Swede for a Day
February 8, 2010
When I saw a poster for a Swedish supper to benefit a beloved idiosyncratic local movie theater, I signed up for my family. The price was right, and, after the dinner, the theater would be running a movie that had been shot right in town.
But when we arrived, I realized I should have read the poster more carefully. The benefit was for the local Swedish cultural organization, which is downstairs from the theater. We were the only people in the hall who were not blond.
We were seated at a table with elderly folks who barely spoke to each other, let alone to us. But the supper was delicious – Swedish meatballs, lingonberry sauce, and a very long table of homemade desserts.
Luckily, the servers were as friendly as our tablemates were taciturn, and we ended up feeling like we had had a real cultural experience, as well as a moment of family bonding.
The term for this kind of thing is culinary tourism. Sampling other people’s food is an easy way to travel. In this case, we went only a few miles from home., but we had a little adventure, and a glimpse of another world. Skol!
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.