Best of 2003: Best Good-Value Swedish Food

IKEA Restaurant & Café
2149 Fenton Parkway, Mission Valley
619-283-6166, x1200

How do we know this place serves authentic Swedish food? Because of the number of Swedes you see and hear in the line to the counter. They come for the open-faced sandwiches, and the salmon, shrimp, and meatballs. The food's more sensible than exciting, of course. But healthy: beef and pork for the meatballs are guaranteed hormone-free. You eat the meatballs with Swedish lingonberry (not cranberry) sauce. Fish is big: the shrimp open-faced sandwich, the salmon plate with potatoes and broccoli, and the Gravad Lax Plate (seasoned salmon) are always on, and, like the other menu items, always reasonably priced.