Recently I had the best retail experience of my life—and I didn’t even buy anything! Last week we were assigned to visit various Portland ethnic food stores to find items for the Holiday Gift Guide. The last store on the list was Simply Scandinavian Foods.
The moment I walked in, I felt transported back to Iceland, which I’d visited three summers ago; there were elegant candies, light sodas of all sorts, cookies, meats and cheeses, and various baked goods. Every packaged product was genuinely Scandinavian, and all of the baked goods were freshly made by local Scandinavian or Scandinavian-inspired bakers.
I was greeted by perhaps the most outgoing retailer I’d ever met, the sole proprietor, “Simply Mary.” She immediately escorted me over to the collection of freshly baked cookies. Before I knew it, I found myself stuffing my face. “Eat, eat, eat!” Simply Mary encouraged me. In talking with her, we discovered that we are both originally from
Aroostook County, Maine (the Scandinavian elements of which explain Mary’s early fascination with Scandinavian cuisine and culture).
The most delectable item in the store was surely the Princess Torte, a Swedish-inspired light cake with a crisp, thin frosting. It’s a tender, white cake, with raspberry filling, whipped cream, and marzipan, and sells either by the full cake or by the individual
slice. I’m planning on eating an entire cake!
I ended up leaving with a stomach full of strudel-stuffed cookies, a set of wonderful pictures, and a complimentary Swedish soda. Not a bad experience for not having to buy a thing!
If you’ve never had the amazing experience of visiting Iceland, here’s a delicious, armchair way of going there!
–Collin “Biermeister” York