Swedish vs. American food

I had this whole post drafted about Swedish vs. American food. The thesis was that Swedish food is wholesome, but uninteresting and American food is interesting, but unwholesome. Nice, right? Unfortunately, after getting half-way through the post I realized I couldn't define what "American" food is so the whole thing went out the window. I mean, is American food only food native to the Americas: potatoes, tomatoes, turkey, corn, cranberries, blueberries and a chili or two? That doesn't seem right. Is it foods served at state fairs and bars around the country: french fries, pizza, ribs, chili, hot wings, onion rings and jalapeno poppers (as an aside I have been having a serious fried food craving since about last July since nothing in Sweden is fried. Well, except the french fries and they are crap). It doesn't seem fair to claim Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Indian, etc. as American food, though of course these are things we eat a lot and remind me of home. Maybe American food has to be defined by diversity itself, just like our beautiful melting pot of a nation (queue "America the Beautiful" and a spritz of Cheeze Whiz). That's certainly what I miss in Sweden.

Adrian and I did finally escape boring Swedish food last week (our first night out alone since my Mom was here in October - sad) and went to a terrific restaurant called Wasa Alle. Set in a former pharmacy building, the restaurant bills itself as Swedish eco-gourmet, so everything is supposed to be harvested from close by and produced organically. The seared scallop with deep-friend root veggies and clam foam was hot-cold delicious, as was the blueberry-marinated venison with the tiniest dice of roasted root veggies (though the presentation was a little too reminiscent of California cuisine a la 1986 with like 7 perfectly placed mini items on a big expanse of white plate). And we splurged and did the accompanying wine pairing menu and the wines were a revelation (no, there are NO Swedish wines and who knew there was white Rioja?). So it is possible to have interesting and wholesome food in Sweden after all. It just might cost you your first born.