Homecoming

For decades, Nordic House, purveyor of many things Scandinavian, operated out of a crowded store on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. It stood in an impossible location adjacent to a freeway overpass but nowhere near an exit, and I invariably became lost trying to find the place.

So I was pleased to learn that the store was moving to San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. It’s much easier to find, and it’s closer to my folks’ house, which means I’m nearby more often. Then I received a coupon giving me 10 percent off my first purchase at the new store.

Nordic House makes much of its own goods, such as curry, sour cream, and regular pickled herring; rullepølse, a sort of pastrami made with lamb, pork, or beef; meatballs; cucumber salad; and potato sausage. It also carries blueberry soup mix, which I make double-strength and use as a syrup for waffles; Swedish brown beans; canned reindeer meat; lutefisk; fish paste in toothpaste tubes (though lately they’ve had a hard time importing the best of the bunch, smoked herring); all varieties of Scandinavian cheeses; lefse (Norwegian soft bread made with potatoes); flatbreads; lingonberries; cookies; and mjölkchoklad, fantastic milk chocolate from Sweden.

For us Scandinavians, even third-generation, it’s all to die for. I filled up my basket and forked over $70, even with the discount. Then I went out to my car to find I’d received a $40 parking ticket. The pickled herring (plain) was worth it.