening - all of the ham was gone. As was the herring. Now, there was plenty to take and they were replenishing what they had, but it was a great surprise to me that ham which is a feature of this dinner - and actually all of their dinners - was gone by 7:30! I filled my next plate with a couple of meatballs, more Prinskov sausages, poached salmon, and more smoked salmon (the Gravlax was also gone - as were some of the salads). I was glad that I took the herring on the first plate - and my wife was glad that she took the ham on her first plate! While they have run out of some things during past dinners, this was the first time that they ran out so early into the dinner. Perhaps the first seating overwhelmed them - BUT since this diner is sold by ticket in advance they know how many to prepare for at each seating.
The food was excellent. It always is - and we ate plenty. But we would have preferred to have had the choice that was on the table for most of the night. Something else was going on during this dinner - not by the restaurant - but by the people who were dining. People were filling plates of items and returning to their tables with them - not as in filling their dinner plate - but filling a plate with item x and another plate with item y. This was especially true when it came to desserts. Plates filled with six or more cupcakes brought back to the table as along with other desserts the same. We went up for dessert and there were no cupcakes left - and the table next to us had a plate of seven cupcakes which they did not eat - when they left, the cupcakes were still there and before they left they filled a bag with about thirty cookies which they took with them. This seemed to be going on all over. Just like at any buffet taking food away is not permitted. My wife commented to one of the employees what was happening whose reaction was "that is not allowed" but nothing was done. The employees were trying hard to get out what desserts they had to be sure that everyone who wanted something got something - but those cupcakes looked real good and they were gone.
During the evening we purchased our tickets for the mid-summer buffet. We are looking forward to it and will know to be sure to take what we want ahead of time - we will eat everything that we take, of course. Of course, every IKEA is different. Nothing may have run out of any of the other buffets being served at all of the other IKEAs on that night or other things may have run out. No matter what - you can't beat what you are getting for ten bucks - a smoked salmon appetizer alone would cost you that or more in a restaurant.
Tickets are now on sale for the mid-summer smorgasbord. Go to any IKEA to the restaurant cashier and purchase your tickets. If you don't already have one get an IKEA Family Card at any one of the many computer kiosks around the store and you will save two dollars each on the smorgasbord and be entitled to reduced price specials in the restaurant and special discounts around the store.
We have always enjoyed these dinners and they are a wonderful value for the money - in fact extremely wonderful for the money as they only cost $12.99 per adult or $9.99 with an IKEA Family Card which are given free. The children's price is $4.99 or $2.99 with the Family Card. This price includes all you care to eat of the Swedish foods that are served along with desserts and soft drinks. As I have written before, many Swedes and Scandinavians attend these dinners and praise the food as authentic. The dinners are always held on a Friday night and there are two seatings - one from 4:00 pm to 6:pm and one from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
The foods served for the most part at each of the seasonal smorgasbords are basically the same with slight variations. What I have noticed at the last two or three smorgasbords that I have attended is that the selections have become a little more limited than they had been the first year, a few years ago, that we had started attending these dinners. Perhaps limited is the wrong word to use, perhaps it would be better to say that less is being put out. In the past there had been two complete buffet setups consisting of one very long and on short table for each setup with duplicate items. Lately this has been reduced to one very long table for each setup and a common short table for all of the buffet lines.They send you down the long tables on each side - reaching from side to side to take what you want. This means that four lines then converge on the one small table which this year held poached salmon.
This Easter Smorgasbord held the Friday BEFORE Good Friday was very crowded. The room was overflowing with guests (though as we were going in, they were still offering tickets meaning that the 7 pm seating had not sold out). The lines to the buffet tables were long - though they move quickly and at a steady flow. The staff that IKEA assign to these dinners are top-notch and go out of their way to make this a party atmosphere for all. At the Hicksville, NY IKEA where we attended this Easter Smorgasbord, we were near the beginning of the line when the buffet tables were opened and the guests were invited up to begin to dine. The tables were full of everything that was on the printed menu that is out (at the dinner and in advance) to tell you what is being served. There were two types of herring, a variety of salads, Swedish meatballs, Gravlox, marinated smoked salmon, platters of sliced ham, Prinskov sausages, poached salmon, cold shrimp with the heads on, breads, boiled potatoes cheese, shrimp stuffed hard boiled eggs and more. There are various toppings and dressings that go with specific dishes also out in serving bowls on the buffet tables.
I decided to start my first plate primarily with salmon and herring - though I could not resist my favorite Prinskov sausages and I took a couple of those. I took several spoonfulls of each of the two herrings and also several slices of Gravlax and marinated smoked salmon. I added some beet salad to my plate and went back to our table. My wife - as regular readers know - does not eat seafood and will not eat shrimp with the heads on - took ham, meatballs and tossed salad along with boiled potatoes. I was going to wait until my next trip up for ham. The problem was that on the second plate - which was not too far into the evening - all of the ham was gone. As was the herring. Now, there was plenty to take and they were replenishing what they had, but it was a great surprise to me that ham which is a feature of this dinner - and actually all of their dinners - was gone by 7:30! I filled my next plate with a couple of meatballs, more Prinskov sausages, poached salmon, and more smoked salmon (the Gravlax was also gone - as were some of the salads). I was glad that I took the herring on the first plate - and my wife was glad that she took the ham on her first plate! While they have run out of some things during past dinners, this was the first time that they ran out so early into the dinner. Perhaps the first seating overwhelmed them - BUT since this diner is sold by ticket in advance they know how many to prepare for at each seating.
The food was excellent. It always is - and we ate plenty. But we would have preferred to have had the choice that was on the table for most of the night. Something else was going on during this dinner - not by the restaurant - but by the people who were dining. People were filling plates of items and returning to their tables with them - not as in filling their dinner plate - but filling a plate with item x and another plate with item y. This was especially true when it came to desserts. Plates filled with six or more cupcakes brought back to the table as along with other desserts the same. We went up for dessert and there were no cupcakes left - and the table next to us had a plate of seven cupcakes which they did not eat - when they left, the cupcakes were still there and before they left they filled a bag with about thirty cookies which they took with them. This seemed to be going on all over. Just like at any buffet taking food away is not permitted. My wife commented to one of the employees what was happening whose reaction was "that is not allowed" but nothing was done. The employees were trying hard to get out what desserts they had to be sure that everyone who wanted something got something - but those cupcakes looked real good and they were gone.
During the evening we purchased our tickets for the mid-summer buffet. We are looking forward to it and will know to be sure to take what we want ahead of time - we will eat everything that we take, of course. Of course, every IKEA is different. Nothing may have run out of any of the other buffets being served at all of the other IKEAs on that night or other things may have run out. No matter what - you can't beat what you are getting for ten bucks - a smoked salmon appetizer alone would cost you that or more in a restaurant.
