Visiting Ostermalm Saluhall food hall and the ABBA Museum in Stockholm

This is the second half of my Stockholm series.Per a recommendation from my liaison with the Ikea Supper Club campaign, we ate at Oaxen Slip which, my dining companions told me, had a beautiful waterfront view. We were seated in an enclosed patio with an actual boat suspended from the ceiling. The server said the smoked herring appetizer was a must-try, and this dish turned out to be my favorite. I also had a healthy helping of snaps, which was no easy feat in my esophagus.Oaxen Slip considers itself a Swedish or Nordic bistro, and we dined on simple foods prepared with local ingredients: shared, family-style dishes of bone-in pork cutlet with crispy pork rinds all washed down with pints of beer.The next morning, I went to Ostermalm Saluhall, an indoor market with rows of stalls peddling various foods from meats to cheeses to actual countertop cafes. The hubster, John, led me to the counter at which he’d dined before while I was working, and I ordered the herring six ways with buttered potatoes and egg, while John had the Toast Skagen, a shrimp salad with dill to be eaten on (you guessed it) toast. The most interesting tasting herring was fermented, and I admit I was a bit scared to try it (memories of the fermented stingray I’d had during my trip to Seoul danced through my head), but it was interesting, like nothing I’ve tasted before.Another dining highlight—perhaps the best—during my Stockholm visit was Rolfs Kok (“kok” means “kitchen” in Swedish). This was my favorite meal in Stockholm (parallel to Frantzen in a less expensive, froufrou kind of way). The bread tower was indeed a tall, teetering stack of pillowy dough with butter (I could live on bread and butter). We all shared the ox cheek braised in red wine with potato puree and the fish stew. The ox cheek was good, but oh, that potato puree—it must’ve been 80% butter. So yummy.Of the two dishes, the fish stew was superior in my opinion. Flavorful but not too rich, the seafood was plentiful and fresh. And as always, we washed everything down with a pint of beer. Rolfs Kok is a must-try in Stockholm. Friendly service, unpretentious atmosphere, and delicious food.After my last day of work in Stockholm, we celebrated by throwing back some pints at the Mikkeller Bar, which was crowded and dark like I’d expect a European pub to be. Our bartender was super friendly, giving her recommendations freely and pouring endless sips for tasting.With our bellies full of beer, we set out looking for something to eat. We’d heard that the drunk food of Stockholm was this hot dog burrito creation, and I knew we had to try it. It seems every city has a form of late-night drunk food—Austin’s got its pizza and bratwurst, Houston’s got its tacos, and Stockholm’s got its hot dog burrito. I have no idea what the name of this lowbrow food is, but we found a truck and bought one to share. Picture two hot dog wieners slathered with ketchup, mayo, and mashed potatoes, all bundled inside a gigantic tortilla. It’s not the greatest, but when in Stockholm…I guess we could’ve eaten at Max Burgers, but we’d already been there, done that.On an unrelated note to food, I could not pass up visiting the ABBA museum. I grew up listening to their music when my parents spun vinyl on our wood-grained Technics record player. Whenever “Dancing Queen” plays, I still get on the dance floor.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Stockholm. Everything is expensive (polar opposite of Vietnam), but the summer weather was gorgeous, and the people friendly. The one thing I could not get used to was the long days of sunlight—I would wake up ready for breakfast only to discover it was 4 AM, and at night, we were still strolling the streets of Stockholm wearing sunglasses at 10 PM.“Take advantage,” all the Swedes said, “because the rest of the year is dark and cold.”Thanks, Ikea Sweden, for having me over during your best season. Hope to come back someday. Hej!Have you been to Stockholm or Sweden? What do you think of the food and culture?