Taste of Scandinavia: Rain and Good Cheer

June 6^th, 2009

A chill rain pounds away at the pockmarked parking lot, explodes and drizzles down the plump hoods of new-issue SUVs and smaller, more energy-conscious imports. Strips of yellow-grass-greening slurp at the moisture they've missed this past month, and hanging baskets of many hues swirl along the perimeter of the Linder's Garden tent, in the adjacent lot.

I'd snagged a seat by the window. My carrot and ginger soup, and half roast beef sandwich had long-since been demolished, but a robust cup of the deli's light blend coffee kept me company as I watched small groups of folks wait patiently at the bakery counter to order delights such as the Finnish Hot Beef BBQ, a Swedish Farmer's Omelet, or the Norwegian Lefse breakfast. That accomplished, they helped themselves to coffee, and settled companionably at one of the many small tables for the short wait for their food to be brought from the kitchen.

A steady stream of patrons shake their jackets out in the glass-windowed foyer, and stop to smile and nod as the door is held open by customers now satisfied and heading off to the rest of their day, a loaf of Norwegian milk bread, or a bag of fresh-baked cookies tucked under their arms. The Taste of Scandinavia Bakery and Deli is hopping on this early Saturday afternoon.

A mother comes in with two tweens who admire triangles of raspberry-almond kringler, but decide on banana-lingonberry smoothies. At a nearby table, an older man in a billed cap, chinos, and very clean tennis shoes tucks into something that runs with syrup, as his wife, in an oatmeal-colored sweater accented by a pink floral silk scarf carefully manages the contents of her grilled-cheese sandwich. Plenty of pairs of thirty-somethings are accompanied by future or present mother-in-laws, and singletons linger over coffee and enjoy the free Wi-Fi and blessed lack of jangling, ill-intentioned background musack.

Before heading back out into the wet, I pick out a pint of chicken and dumpling soup and a bag of soft day-old rolls, fragrant with multigrains and a light sprinkling of cheddar. Though I'm passing on the butter-cinnamon pull-aparts for today, I want something to warm and comfort this evening.

Taste of Scandinavia 900 Rice Street Little Canada, MN 55113