Tickets are now on sale for the mid-summer smorgasbord. Go to any IKEA to the restaurant cashier and purchase your tickets. If you don't already have one get an IKEA Family Card at any one of the many computer kiosks around the store and you will save two dollars each on the smorgasbord and be entitled to reduced price specials in the restaurant and special discounts around the store.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Return to the Easter Smorgasbord at IKEA
We have now gone full circle in the year and attended all of the Ikea store restaurant special one night seasonal smorgasbord dinners with the exception of the All You Can Eat Crayfish dinner in August. In mid-March we dined at the pre-Easter smorgasbord for the second year in a row. One thing that strikes us is the number of Swedish-Americans who are present dining at these meals - and enjoying every bit of it and talk of how well it compares to Swedish restaurants that they have been to in the United States, and even to the same foods that they have had in Sweden - and cooked at home by their grandmothers. When ever people of a culture that is the same as a restaurant dine there and praise the food - no matter whether it is a buffet or a menu restaurant, that indicates to me very positive things about the food. We are not Swedish so we only know that it tastes good to us - it is great to learn on the spot that it tastes right to the Swedish people who are eating it there also. And all this happens in a furniture store's cafeteria restaurant. These dinners require advanced purchase tickets and there are two seatings - one from 4 pm to 6 pm and the other from 7 pm to 9 pm. This dinner sold out weeks before. We had our tickets purchased in advance at the time of the Christmas dinner and we had the second (and our preferred) seating. There as a long line to get in at 6:30 when we arrived. The line got longer as it approached 7 pm and they started seating at 6:50 pm.
The menu at each dinner is very similar to each other with some seasonal variations. This Easter Smorgasbord was slightly different from the one we enjoyed last year. For one thing the cold shrimp that was missing last year was there in quantity this year. These were whole boiled shrimp with head on. They were not large shrimp but cocktail shrimp size. They were served with red cocktail sauce on the side. Many American diners do not like to see their food that natural and shun shrimp with the heads on. My wife who will only eat shrimp and no other seafood will not eat shrimp with the head on - even though all you need do is pinch the head easily off and what remains is the same peel and eat shrimp you get everywhere else. Many who enjoy shrimp with the head on will tell you to suck out the head as it is the best and tastiest part. This year there was also one hearing variety missing from the three served last year. There was a hearing in cream sauce and a marinated hearing in a mustardy sweeter sauce. There was not the hearing in wine sauce as there was last year. There was also no steamed mixed hot vegetables but there was a large green tossed salad instead. There is so much else that these are not really missed. Also different from last year, the ham was served cold rather than carved hot.
Similar to last year the offerings duplicated on two long buffet tables set up down the middle of the dinning room were:
Assorted Herring
Hardboiled eggs with mayo and shrimp
Hardboiled eggs with herring roe or tångkorn
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Marinated Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Poached Salmon
Swedish Cheese
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Red Beet Salad
Breads: Crispbread, several sliced breads, Dinner rolls
Swedish Meatballs with gravy
Boiled potatoes w/dill
Lingonberries
Swedish Ham with Mustard
Pinskov (sausages)
Gratäng Jansson
Fresh fruit
Assorted Swedish desserts and cookies
Fountain Beverages, Hot beverages
I have now come to find favorites and while I will try things I have not tried before, I concentrate my meal on those favorites. For me those are the herrings, the grave lax and smoked salmon, the poached salmon, and the Pinskov which are small sausages similar in texture and slightly similar in taste to hot dogs. I have said this in other articles. I do not like to eat cooked salmon. I enjoy raw salmon sushi and I love smoked salmon. I do not like the texture or taste of cooked salmon. I do, however, like the poached salmon that I have had here. On this dinner there were three, large, whole salmon put out on their own table.
Desserts were a bit different. There were large squares of yellow cake on a platter with a large tray each of lingonberry jam and strawberry jam next to it. There was also a large cold tray of vanilla pudding. Along with these were cookies with a chocolate filling inside an open heart and cookies with a jelly filling inside an open heart. There were also cans of whipped cream to top what you wished. I don't often take dessert, but I tried each and each was very good. On each table there were bottles of a malt soda beverage (non-alcoholic) and at the counter there were individual cups of the same festive holiday beverage.
I left feeling overly full. There are foods here that I only get when I am at one of these, and I tend to overindulge.
What is remarkable for a restaurant that is not normally a buffet is that this little cafeteria restaurant and staff replace emptying platters immediately, are all over the dinning room taking empty dishes away from tables almost immediately, and keep the whole place spotless - and everyone has a smile and those smiles do not look just put on. Management comes around the dining room greeting and chatting with the guests. There are staff watching the buffet tables continually from beginning to end and there is never a platter empty. Toward the end of the night there is only one buffet table still open but that table is as full as it was at 7:00 pm! The food that is supposed to be hot is hot. The food that is supposed to be cold is cold. I know many full time buffets that cannot even come close to getting it this right.
During the evening there was a line at the cashier to purchase tickets for the next special smorgasbord dinner on June 15 - the mid-summer smorgasbord! This full dinner costs $12.99 per adult and $5.00 per child - now, get a free family card (available instantly at kiosks all over the store) and you only pay $9.99 per adult and $2.50 per child! Incredible! You can't buy lox (smoked salmon) in a store for less than that and here you have that and all the rest for all you care to eat.
These dinners are highly recommended and they happen at every Ikea location on the same nights. The next one is June 15 but do not wait until then to buy your tickets. Go to the Ikea restaurant and buy them at the cash register for the restaurant. And get that Family Card before you do!
The menu at each dinner is very similar to each other with some seasonal variations. This Easter Smorgasbord was slightly different from the one we enjoyed last year. For one thing the cold shrimp that was missing last year was there in quantity this year. These were whole boiled shrimp with head on. They were not large shrimp but cocktail shrimp size. They were served with red cocktail sauce on the side. Many American diners do not like to see their food that natural and shun shrimp with the heads on. My wife who will only eat shrimp and no other seafood will not eat shrimp with the head on - even though all you need do is pinch the head easily off and what remains is the same peel and eat shrimp you get everywhere else. Many who enjoy shrimp with the head on will tell you to suck out the head as it is the best and tastiest part. This year there was also one hearing variety missing from the three served last year. There was a hearing in cream sauce and a marinated hearing in a mustardy sweeter sauce. There was not the hearing in wine sauce as there was last year. There was also no steamed mixed hot vegetables but there was a large green tossed salad instead. There is so much else that these are not really missed. Also different from last year, the ham was served cold rather than carved hot.
Similar to last year the offerings duplicated on two long buffet tables set up down the middle of the dinning room were:
Assorted Herring
Hardboiled eggs with mayo and shrimp
Hardboiled eggs with herring roe or tångkorn
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Marinated Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Poached Salmon
Swedish Cheese
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Red Beet Salad
Breads: Crispbread, several sliced breads, Dinner rolls
Swedish Meatballs with gravy
Boiled potatoes w/dill
Lingonberries
Swedish Ham with Mustard
Pinskov (sausages)
Gratäng Jansson
Fresh fruit
Assorted Swedish desserts and cookies
Fountain Beverages, Hot beverages
I have now come to find favorites and while I will try things I have not tried before, I concentrate my meal on those favorites. For me those are the herrings, the grave lax and smoked salmon, the poached salmon, and the Pinskov which are small sausages similar in texture and slightly similar in taste to hot dogs. I have said this in other articles. I do not like to eat cooked salmon. I enjoy raw salmon sushi and I love smoked salmon. I do not like the texture or taste of cooked salmon. I do, however, like the poached salmon that I have had here. On this dinner there were three, large, whole salmon put out on their own table.
Desserts were a bit different. There were large squares of yellow cake on a platter with a large tray each of lingonberry jam and strawberry jam next to it. There was also a large cold tray of vanilla pudding. Along with these were cookies with a chocolate filling inside an open heart and cookies with a jelly filling inside an open heart. There were also cans of whipped cream to top what you wished. I don't often take dessert, but I tried each and each was very good. On each table there were bottles of a malt soda beverage (non-alcoholic) and at the counter there were individual cups of the same festive holiday beverage.
I left feeling overly full. There are foods here that I only get when I am at one of these, and I tend to overindulge.
