Swedish Pancake Breakfast
11-Sep-2006
Sunday morning found M and me inside the Swedish Cultural Center on the east side of Queen Anne. Thursday night at the Flickr Brews and Views meetup, a friend had mentioned that the first Sunday of every month* the center hosted a pancake breakfast with "real" Swedish pancakes. Since he is a Swedish expat, I figured he knew what he was talking about!
At the entrance to the facility was a doorman/greeter dressed in traditional clothing. Luckily for him the morning was not too warm as I’m sure it could have been pretty uncomfortable standing there in the sun in full gear! He welcomed us and we proceeded inside to buy our tickets.The cost of the breakfast is just $7 for adults, less for children, and for your money you get two trips through the breakfast line. To facilitate this they give you two color-coded tickets – one for your first pass and one for your refill – and actually have two different lines inside. This prevents those who are just getting refills from having to go out and get back in line with all the newcomers. It’s a great idea!
As you make your way through the line cheery volunteers load your plate with three pancakes, a nice slice of ham and either lingonberries or strawberries and whip cream. On the next table you can pick up a little glass of orange juice, and there may have been milk there, too.
Once at your table more volunteers bring you coffee (the site says "real Swedish coffee") or will direct you to a table where you can select from a variety of teas and fill a little pot with hot water. While eating you are entertained by a band and any guests who feel like taking a spin around the dance floor!
If you haven’t had Swedish pancakes before, you are missing a real treat. They are sort of a cross between a traditional American pancake and a French crepe; thin and flexible yet with more heft to them than a crepe. The traditional topping of lingonberries is wonderful! Lingonberries are a sweet-tart berry with a beautiful deep color.
Our first plate was tasty and more than filling – I did see a few people going back for their seconds but I’m not sure how they did it!
This is a fun and tasty event and I highly recommend it as something a bit different and interesting to do. For more details you can check the site – the calendar is a bit out of date but all the info on the breakfast can be found here.
* The breakfast is held the first Sunday of the month except that they take a break in the summer and in September it’s the second Sunday so they don’t compete with Labor Day weekend. If that is all too confusing you may just want to call them to verify the date you’d like to drop by!
Swedish Cultural Center1920 Dexter Ave N
Seattle
Seattle
206.283.1090
Culinary Fool 
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