Scandinavian Festival: Everything we ate

There is no shortage of lemonade, lingonberry or sphere-shaped foods at the Scandinavian Festival.

The Junction City tradition, celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, is a foodie haven.

You’ll find hearty smoked salmon smorrebrod, Swedish meatballs, strudel and other flaky pastries. Dietary options abound as well: I saw gluten-free crepes at Swedish Crêpes, and even places named Great Viking Steak Sandwich had a veggie alternative. 

You can find all the vendors, a festival map and weekend schedule here. 

Here’s a list of everything I tried (it would be twice as long if deadlines and budgets hadn’t gotten in my way).

Aebleskivers ($5.75), Arnie’s Famous Aebleskiver

My first stop, of course, had to be for aebleskivers. And no, I still don’t know how to pronounce these Danish pancake balls (Eh-bleh-skee-vuh? Ay-bluh-skee-wuh?) 

There are a few places that sell them at the festival. I walked past the long lines at two vendors, wandering through the fest until I found Arnie’s. I asked the workers to load me up with powdered sugar and jam, and they did. It’s a satisfying sphere to bite into, soft and fluffy with a slight crisp on the outside.

I sat down near one of the stages and listened to the sounds and history of ancient instruments, enjoying the collective desire to pass down Scandinavian traditions — while eating them too, of course. 

Danish hot dog ($10) and berry lemonade ($4), Hentze Family Farm

“It looks like a Viking ship,” a bystander said, eyeing my Danish hot dog.

He was right. The pork sausage — made by Olympia Provisions in Portland — spilled out of the bun on both sides and curved up like a longboat. 

Hentze’s Danish hot dog was easily my favorite bite of the day: its snap, its juiciness. The sausage sits on a coleslaw-like remoulade topped with frizzled onions and allspice pickles (I am now a bread and butter convert.) I was tempted to eat the whole thing, but the show (my appetite) had to go on. 

The Danish dog fits the mantra of Patrick Fay, who runs the Junction City farm’s Cook Shack: “All Oregon on your plate.”

The coleslaw-like remoulade, a Danish dog necessity, is made with Hentze-grown cabbage, carrots and onions. The pickles are grown and made on the farm, too. 

As for their lemonades, I couldn’t choose between Fay’s favorite (loganberry) and the people’s choice (blackberry basil) so I told them to choose for me. They gave my indecisive self a mix of both. Bless them. It tasted like jumping in an alpine lake after hiking 3,000 feet up a mountain in 90-degree heat. Ice cold and bright and fruity and guzzled too soon. 

Danish grilled cheese ($9), Easy to Please Grilled Cheese

One thing ScandiFest doesn’t lack: lingonberries.

These tart red little berries are in the doughnuts, the lemonade, smoothies and even grilled cheese. Easy to Please Grilled Cheese has country-themed grilled cheeses, including their Danish, with lingonberry and havarti on wheat. It’s a simple, sweet and salty combo.

They have an American one too: cheddar on white.

Swedish meatballs stick ($6) and lefse ($3), Frikadeller

This is a good reminder to bring a few Jacksons, as some vendors, including Frikadeller, are cash-only. If you forget to bring cash, however, you can find an ATM right behind this vendor.

I used the lefse, a thin, Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes, to scoop up the Swedish meatballs and velvety gravy. The lefse was brushed with butter and sugar, which worked well with the hearty meat and slightly tangy cream sauce. 

Swedish potato dumplings ($12) and cardamom bun ($6), Deck Family Farm

I was going to grab a Swedish meat pie until I saw the long, long line. 

I’m sure it was worth it. But after seeing Deck Family Farm’s stand just across the street, I pivoted and ordered their sausage-stuffed kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumplings) instead. Lingonberry jam, sour cream and scallions were perfect counterparts to the savory, dense and chewy dumplings. 

A moment of awe for Deck’s cardamom bun, with its buttery, flaky layers and caramelized sugar undercarriage. This fragrant, lightly spiced pastry makes for an ideal Scandinavian breakfast or mid-afternoon treat. 

What are you excited to try at the Scandinavian Festival? Email correspondent Taylor Goebel at taylor@lookoutlocal.com.