What is remarkable for a restaurant that is not normally a buffet is that this little cafeteria restaurant and staff replace emptying platters immediately, are all over the dinning room taking empty dishes away from tables almost immediately, and keep the whole place spotless - and everyone has a smile and those smiles do not look just put on. Management comes around the dining room greeting and chatting with the guests. There are staff watching the buffet tables continually from beginning to end and there is never a platter empty. Toward the end of the night there is only one buffet table still open but that table is as full as it was at 7:00 pm! The food that is supposed to be hot is hot. The food that is supposed to be cold is cold. I know many full time buffets that cannot even come close to getting it this right.
During the evening there was a line at the cashier to purchase tickets for the next special smorgasbord dinner on June 15 - the mid-summer smorgasbord! This full dinner costs $12.99 per adult and $5.00 per child - now, get a free family card (available instantly at kiosks all over the store) and you only pay $9.99 per adult and $2.50 per child! Incredible! You can't buy lox (smoked salmon) in a store for less than that and here you have that and all the rest for all you care to eat.
These dinners are highly recommended and they happen at every Ikea location on the same nights. The next one is June 15 but do not wait until then to buy your tickets. Go to the Ikea restaurant and buy them at the cash register for the restaurant. And get that Family Card before you do!
Friday, March 30, 2012
AT THE EASTER SMORGASBORD AT IKEA
This past February I wrote an article on this site telling all of you about a special one night holiday smorgasbord that would be served at the IKEA stores in their restaurant. That article was met with a barrage of comments from readers who I don't really believe understand what this site is all about, but those comments focused upon the quality of food at buffets in general. I am not going to go into that here - and such comments made to this article in that regard will not be published. This article is about my meal at the Easter Smorgasbord at IKEA on the one night it was served in 2012 - March 23, 2012.
We purchased our tickets four weeks in advance of the meal. Tickets must be purchased in advance, though I will tell you later about how you might be able to pay on the night of the dinner and maybe get in. We purchased tickets for the 7 to 9 seating. There was an earlier seating from 4 to 6. The tickets cost just $9.99 and the meal is all you care to eat and all inclusive. We went to the dinner at the IKEA store in Hicksville, New York.
We were not really certain what to expect. We were not sure how they would transform a cafeteria style restaurant with a not very large dining room into an all you can eat experience. I was also not sure how they could sell a limited number of tickets that would correspond to seating this many and that many at each table. In other words, if you have a table for four and three sit down, it is unlikely that the fourth seat at that table is going to be used - so if you have a potential of, say, 200 seats, you cannot really sell 200 tickets. That was not my concern, and as they have done this many times before, I was sure that they would know what to do - and they did. When we bought our tickets there was a serial number on each ticket. The cashier selling them to us recorded those numbers and took my name and phone number. We purchased them at the restaurant cashier.
The dinner was to start at 7. I figured that we should be there early - still not knowing what to expect. The regular restaurant had been closed all afternoon and only opened for the first smorgasbord seating at 4 pm. We left home to arrive at about 6:30. We actually got up to the second floor of the store to the area outside of the restaurant at 6:30 pm and found a line that stretched from the entrance to the restaurant back to almost the entrance stairs coming up from the first floor. We got on the back of the line with the rest of the people who got there early for the 7:00 seating. The line continued to grow behind us. My curiosity was getting the better of me and I walked up to the front in the children's furniture department to sneak a peak at the inside of the restaurant. There I saw all of the dining tables set with silverware, a glass and a brightly colored paper napkin in the glass. In the middle of the restaurant where other tables would be when the restaurant is open for regular meals, was two long tables set up with serving platters and hot chafing dishes of food. There were four sides to server from - but I was too far at that point to see any detail. There was a buzz of employees carrying out platters of food and preparing the serving tables for the waiting guests. On the line were couples, families, groups, parents with children and babies.
At just before 7:00 pm the line started to move forward at a good pace. There were two employees standing at the entrance taking tickets. No one said anything about where to sit and everyone was finding a table of their choice. We found a table near where we usually sit when we have dinner at this store's restaurant. It was a table set for four. We sat at the outer two seats and expected that at some point another couple would come to sit in the other two seats. The actual tables have a separation between them though they share the same legs and frame. It would be fine with us if others came to join us.
There was a gentlemen from the restaurant directing people into the winding, railed area that is used for the cafeteria line. The cafeteria counters were closed. They used the railed area to organize the line that went into the area with the buffet serving tables. From here we could see that each side of the tables had the same food on it as the other side. Desserts were off to the side in a cold server where soups and salads are usually served on regular nights and the usual drink area was where you got your beverage. The line moved steadily up to the serving tables and there was a very pleasant employee holding the front of the line until there was an opening at the rear of one of the sides of the serving table and then let your party up to take your food. It was extremely well organized. We reached this gentleman who greeted us and in a few moments he saw and opening and told us to step right in and enjoy the dinner. We went up to the serving table and started selecting what we wanted to try.
The menu for the dinner that was on the IKEA website is as follows:
Assorted Herring
Hardboiled eggs with mayo and shrimp
Hardboiled eggs with herring roe or tångkorn
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Marinated Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Poached Salmon
Assorted Cheeses
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Red Beet Salad
Breads: Crispbread, Crisprolls, Dinner rolls
Swedish Meatballs
Mashed Potatoes
Boiled potatoes w/dill
Lingonberries
Swedish Ham with Mustard
Gratäng Jansson
Assorted Swedish desserts and cookies
Fountain Beverages, Hot beverages
What was served varied from this only slightly. I will tell you here that there were no shrimp with cocktail sauce, no mashed potatoes, and from what I have been able to find out what Gratang Jansson is (if I am not mistaken) there was no Gratang Jansson. There were other dishes that are not listed here.
I had been a bit concerned before we went that my picky eater wife would not find things to eat. I know that she does like the meatballs, she does eat ham, she does eat boiled potatoes, and she does eat salad, so I knew that she should be OK - as long as things are not covered in unknown, to her, sauces. They were not.
Looking at the crowd, and the line, and that it appeared that waiting on line again to go back - and not sure how long the crowds would be coming in - they still were at this point, I decided that it would be best to do what I never do and fill my plate with a mixture of things that I would ordinarily take in courses and go back up for. So on my first plate I took a small piece of each of the three types of herring - one in a cream sauce, one in a dark thin sauce, and one in a clear thin sauce. I also took some of each type of the smoked salmon - the marinated salmon and the smoked salmon. All sauces were in serving dishes at the sides of the main dishes. There was only one type of cheese - a white, mild cheese and I took one chunk of that to try. I took a spoon of the red beat salad (or perhaps it was a hot red cabbage salad - I am not really certain), and I also took a dinner roll. There was a large platter of sliced ham. I took a slice of that. I looked at a long hot serving dish and there were small sausages cut in half and baked. I took a couple of those and finished my plate with a spoon of their Swedish meatballs that were served in their cream gravy. As I say, I was not certain at this point what to expect coming back up and this was not a usual buffet set up where taking a little and coming back for another plate of different things. I later found that while there really was no problem going back up for more, it was really not conducive to my usual buffet dining strategy. Not a problem.
We went back to our table and set our plates down. For those concerned about saving your table while you go up to the buffet, we carried Spring jackets with us (which came in handy when we left for home in the cooler night air) and put them on the back of our chairs. We had also taken our napkins out of our glasses and the silverware set on the napkins before we went up to the serving tables. We then went up to get our beverages and there were all of the usual sodas plus ligonberry juice, coffee and tea - and there was a table set up serving a traditional Swedish holiday spiced beverage and sparkling apple and ligonberry drinks - all non-alcoholic, of course. There were still people first coming into the restaurant from the line outside the restaurant and there was still the line going into the serving tables.
