When you walk inside the cafe', it's rather quaint with a small butik in the left-hand corner displaying organic and fair trade products such as coffee, tea, drinking cocoa, dark chocolate, honey, special oils and spices, and other wonderful products. To the right, there is a somewhat limited choice of lunch items, yet, the few items offered looked rather scrumptious! Today's special was: a yellow pea soup (called ärtsoppa) served with bread and (swedish) pancakes all for around $5.75 / 40 SEK. My father-in-law informed me that this is a traditional offering for nearly all restaurants in Sweden on Thursdays. --I've heard of restaurants in U.S. having similar beer specials, but I've never heard of a specific lunch special that is offered so consistently among restaurants. Have you?
I spotted a homemade fresh tomato and feta pie for 69 Kr (about $10.00) which included a side salad. Since I've been practicing speaking swedish lately, I decided to try and order my meal in swedish. I only got about 4 words in when the sweet woman behind the cash register started to speak English to answer my question. I didn't mind, I just thought it was funny how quickly my efforts were cut off. I went to pay with my bank card to find out they don't take cards there, only cash. Aha. (In swedish, jaså.)...so the kind woman said she'll just go ahead and warm up my pie (paj) while I go around the corner to the ATM. I came back with my cash and my lunch was all ready for me.
I decided to sit outside- even though it was only about 42 F/ 6 C. I figure if I'm going to be living here, I had better get use to the cold weather. Nah, not just get use to it, try to embrace it. So, I took my tray outside to the patio and sat down on one of the wooden chairs, and rested a soft, orange blanket over my lap. I plugged in my Itunes and listened to some of my new favorite songs. As I sat and ate my delicious meal, I was joined by the strange mix of Cee Lo Green's, "F**k You", Ingrid Michaelson's, "Parachute", Sarah Bareilles', " "Kaleidoscope Heart", and Kate Earl's "Melody". Music always seems to make my day more harmonious.
After my delicious meal, I decided to return to the "butik" area. I treated myself to some delicious dark chocolate (just a little addiction I have, no big deal). I received 100 grams for around $4.00, and it was worth it. It was absolutely divine! Actually, the brand name is DIVINE! A london based company boasting the FAIRTRADE logo. 70% dark chocolate with raspberries--doesn't get much better than this!
A little info about Divine Chocolate LTD. from their website:
At the heart of Divine’s heavenly tasting chocolate there is a unique story. Not only do the Kuapa Kokoo farmers’ receive a Fairtrade price for their cocoa, but they also own 45% of the company, and therefore have a direct influence over how the company is run and share in the profits from the chocolate. Watch farmer films.
Learn more about Divine Chocolate: http://www.divinechocolate.com/
Learn more about FairTrade: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/default.aspx
My overall experience at the cafe' today was a good one, and I hope to stumble upon other cafe's like this one in Sweden. I find that organic foods are more readily accessible here in Sweden, and at lower costs than in the States. These organic items in Sweden are marked with the logo "KRAV", and are available nationally at "regular" grocery stores, not just specialty shops. I expect that with the growing popularity of organic foods, the availabilty should grow even more in coming years and prices hopefully will come down a bit more so that more people can partake in healthier food options. Read more about Organic Foods in the Swedish Market at: http://www.grolink.se/Resources/studies/swemarkets.PDF
I'd love to hear from you...yes YOU!
Do you buy organic? If yes, why? What are the best places to buy organic foods where YOU live?
If not, what keeps you from buying organic food items? Cost? Lack of availability?
Thanks for checking in!
Brandi
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