Nordic cuisine

After learning about Sweden’s medieval and pre-industrialization history, I wanted to feel the pulse of contemporary Sweden. The trendier parts of Stockholm (I stayed in the Sofo neighborhood, a play on NYC’s Soho) are chic and streamlined, like walking around a giant IKEA store, or hipper-than-thou neighborhoods in Brooklyn (cough, Williamsburg). You can get a good read on the city by simply hopping between cafes, which are present in abundance at a density that rivals Italian cities. These cafes often serve espresso and cinnamon rolls, and you can also find hybrids like cafe-thrift stores, cafe-record stores, cafe-office, cafe-hair salon, etc. Swedes take their coffee very seriously it seems, perhaps as a substitute for alcohol. This is, of course, by design, since Sweden has a state-run monopoly on alcohol sales and the prices are inflated to discourage drinking in prodigious quantities. All this means that Swedes go to Denmark or Germany to bring back cheaper booze.

Many cafes also offer light meals, sandwiches and such, and you can usually get a breakfast or lunch special with food, juice and coffee for a set price.

Ready for some people watching? Don’t forget to bring your skinny jeans!

Vurma Cafe is like visiting your hippie, India-obsessed aunt, with brocade pillows in a rainbow of colors lining the benches and pink lights strung overhead. I visited the Nytorget branch, but they have multiple locations, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the others have a varying style. They offer a great breakfast menu with organic and gluten-free options. For 80 SEK, I got a bowl of Turkish yogurt with pumpkin, flax and sunflower seeds, accompanied by wide multigrain crackers topped with sprouts, tomato, cucumber and cheese, plus a hardboiled egg and coffee. I couldn’t resist the call of the semla cream puffs, and added one of those to my meal to balance out all the healthy items.