The food was all very good. We later saw that much of what is served is the same as what is sold in the store's small Swedish food mart at very high prices. There was no question that the food was of quality.
I started on my plate following what I would usually eat in the order that I would have taken it if I went up at different times for several plates to make up this one. (Some people were taking several plates at a time and putting different items on them and taking them back to their tables. Since it is not in my nature at buffets to do this, this had not occurred to me, but I might do it that way next time.)
The three cold herring dishes were very good. I liked the one in cream sauce best - though it was a different cream sauce than what is usually found at NY deli counters which is more of a sour cream base mixed with raw onions. This was a yellow cream sauce and very good. I took a little more of that one on a later trip back. The marinated and smoked salmon were excellent. I liked the marinated a bit more than the smoked salmon. I had taken some type of sauce that was next to the salmon platters that was a yellow cream sauce with perhaps capers. I do not know if this was the mustard sauce or the horseradish sauce but it was a nice addition to the taste of both of the salmon that I took. One thing that they could have done better is label everything. I really had no idea what the items were that I had never seen before - or what was what beyond the obvious. The only label that I actually saw was a sign in front of the meatballs and there was no confusion at all about what those were without a sign. The cheese that I took for just a taste was pleasant and mild. I have no idea what type of cheese it was. I finished the cold fish dishes and moved on to the entree items. The little sausages were wonderful. I have no idea what they were. They looked like small hotdogs and had that consistency of meat in the casing but they did not taste like hotdogs. The Swedish meatballs were good as they always are here. The ham was mild in taste and served cold. It had more of a quantity of fat around the meat than hams usually found in the US and the outside was a thin rind which, unlike some hams served at buffets, could be eaten and enjoyed. There did not seem to be any sauce cooked on it or into it -and there was a rich, brown, spiced mustard in a serving dish next to the ham. The red beet salad was much like hot red cabbage that I have had before at other restaurants. I enjoyed it. The boiled potato was, what should I say - a boiled potato and nice. Again, everything was very good. My wife took what I expected that she would take. She is not an adventurous eater but she was very happy with her selections.
While we were eating we were joined at the table by another couple who asked if we minded them sitting at the second section of our table and we told them, of course not. They were very pleasant and we had a small exchange of dinner conversation with them without feeling intruded upon in talking between ourselves - as they seemed comfortable with as well.
When we went up for a second plate, there was still a line at the buffet tables - and still people coming in from outside with tickets. The line for the buffet tables was not as long. We were greeted again by the same pleasant gentleman who directed us to an open space in one of the serving lines. All of the four serving lines had exactly the same food to take. This time in addition to taking a few of the things that I had enjoyed the most, I took some of the poached salmon and some of the cucumber salad. We also took a disk of the crisp bread to share. They also had a flat bread that looked like a square wheat flour tortilla. We thought that we might go back to share a piece of that later. There was a serving bowl of something that looked like pink cream in the middle of the salads. I had no idea what this was, so I took a spoonful to find out.
I do not generally like cooked salmon of any type. I enjoy raw salmon sushi, salmon belly lox, smoked salmon, and gravlax. Cook salmon and I don't like the taste or consistency of it. The serving platter of the poached salmon was a long wooden board with a silver salmon fish head at one end and a silver fish tail at the other end. The poached salmon was laid out in between this decorative head and tail. It was covered in a sauce of sliced cucumbers. I could see from one platter that was nearly done and being taken away as it was replaced with another whole salmon that there were a large number of bones in this fish. As I scooped the spoon into the fish to take some, I could see long, thin fish bones come away from the salmon meat as I took the spoon up and out. The spoonful of fish that I put on my plate was very creamy in appearance, as if mixed with a sauce, but it was not - it was poached. Back at the table, I took a forkful of this salmon expecting to not like it as I don't like other cooked salmon. I was pleasantly surprised at the creamy texture and very mild cooked salmon taste. I finally found a cooked salmon that I would eat again.
The cucumber salad was exactly like cucumber salad that I have had in the Pennsylvania Dutch area. It is thinly sliced cucumber in a sweet sugared and dill vinegar. The vinegar taste is very mild and the taste is mostly but not overly sweet. Nice. Were I not concerned that I was already putting my blood sugar into a steady increase with the various things that I was trying - and intended still to try, I would have had more.
The crisp bread we later found out was a rye crisp bread. It is a baked disk of a cracker like bread with holes in it and this one was dark brown in color. It was nice. It was not something that I would go out of my way to have - though we found out later looking in the food mart that one disk is only 15 grams of carbohydrate including additional fiber which in the world of crackers and bread products is not bad.
The pink cream at first taste seemed to be a very creamy egg salad. The taste was definitely egg, but the pink color seemed to come from ligonberries and there was also very tiny potatoes in the mixture. It was an egg/potato salad and very good.
By 7:35 pm there was no longer a line coming into the restaurant. By 8:00 there was no longer any line to get up to the serving tables. You could now walk right up. This is just one hour into the two hour meal seating. Also just after 8:00 pm a few people came in to the restaurant and were taken to the cashier where they paid and came in to eat - without advanced tickets. By this time people had left and there were empty tables so it was no problem finding a table and employees were all around the dining room showing people where to sit if they were unsure throughout the night.
A third plate was looming in the back of my head and we both went back up for one. This time I took a small amount and just things that I especially enjoyed. I wanted more of those little sausages. The serving trays of sausages on both tables were empty. Platters and food were continually being brought out - everything was replaced as soon as it appeared like it soon would be empty - the best way to do it. I waited expecting more sausages to come out. Apparently they had been popular and there were no more. There was plenty of the rest and it all kept coming out. I did also notice that the beet/cabbage (?) hot salad was also gone, but in its place was a vegetable mixture that had not been out before that included zucchini, carrots, and broccoli. My wife was delighted at this and took some. Later those vegetables also took the place of where the sausages had been. There was also no more of the flat bread that we waited to try. SO - those that came in past 8 did not get the sausages, flat bread, or the beet/cabbage dish - they did get mixed vegetables. There was plenty of ham, meatballs, salmon, cold salmon, herring, rolls, crisp bread, and the rest. It occurred to me also that had we been at the first seating at 4:00 pm then nothing would have run out. But even those few things that did run out, did not detract from the overall dinner. As I say, there was plenty of what everyone came for.
I walked past the desserts several times during the meal. If I could eat them, I would have had one of each - as the lady at the table next to us had. There were large cream puffs full of whipped cream with the top of the cake that was sliced off to fill it with cream sitting on top of the cream, apple cake, and two chocolate cakes - one with caramel and such on top, and the other looked like a brownie but wasn't. There was also a tray of assorted cookies - all very thin cookies that looked real good. Again, I cannot eat dessert but I have heard a lot of about their apple cake and I had to try that. I took a small piece. All of the cakes are cut into small squares - except the cream puffs which were as big as a large fist. All were there to take and if you wanted a large piece, all you had to do was take several pieces. It is nicer to be able to take an assortment.
I took the apple cake. The cakes are the same as those sold in the store's Swedish Food Mart in the freezer case. The piece of apple cake that I took must have been just put out, because while the outside was soft and moist, the center of the apple section was still very cold from being frozen. It was not frozen hard, but very cold. The cake was nice. The cake part was a bread-like cake and the apple was seasoned with cinnamon. It was not too sweet and the apple was not tart. I finished the whole little piece. I may regret that later when I test my blood sugar, but that is OK for me on an occasional basis and I do not regularly eat desserts, though I would love to.
