A Guide To IKEA's Underappreciated Culinary Delights

Mmm! (Photo via IKEA)

Inspired by the news of IKEA's impending $9.99 Kraftskiva blowout celebration (or Crayfish Party, as it's called in these parts), we would like to take a moment to herald the unsung delights of IKEA's edible offerings. While it may not be your first thought for destination dining, the food at IKEA is more than serviceable—it's even pleasurable.

For starters, the store's beloved Swedish meatballs are not only a total steal—$2.99 for 10 meatballs with mashed potatoes, cream sauce and lingonberries—they're also quite delicious. Just ask Homer Simpson! Sure, the meat doesn't come from organic, grass-fed cows, but they're well-seasoned and have a great texture. Plus, they're tiny and fun to eat. The gravlax plate, only a few dollars more, disproves the theory that cheap seafood at a furniture store should be avoided. The thin, savory slices and lined with a ring of dill and come with an additively tangy mustard sauce (which is available by the bottle in the store's small grocery, FYI).

For dessert, it's worth it to pick up a 12-pack tray of the chain's massive, crusty cinnamon buns on your way out; though eat-in cafe diners have a bigger selection of bargain-bin Swedish pastries, like a crumbly almond cake or a dense Daim candy torte. And the aforementioned grocery, which has a separate checkout line that will save you from some modicum of madness, has a small but smart selection of hard Swedish cheeses, rye crackers and breads, and more jarred condiments than you can shake a fist at (sadly, the Cloudberry jam does not actually taste like clouds).

If none of the store's Swedish delights appeal to your American taste buds, perhaps we can convince you with this final offer: every Wednesday, the cafe hosts a delightfully weird Rib Night, offering half a rack of baby back ribs, fries and cornbread for the low, low price of $6.99. Field trip to the Red Hook smörgåsbord!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jamie Feldmar in Food on August 18, 2011 10:39 AM

Comments [rss]

pendejito

For a company that makes shitty, wood chip furniture that last no more than 1 year, I can only imagine the quality of their food.

No thanks. I don't go to furniture stores to eat, for the same reason I don't go to a shoe store to buy a lightbulb.

Ethan Van Beardswick

Is Ikea food really delightful, or is it basically mediocre, though served in a somewhat offbeat venue that one can pretend one discovered in conversation with other like-minded urban pioneers?

9illy

God I love Ikea food! And I don't care if I look like a 5 yo with my mac & cheese and french fries. That's some tasty mac & cheese and french fries! So filling for under 5 bucks!

Oh, and lingonberry juice! (I always think it should be klingonberry juice)

113121

Oh, if that is not good enough for you trust babies you can walk over to the Red Hook Lobster Pound and get a huge lobster roll just over on Van Brunt and walk it back to eat at the Ikea outdoor park and then get your boat ride. Not cheap but the best in NY.

113121

The mac and cheese at the Red Hook Ikea is fabulous. We go to Ikea get some mac and cheese and I stuff a few extra helpings in a baggie to take home. It's that good.The shrimp plate with hard boiled egg is a nice diet plate. Then when the sun sets we take the free water taxi back home and get a wonderful short night tour of the whole harbor. It's the worlds best cheap date.

JoanAngelson

You Yuppies in Brooklyn are such snobs. I bet you're all from Ohio or some other state where you grew up eating Beefaroni. Go back!

cookingshow

no love for the broccoli potato medallions?!

cr17

While the food at Ikea is fine, nothing special although cheap and decent, I'd much rather go the Red Hook Ball-fields for papusas in the summertime.

valerick

Those meatballs are the reason I avoid Ikea's food court. Honestly the most disgusting meatball I've ever tasted. Cold, mushy, and flavorless. It's what I imagine canned dog food tastes like.

Were they prepared to order for you or did you get them out of the same slop trough that the rest of us does?