The much anticipated, almost holy day of the Semla, Fettisdagen just passed us by a couple of days ago, and obviously this was a big deal for us Swedes. Once a year in February(unless you are cheating) anyone who has ever tasted a semla will flock around any café or grocery store that sells the Semla. So, where did we go to get our non-healthy dose of Swedish deliciousness? FIKA NYC, obviously.
This Swedish café chain was founded by Lars Åkerlund, who decided that New Yorkers needed to chill out a little bit and start incorporating ‘fika’ in to their otherwise hectic lives.
Except for the most obvious reason for going there in February (the semla), they also have amazing Swedish sandwiches that will cure any homesickness or satisfy anyone looking for a Scandinavian tasting experience. You’ll find the must try classic “Egg and Kaviar -smörgås” (egg and caviar sandwich), Cinnamon buns and of course, real Swedish coffee. YAY!
To top off the already authentic Swedish experience, FIKA has a good amount of Swedes working there. This clearly made the whole “I am basically home” feeling a lot stronger, and for the American on my arm, he was very amused. Side note, even though they are Swedish, many of them unfortunately still had a quite harsh New York attitude. But who’s going to complain? Not the New Yorkers.
If you’re not Swedish or Scandinavian, you have an amazing opportunity to see what the FIKA craze is all about by visiting one of the 14 FIKA locations in NYC. If you are not already in love with Scandinavia, I promise you our coffee, our cinnamon buns and our Semlor will make you fall head over heels.
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