At this meal, just like anytime eating at an IKEA restaurant, you clear your own dirty dishes. There are racks put in sectioned off areas around the dining room to place dirty dishes. After each plate, we put the dirty dishes there. Not a problem. It is easy to do and the area to put the plates in is clean to walk into and place the plates down (on trays laid out for the purpose on carts).
The employees throughout the night were exceptional. Everyone was pleasant and very welcoming. Three times during the meal someone came to our table - and all of the tables, to ask if everything was fine, if there was anything that we needed, and once we were given coupons to use in the Swedish Food Mart in the store - in case you wanted to take home some of the things that you ate or serve them yourself at your own Easter dinner. It appeared that some of the employees around the dining room were management. There was a certain air about them and they were very attentive to everything going on. The line staff were just as attentive. As I said, no platter went empty before it was replaced.
The whole meal and experience was delightful. The people that sat at our table with us said they have been to these dinners before and came from a distance to come here. They told us that they come to these dinners four times a year. We did not know there were any others than Christmas and Easter. We were told by one of the gentlemen who came around to the tables that there will be another special smorgasbord dinner served in June. I do not know what occaision that is for, but I certainly will keep an eye out for it and tell you all about it in advance so that you will be sure to be able to purchase tickets. There is no mention yet that I can see on their website.
For the nay-sayers - Is this "authentic" Swedish cooking? I have no idea. I am not Swedish and I have never had a Swedish meal cooked for me by someone who is. I can tell you this - no international restaurant - no matter what class, what cuisine, or what price range - is going to match the food prepared at home by a native cook of that country. I am 100% Italian American. One set of my grandparents' parents were born in Italy and one set of my grandparents themselves were born in Italy. I grew up with the best of authentic Italian home cooking and no Italian restaurant that I have ever been to is as good as the food prepared by either grandmother or my mother. I have been to what are considered great Italian restaurants - some world famous. Some have come close. Many have been excellent in taste. I have enjoyed most and would recommend many, because I know that they will appeal to the American taste. So, I say this. If it tastes good, I eat it - and not worry about how authentic it is. There is no room for food snobs here.
I have now shared with you the experience of eating at one of IKEA's special smorgasbord dinners. You now know what to expect. I can only assume that it is the same set up at all of the IKEA restaurants. Just about everything else is consistent at their stores so I would see no reason why this would not be the same all over. I enjoyed it and I had a good time. It was fun. That is a lot to get for $10. If there is another in June, I will be going back. I know there will definitely be one in December and again next Easter. I recommend this meal for a different experience in buffet cuisine.
We purchased our tickets four weeks in advance of the meal. Tickets must be purchased in advance, though I will tell you later about how you might be able to pay on the night of the dinner and maybe get in. We purchased tickets for the 7 to 9 seating. There was an earlier seating from 4 to 6. The tickets cost just $9.99 and the meal is all you care to eat and all inclusive. We went to the dinner at the IKEA store in Hicksville, New York.
We were not really certain what to expect. We were not sure how they would transform a cafeteria style restaurant with a not very large dining room into an all you can eat experience. I was also not sure how they could sell a limited number of tickets that would correspond to seating this many and that many at each table. In other words, if you have a table for four and three sit down, it is unlikely that the fourth seat at that table is going to be used - so if you have a potential of, say, 200 seats, you cannot really sell 200 tickets. That was not my concern, and as they have done this many times before, I was sure that they would know what to do - and they did. When we bought our tickets there was a serial number on each ticket. The cashier selling them to us recorded those numbers and took my name and phone number. We purchased them at the restaurant cashier.
The dinner was to start at 7. I figured that we should be there early - still not knowing what to expect. The regular restaurant had been closed all afternoon and only opened for the first smorgasbord seating at 4 pm. We left home to arrive at about 6:30. We actually got up to the second floor of the store to the area outside of the restaurant at 6:30 pm and found a line that stretched from the entrance to the restaurant back to almost the entrance stairs coming up from the first floor. We got on the back of the line with the rest of the people who got there early for the 7:00 seating. The line continued to grow behind us. My curiosity was getting the better of me and I walked up to the front in the children's furniture department to sneak a peak at the inside of the restaurant. There I saw all of the dining tables set with silverware, a glass and a brightly colored paper napkin in the glass. In the middle of the restaurant where other tables would be when the restaurant is open for regular meals, was two long tables set up with serving platters and hot chafing dishes of food. There were four sides to server from - but I was too far at that point to see any detail. There was a buzz of employees carrying out platters of food and preparing the serving tables for the waiting guests. On the line were couples, families, groups, parents with children and babies.
At just before 7:00 pm the line started to move forward at a good pace. There were two employees standing at the entrance taking tickets. No one said anything about where to sit and everyone was finding a table of their choice. We found a table near where we usually sit when we have dinner at this store's restaurant. It was a table set for four. We sat at the outer two seats and expected that at some point another couple would come to sit in the other two seats. The actual tables have a separation between them though they share the same legs and frame. It would be fine with us if others came to join us.
There was a gentlemen from the restaurant directing people into the winding, railed area that is used for the cafeteria line. The cafeteria counters were closed. They used the railed area to organize the line that went into the area with the buffet serving tables. From here we could see that each side of the tables had the same food on it as the other side. Desserts were off to the side in a cold server where soups and salads are usually served on regular nights and the usual drink area was where you got your beverage. The line moved steadily up to the serving tables and there was a very pleasant employee holding the front of the line until there was an opening at the rear of one of the sides of the serving table and then let your party up to take your food. It was extremely well organized. We reached this gentleman who greeted us and in a few moments he saw and opening and told us to step right in and enjoy the dinner. We went up to the serving table and started selecting what we wanted to try.
The menu for the dinner that was on the IKEA website is as follows:
Assorted Herring
Hardboiled eggs with mayo and shrimp
Hardboiled eggs with herring roe or tångkorn
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Marinated Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Poached Salmon
Assorted Cheeses
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Red Beet Salad
Breads: Crispbread, Crisprolls, Dinner rolls
Swedish Meatballs
Mashed Potatoes
Boiled potatoes w/dill
Lingonberries
Swedish Ham with Mustard
Gratäng Jansson
Assorted Swedish desserts and cookies
Fountain Beverages, Hot beverages
What was served varied from this only slightly. I will tell you here that there were no shrimp with cocktail sauce, no mashed potatoes, and from what I have been able to find out what Gratang Jansson is (if I am not mistaken) there was no Gratang Jansson. There were other dishes that are not listed here.
I had been a bit concerned before we went that my picky eater wife would not find things to eat. I know that she does like the meatballs, she does eat ham, she does eat boiled potatoes, and she does eat salad, so I knew that she should be OK - as long as things are not covered in unknown, to her, sauces. They were not.
Looking at the crowd, and the line, and that it appeared that waiting on line again to go back - and not sure how long the crowds would be coming in - they still were at this point, I decided that it would be best to do what I never do and fill my plate with a mixture of things that I would ordinarily take in courses and go back up for. So on my first plate I took a small piece of each of the three types of herring - one in a cream sauce, one in a dark thin sauce, and one in a clear thin sauce. I also took some of each type of the smoked salmon - the marinated salmon and the smoked salmon. All sauces were in serving dishes at the sides of the main dishes. There was only one type of cheese - a white, mild cheese and I took one chunk of that to try. I took a spoon of the red beat salad (or perhaps it was a hot red cabbage salad - I am not really certain), and I also took a dinner roll. There was a large platter of sliced ham. I took a slice of that. I looked at a long hot serving dish and there were small sausages cut in half and baked. I took a couple of those and finished my plate with a spoon of their Swedish meatballs that were served in their cream gravy. As I say, I was not certain at this point what to expect coming back up and this was not a usual buffet set up where taking a little and coming back for another plate of different things. I later found that while there really was no problem going back up for more, it was really not conducive to my usual buffet dining strategy. Not a problem.
