Tales of My Recent Trip (and Lunch) to Ikea

My kids have been on spring break all week, but we had to stay in town due to basketball tournaments for my older kid. With that I decided that they could pick and choose what we do. They had to come along on coffee runs with me, my dad and my brother, but they got to choose other things. My daughter even opted to stay and hang out with my mom on a few of those coffee outings. Today we went to Ikea. Let’s discuss.

I don't know why, but my son had this idea that he had to try Swedish meatballs. I have no idea where it came from, how he heard about it or why he was so hell bent on trying them. But he was, we had some time this afternoon and my mom decided she wanted to come along with the three of us. So we made our way out to Ikea and had lunch there and did some shopping.

I want to talk a little about this whole experience today. This is only the third time I've been inside an Ikea. I went to the Saint Louis one when it opened, to help my cousin buy stuff for her dorm, once in Cincinnati when RD wanted to get some furniture, and today. I usually buy furniture from a straight up furniture store or online. I'm also not very adept at building stuff, so Ikea was never really an option for me. But I do like their food. I like the whole cafeteria vibe of it all, and they seem to sell food that may be a bit better for you than normal cafeteria fare.

Today was no exception. The food was dynamite. Me, my son and my mom all got the Swedish meatballs and they were a delight. I like the gravy and the lingonberry jam they serve with it. The gravy is a solid traditional gravy and the lingonberry adds a delightful sweetness to all the savory food. They also have very well made and tasty mashed potatoes. They are a solid consistency and they are nice and creamy. And even the peas are good. I'm not sure if they are frozen or fresh, but either way they are good. And the meatballs are the star of the show. They are a great size, you can get 8, 12 or 16 in an order, I got 8, and they are nice and filling, especially when they're covered in the gravy. My daughter got chicken tenders and fries, and those were good too. I only tasted the tenders, and they were very crispy and crunchy, and the chicken was not dry. I didn't try the fries, but they looked fresh cut and my kids said they were good. I also got a salad, which was nice because it wasn't just iceberg lettuce with a few carrots. It was a nice spring mix that had carrots, cucumbers and grape tomatoes. And they have Newman's dressing, which is always a hit for me. My mom and kids all got a piece of garlic bread, and they scarfed it down, which had to mean it was delicious. The food was our main reason for going and it was a successful trip in that regard.

We had some extra time to walk around a bit, and I've got to tell you, this place knows what they're doing. I said to my mom that I fully understand why college students and people who live in apartments get stuff there. Their pricing is very fair, heck, it is better than most. The furniture and other odds and ends have very clear instructions. They have cool, modern looking furniture. They set up areas within the store that show you what it would look like if it was in an apartment. And they have everything you could need. From couches to chairs to utensils to tv's to cutting boards and everything in between. They have multiple areas with other stuff like clocks and dressers and all that good stuff. I also love that they put the Swedish name for everything on the shelves.

I was floored to be honest with you during my trip there today. I fully understand all the jokes and why they are made about this spot, but I found it easy to navigate and having good food on top of all that is a feather in Ikea's cap. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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