My friend, Melanie, and I went to shop for a chair on Saturday. So why did we end up at Ingebretsen's at 1601 East Lake Street in Minneapolis? Who knows? We had planned on eating lunch first, but when you spend a day with Melanie, you're going to see a lot more than you planned on.
And you never know who you're going to meet. Like this guy. He didn't say much - just kept an eye on the butcher shop portion of Ingebretsen's where I was thrilled with the sight of shelves packed with colorful imported Scandinavian crackers and who knows what all?
They had lutefisk and lefse there. The caviar in a tube surprised me, but the smoky smell of cured meat was familiar. There were smoked pork hocks I considered purchasing for my old dad. He likes that sort of thing. Melanie bought some lamb for Crabby Dave to grill for Christmas.
After Melanie's butcher shop purchase, we roamed around the gift shop, occasionally picking something up for a closer look.
We didn't spend a whole lot of time at Ingebretsen's. I was shopping for a chair, remember? But Melanie, who is a hundred percent Norwegian, is already planning another trip to Ingebretsen's.
So did I ever get that chair? Oh ya, sure, you betcha!