We went back to our table and set our plates down. For those concerned about saving your table while you go up to the buffet, we carried Spring jackets with us (which came in handy when we left for home in the cooler night air) and put them on the back of our chairs. We had also taken our napkins out of our glasses and the silverware set on the napkins before we went up to the serving tables. We then went up to get our beverages and there were all of the usual sodas plus ligonberry juice, coffee and tea - and there was a table set up serving a traditional Swedish holiday spiced beverage and sparkling apple and ligonberry drinks - all non-alcoholic, of course. There were still people first coming into the restaurant from the line outside the restaurant and there was still the line going into the serving tables.
The food was all very good. We later saw that much of what is served is the same as what is sold in the store's small Swedish food mart at very high prices. There was no question that the food was of quality.
I started on my plate following what I would usually eat in the order that I would have taken it if I went up at different times for several plates to make up this one. (Some people were taking several plates at a time and putting different items on them and taking them back to their tables. Since it is not in my nature at buffets to do this, this had not occurred to me, but I might do it that way next time.)
The three cold herring dishes were very good. I liked the one in cream sauce best - though it was a different cream sauce than what is usually found at NY deli counters which is more of a sour cream base mixed with raw onions. This was a yellow cream sauce and very good. I took a little more of that one on a later trip back. The marinated and smoked salmon were excellent. I liked the marinated a bit more than the smoked salmon. I had taken some type of sauce that was next to the salmon platters that was a yellow cream sauce with perhaps capers. I do not know if this was the mustard sauce or the horseradish sauce but it was a nice addition to the taste of both of the salmon that I took. One thing that they could have done better is label everything. I really had no idea what the items were that I had never seen before - or what was what beyond the obvious. The only label that I actually saw was a sign in front of the meatballs and there was no confusion at all about what those were without a sign. The cheese that I took for just a taste was pleasant and mild. I have no idea what type of cheese it was. I finished the cold fish dishes and moved on to the entree items. The little sausages were wonderful. I have no idea what they were. They looked like small hotdogs and had that consistency of meat in the casing but they did not taste like hotdogs. The Swedish meatballs were good as they always are here. The ham was mild in taste and served cold. It had more of a quantity of fat around the meat than hams usually found in the US and the outside was a thin rind which, unlike some hams served at buffets, could be eaten and enjoyed. There did not seem to be any sauce cooked on it or into it -and there was a rich, brown, spiced mustard in a serving dish next to the ham. The red beet salad was much like hot red cabbage that I have had before at other restaurants. I enjoyed it. The boiled potato was, what should I say - a boiled potato and nice. Again, everything was very good. My wife took what I expected that she would take. She is not an adventurous eater but she was very happy with her selections.
While we were eating we were joined at the table by another couple who asked if we minded them sitting at the second section of our table and we told them, of course not. They were very pleasant and we had a small exchange of dinner conversation with them without feeling intruded upon in talking between ourselves - as they seemed comfortable with as well.
When we went up for a second plate, there was still a line at the buffet tables - and still people coming in from outside with tickets. The line for the buffet tables was not as long. We were greeted again by the same pleasant gentleman who directed us to an open space in one of the serving lines. All of the four serving lines had exactly the same food to take. This time in addition to taking a few of the things that I had enjoyed the most, I took some of the poached salmon and some of the cucumber salad. We also took a disk of the crisp bread to share. They also had a flat bread that looked like a square wheat flour tortilla. We thought that we might go back to share a piece of that later. There was a serving bowl of something that looked like pink cream in the middle of the salads. I had no idea what this was, so I took a spoonful to find out.
I do not generally like cooked salmon of any type. I enjoy raw salmon sushi, salmon belly lox, smoked salmon, and gravlax. Cook salmon and I don't like the taste or consistency of it. The serving platter of the poached salmon was a long wooden board with a silver salmon fish head at one end and a silver fish tail at the other end. The poached salmon was laid out in between this decorative head and tail. It was covered in a sauce of sliced cucumbers. I could see from one platter that was nearly done and being taken away as it was replaced with another whole salmon that there were a large number of bones in this fish. As I scooped the spoon into the fish to take some, I could see long, thin fish bones come away from the salmon meat as I took the spoon up and out. The spoonful of fish that I put on my plate was very creamy in appearance, as if mixed with a sauce, but it was not - it was poached. Back at the table, I took a forkful of this salmon expecting to not like it as I don't like other cooked salmon. I was pleasantly surprised at the creamy texture and very mild cooked salmon taste. I finally found a cooked salmon that I would eat again.
The cucumber salad was exactly like cucumber salad that I have had in the Pennsylvania Dutch area. It is thinly sliced cucumber in a sweet sugared and dill vinegar. The vinegar taste is very mild and the taste is mostly but not overly sweet. Nice. Were I not concerned that I was already putting my blood sugar into a steady increase with the various things that I was trying - and intended still to try, I would have had more.
The crisp bread we later found out was a rye crisp bread. It is a baked disk of a cracker like bread with holes in it and this one was dark brown in color. It was nice. It was not something that I would go out of my way to have - though we found out later looking in the food mart that one disk is only 15 grams of carbohydrate including additional fiber which in the world of crackers and bread products is not bad.
The pink cream at first taste seemed to be a very creamy egg salad. The taste was definitely egg, but the pink color seemed to come from ligonberries and there was also very tiny potatoes in the mixture. It was an egg/potato salad and very good.
By 7:35 pm there was no longer a line coming into the restaurant. By 8:00 there was no longer any line to get up to the serving tables. You could now walk right up. This is just one hour into the two hour meal seating. Also just after 8:00 pm a few people came in to the restaurant and were taken to the cashier where they paid and came in to eat - without advanced tickets. By this time people had left and there were empty tables so it was no problem finding a table and employees were all around the dining room showing people where to sit if they were unsure throughout the night.
A third plate was looming in the back of my head and we both went back up for one. This time I took a small amount and just things that I especially enjoyed. I wanted more of those little sausages. The serving trays of sausages on both tables were empty. Platters and food were continually being brought out - everything was replaced as soon as it appeared like it soon would be empty - the best way to do it. I waited expecting more sausages to come out. Apparently they had been popular and there were no more. There was plenty of the rest and it all kept coming out. I did also notice that the beet/cabbage (?) hot salad was also gone, but in its place was a vegetable mixture that had not been out before that included zucchini, carrots, and broccoli. My wife was delighted at this and took some. Later those vegetables also took the place of where the sausages had been. There was also no more of the flat bread that we waited to try. SO - those that came in past 8 did not get the sausages, flat bread, or the beet/cabbage dish - they did get mixed vegetables. There was plenty of ham, meatballs, salmon, cold salmon, herring, rolls, crisp bread, and the rest. It occurred to me also that had we been at the first seating at 4:00 pm then nothing would have run out. But even those few things that did run out, did not detract from the overall dinner. As I say, there was plenty of what everyone came for.
