58 Park Avenue
(between 37th and 38th Streets)
Housed on the first floor of the Scandinavia House (NYC's cultural center for Scandinavian countries), this location of
Smörgås Chef (of which there are three in NYC) is the one to go to if you are in
search of a festive, holiday décor. A large, birch tree sculpture is the dining room’s
centerpiece, and it is decorated with Christmas lights in honor of the holiday
season. There is also a holiday shop at the entrance where you can purchase an
$8 bottle of glogg (the traditional Scandinavian holiday drink).
Went there for dessert (after having another hot-and-spicy
lunch around the corner at Café China--see earlier posting!). All of the restaurant's dessert offerings sounded
tasty.
We went for the raspberry almond glaze, which was
deliciously light and airy.
And the chocolate espresso cake with mocha butter cream,
salted caramel, and vanilla ice cream (they had run out of hazelnut ice cream).
Beautifully presented and the mix of chocolate and salted caramel was
unbelievably decadent.
Accompanying the espresso cake with a glass of the J. Lohr
Pinot Noir is the perfect pairing. The red wine was rich, but smooth and, most
important, it had no after taste.
My dining companion decided to be adventurous and ordered a cup of glogg. If you enjoy the taste of warm, mulled wine, you’ll like glogg as well. My friend loved it so much she even ended up buying a bottle at the holiday shop afterward.
Happy 2014!