I walked past the desserts several times during the meal. If I could eat them, I would have had one of each - as the lady at the table next to us had. There were large cream puffs full of whipped cream with the top of the cake that was sliced off to fill it with cream sitting on top of the cream, apple cake, and two chocolate cakes - one with caramel and such on top, and the other looked like a brownie but wasn't. There was also a tray of assorted cookies - all very thin cookies that looked real good. Again, I cannot eat dessert but I have heard a lot of about their apple cake and I had to try that. I took a small piece. All of the cakes are cut into small squares - except the cream puffs which were as big as a large fist. All were there to take and if you wanted a large piece, all you had to do was take several pieces. It is nicer to be able to take an assortment.
I took the apple cake. The cakes are the same as those sold in the store's Swedish Food Mart in the freezer case. The piece of apple cake that I took must have been just put out, because while the outside was soft and moist, the center of the apple section was still very cold from being frozen. It was not frozen hard, but very cold. The cake was nice. The cake part was a bread-like cake and the apple was seasoned with cinnamon. It was not too sweet and the apple was not tart. I finished the whole little piece. I may regret that later when I test my blood sugar, but that is OK for me on an occasional basis and I do not regularly eat desserts, though I would love to.
At this meal, just like anytime eating at an IKEA restaurant, you clear your own dirty dishes. There are racks put in sectioned off areas around the dining room to place dirty dishes. After each plate, we put the dirty dishes there. Not a problem. It is easy to do and the area to put the plates in is clean to walk into and place the plates down (on trays laid out for the purpose on carts).
The employees throughout the night were exceptional. Everyone was pleasant and very welcoming. Three times during the meal someone came to our table - and all of the tables, to ask if everything was fine, if there was anything that we needed, and once we were given coupons to use in the Swedish Food Mart in the store - in case you wanted to take home some of the things that you ate or serve them yourself at your own Easter dinner. It appeared that some of the employees around the dining room were management. There was a certain air about them and they were very attentive to everything going on. The line staff were just as attentive. As I said, no platter went empty before it was replaced.
The whole meal and experience was delightful. The people that sat at our table with us said they have been to these dinners before and came from a distance to come here. They told us that they come to these dinners four times a year. We did not know there were any others than Christmas and Easter. We were told by one of the gentlemen who came around to the tables that there will be another special smorgasbord dinner served in June. I do not know what occaision that is for, but I certainly will keep an eye out for it and tell you all about it in advance so that you will be sure to be able to purchase tickets. There is no mention yet that I can see on their website.
For the nay-sayers - Is this "authentic" Swedish cooking? I have no idea. I am not Swedish and I have never had a Swedish meal cooked for me by someone who is. I can tell you this - no international restaurant - no matter what class, what cuisine, or what price range - is going to match the food prepared at home by a native cook of that country. I am 100% Italian American. One set of my grandparents' parents were born in Italy and one set of my grandparents themselves were born in Italy. I grew up with the best of authentic Italian home cooking and no Italian restaurant that I have ever been to is as good as the food prepared by either grandmother or my mother. I have been to what are considered great Italian restaurants - some world famous. Some have come close. Many have been excellent in taste. I have enjoyed most and would recommend many, because I know that they will appeal to the American taste. So, I say this. If it tastes good, I eat it - and not worry about how authentic it is. There is no room for food snobs here.
I have now shared with you the experience of eating at one of IKEA's special smorgasbord dinners. You now know what to expect. I can only assume that it is the same set up at all of the IKEA restaurants. Just about everything else is consistent at their stores so I would see no reason why this would not be the same all over. I enjoyed it and I had a good time. It was fun. That is a lot to get for $10. If there is another in June, I will be going back. I know there will definitely be one in December and again next Easter. I recommend this meal for a different experience in buffet cuisine.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Swedish Easter Smorgasbord at IKEA in March
Before Christmas I wrote about the special holiday smorgasbord that IKEA store restaurants were serving for two seatings on one night only. I mentioned at that time that there is also similar smorgasbord served at Easter. These two special all you care to eat meals are annual events at IKEA. They take place at all IKEA locations. I was not able to go to the Christmas meal but we are planning on going to the Easter event.
This year the Easter Smorgasbord will take place on March 23, 2012. There will be two seatings. The first seating is from 4:00 to 5:30 pm and the second seating is from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Each, obviously an hour and a half. IKEA restaurant dining rooms are not large so there is a limited amount of seating available at each meal. You must purchase tickets in advance. IKEA is saying now, which they did not say at Christmas (I don't recall) that no tickets will be sold the day of the event. They are saying that now - no tickets will be sold on March 23. If you want to go you must decide in advance, and don't wait too long to purchase tickets. The price of this special all you can eat buffet is... $9.99. Children under 12 are just $2.49. The price is unbelievable.
What will be served is traditional to a Swedish Easter celebration dinner. The meal will include:
Assorted Herring
Hardboiled eggs with mayo and shrimp
Hardboiled eggs with herring roe or tångkorn
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Marinated Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Poached Salmon
Assorted Cheeses
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Red Beet Salad
Breads: Crispbread, Crisprolls, Dinner rolls
Swedish Meatballs
Mashed Potatoes
Boiled potatoes w/dill, Lingonberries
Swedish Ham with Mustard
Gratäng Jansson
Assorted Swedish desserts and cookies
Fountain Beverages, Hot beverages
If you are Swedish or Scandinavian you know what some of these things are beyond the obvious items written in English. I have no idea, but it all sounds good. While I have never experienced one of IKEA's smorgasbord special events, I have eaten at IKEA restaurants many times and the food is fine. There are several things on this menu that are not usually offered and there are a number of items that are standardly served at the IKEA restaurants. You cannot beat the price. Just an order of the meatballs and an order of the smoked salmon together cost more than the price of the entire smorgasbord! This sounds like a good and unique experience for a great price.
We will be there this year and I will tell you all about it after the meal. If you are interested go as soon as possible to your nearest IKEA store and purchase your tickets.
This year the Easter Smorgasbord will take place on March 23, 2012. There will be two seatings. The first seating is from 4:00 to 5:30 pm and the second seating is from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Each, obviously an hour and a half. IKEA restaurant dining rooms are not large so there is a limited amount of seating available at each meal. You must purchase tickets in advance. IKEA is saying now, which they did not say at Christmas (I don't recall) that no tickets will be sold the day of the event. They are saying that now - no tickets will be sold on March 23. If you want to go you must decide in advance, and don't wait too long to purchase tickets. The price of this special all you can eat buffet is... $9.99. Children under 12 are just $2.49. The price is unbelievable.
What will be served is traditional to a Swedish Easter celebration dinner. The meal will include:
Assorted Herring
Hardboiled eggs with mayo and shrimp
Hardboiled eggs with herring roe or tångkorn
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Marinated Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Poached Salmon
Assorted Cheeses
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Red Beet Salad
Breads: Crispbread, Crisprolls, Dinner rolls
Swedish Meatballs
Mashed Potatoes
Boiled potatoes w/dill, Lingonberries
Swedish Ham with Mustard
Gratäng Jansson
Assorted Swedish desserts and cookies
Fountain Beverages, Hot beverages
If you are Swedish or Scandinavian you know what some of these things are beyond the obvious items written in English. I have no idea, but it all sounds good. While I have never experienced one of IKEA's smorgasbord special events, I have eaten at IKEA restaurants many times and the food is fine. There are several things on this menu that are not usually offered and there are a number of items that are standardly served at the IKEA restaurants. You cannot beat the price. Just an order of the meatballs and an order of the smoked salmon together cost more than the price of the entire smorgasbord! This sounds like a good and unique experience for a great price.
We will be there this year and I will tell you all about it after the meal. If you are interested go as soon as possible to your nearest IKEA store and purchase your tickets.
Friday, November 25, 2011
All You Can Eat One Night Only Special Dinner at IKEA Stores Restaurants
IKEA is an international chain of home furniture stores. They are located across the United States. They are known for their "knock-down" furniture - furniture that you build yourself. Each store has a restaurant and while these restaurants are not buffets, they do have at different times of the year one night dinners that are All You Can Eat. One of those dinners will take place in two weeks and I wanted to get this out out all of our readers in time. This is something that is quite different and for what it is very inexpensive. On December 9, 2011, IKEA Store restaurants will be serving the all you can eat Swedish Christmas Julbord, a traditional holiday meal from Sweden.
The price of this meal is $9.99 per adult and just $2.49 per child under 12 and it requires tickets purchased in advance. Tickets can be obtained at the IKEA Store at the restaurant. Seating is very limited and there will be two seatings at each store, 4:00 pm to 6 pm and 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Times may vary from store to store.
The menu that will be served includes: Assorted Herrings, Graved Lax with Mustard Sauce, Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce, Whole Poached Salmon, Hard Boiled Eggs with Shrimp, Swedish Cucumber Salad, Red Beet Salad, Christmas Ham, Liverwurst Pate, Assorted Cheeses, Meatballs and Ligonberries, Prinskov Sausage, Red Cabbage, Boiled Potatoes with Dill, Gratang Jansson, Lussekatter, Crispbread, Thinbread, Dinner Rolls, Swedish Rice Pudding with Almonds, Assorted Desserts, Glogg (non-alcoholic), and Beverages - coffee, tea, and fountain drinks.
I have eaten at the IKEA restaurants from their usual daily menu and the food is good. This dinner sounds fabulous and it is an opportunity to try things that you have likely not had before - unless you are Swedish or have a Swedish restaurant nearby - and it is all you care to eat! The price is unbelievable - they will be losing money on the smoked salmon alone. Their usual desserts look great so the chance to have them like this makes this a meal that is not to be missed.
If you cannot make it to this year's Julbord at IKEA, there is another chance to have a similar meal at the IKEA restaurants in March 2012 for their Swedish Easter Smorgasbord. I, unfortunately, have to wait for the Spring dinner, but if you are able to attend this meal on December 9th, get over to your local IKEA store and buy your tickets now. Don't miss out!
There is a store locator on their website linked here. Enjoy!
The price of this meal is $9.99 per adult and just $2.49 per child under 12 and it requires tickets purchased in advance. Tickets can be obtained at the IKEA Store at the restaurant. Seating is very limited and there will be two seatings at each store, 4:00 pm to 6 pm and 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Times may vary from store to store.
The menu that will be served includes: Assorted Herrings, Graved Lax with Mustard Sauce, Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce, Whole Poached Salmon, Hard Boiled Eggs with Shrimp, Swedish Cucumber Salad, Red Beet Salad, Christmas Ham, Liverwurst Pate, Assorted Cheeses, Meatballs and Ligonberries, Prinskov Sausage, Red Cabbage, Boiled Potatoes with Dill, Gratang Jansson, Lussekatter, Crispbread, Thinbread, Dinner Rolls, Swedish Rice Pudding with Almonds, Assorted Desserts, Glogg (non-alcoholic), and Beverages - coffee, tea, and fountain drinks.
I have eaten at the IKEA restaurants from their usual daily menu and the food is good. This dinner sounds fabulous and it is an opportunity to try things that you have likely not had before - unless you are Swedish or have a Swedish restaurant nearby - and it is all you care to eat! The price is unbelievable - they will be losing money on the smoked salmon alone. Their usual desserts look great so the chance to have them like this makes this a meal that is not to be missed.
If you cannot make it to this year's Julbord at IKEA, there is another chance to have a similar meal at the IKEA restaurants in March 2012 for their Swedish Easter Smorgasbord. I, unfortunately, have to wait for the Spring dinner, but if you are able to attend this meal on December 9th, get over to your local IKEA store and buy your tickets now. Don't miss out!
There is a store locator on their website linked here. Enjoy!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Easter Buffet at the Milleridge Inn, Jericho, NY
In January I wrote about the Christmas Eve buffet at which I was a guest for dinner. I ended that review by saying that I could not recommend any buffet on any holiday at this restaurant. To recall, that article, the buffet dinners served at this menu restaurant on holidays in their catering building as special holiday dinners. This is not a buffet restaurant and the restaurant has been around for years and years. In fact, the holiday buffets have been around for years and years. So what happened this Easter? The same people invited us to holiday dinner again and again at the holiday buffet at this restaurant.
I must say that the experience was considerably better. But read on to my conclusion of whether you should spend a holiday dinner here.
The restaurant was crowded, both the menu dining and the holiday buffet. We were at the last seating and I anticipated a meal of empty trays, but that was not the case. Food was continually replenished. One of the problems at the Christmas Eve dinner was that our party of five was seated at a table that was barely large enough for three. This time we were seated at a table for eight and we had plenty of room.
Another problem at Christmas was that the dirty dishes were never picked up from our table and the service was terrible. For Easter the service was much better and dishes were picked up on a regular basis.
So with these improvements the meal must have been good. Well, yes and no. The meal was OK. The meal cost in the vicinity of $45 a person. Remember we were guests, so it is not polite to ask your host what they are paying for your meal. What surprised me was that soft drinks and coffee were included with the meal - and when you could grab a waiter you could get more soda (which is coming from the bar).
The meal was very similar to the menu served at Christmas. There was a large cold salad area that included prepared salads consisting of either pasta or rice. There were mozzarella cheese balls with tomatoes in a vinaigrette dressing. There was a chopped antipasto salad consisting of salamis, peppers, and olives. There was also a large spread of iced shrimp that had the shells removed. These were very sizable shrimp and would have made for a very expensive shrimp cocktail in a menu restaurant. The shrimp did taste as though they had been on ice too long. They were fine but they did not stand out as to what one might say were "tasty" shrimp. This is what I found to be the problem with most of the food served. For lack of a better way of putting it, the food did not "pop"! There was nothing that you would say, "Wow! That was marvelous X, Y, or Z!"
There was a bowl of mixed salad greens that appeared to be mostly spinach. There were two dressings next to it - a balsamic that was overly oily and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
Next to the salad area there was a table set up with hot trays of "kid" food. There were small pieces of hot dogs wrapped in dough. There were chicken fingers. There were French fries and there was macaroni and cheese.
The main hot food tables held chicken parmigiana, ziti ala vodka, eggplant rollatini, thin sliced beef with peppers and onions over rice, salmon in cream sauce, string beans, and roast potatoes. Carvings followed next. There was leg of lamb, ham, and for a short time there was pork roast which when it ran out was followed by a roll of beef.
Dessert is brought to your table by the waiter - one per person - and there was cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and ice cream to pick from.
All of the food was fine, but nothing stood out. Nothing was exceptionally tasty. In fact, I have had tastier food at chain buffets at a quarter the price. This is a restaurant that does these dinners as a way to show off their catering. The object is to have me think that the food is so wonderful that I want to have a large party there. Would I to have a party to plan, I would not come here if I wanted to impress my guests with the food.
Again, I must say that the service was much, much better. I just wish the food was better. I still cannot recommend this holiday buffet, this time on the basis of the food. For this much money it really does need to "pop". There should be some "wow" for something during the meal.
Do I now recommend this to anyone to try? If you want food that is just OK and you want to take a chance that they don't go back to the poor service that has been experienced here in the past - well, you decide.
Of course, if I am invited again, I can't really say no. This remains to be seen until next Christmas. We shall see. And obviously they do not read my articles.
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