East - Nordstjernan

Early Easter in Brooklyn...

..and elsewhere. Not a witch in sight (or "påskkärring" in Swedish) but Easter rabbits were indeed spotted as IKEA Brooklyn alongside every IKEA store (is it 38 now?) in America invited customers to an all you can eat Easter bufé on March 23. (No, we're not commenting on the food here, instead salute IKEA for this initiative)
Curious about the Swedish Easter tradition? Read more here: Easter in Sweden

Text & Photo: Hanna Aqvilin

Ofelia and Momoko knew how to get into easter spirit this Friday afternoon. ENLARGE IMAGE »

A 'starving' crowd waited in line... 450 tickets and SOLD OUT weeks ago ENLARGE IMAGE »

Meatballs, eggs with mayo and shrimp, herring, all kinds of Salmon, mashed potatoes, swedish ham, cheeses, Jansson's frestelse and semlor for dessert.. Swedish galore! ENLARGE IMAGE »

Louise from New York was first in line and queued for over an hour... definitely worthwhile to get the best table! ENLARGE IMAGE »

The colorful twigs with feathers (påskris) can be seen everywhere in Sweden at this time of year ENLARGE IMAGE »

"The guests usually like this type of food a lot. New Yorkers are very open-minded in general when it comes to try new things," said Victoria, Event coordinator at the IKEA Brooklyn restaurant. ENLARGE IMAGE »

No one spoke Swedish in the crowd we met up with but nevertheless seemed to know their way around the "exotic" Swedish fare. ENLARGE IMAGE »

Joan and Alex tried swedish food for the first time ever... they rewarded it with five Stars. ENLARGE IMAGE »

Meatballs and eggs with shrimps were Scarlett and Wolfgang's favorites. Both had a great time with grandmother Judith. ENLARGE IMAGE »

Bunny ears are for all ages. ENLARGE IMAGE »

Josh and Amy love IKEA. "Ikea is almost a country and a culture itself. If I could, I would move in here," Josh says. ENLARGE IMAGE »

There's a first time for everything... tasting the Jansson's Temptation - a must on every Easter table. ENLARGE IMAGE »

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To get your hands on a "semla" for dessert.. you had to be quick. (Make your own at home: www.nordstjernan.com/news/food/3125/ ENLARGE IMAGE »

Staff were constantly running to and from the kitchen to refill the Smörgåsbord with sweets—here another plate of semla, seemingly a favorite. ENLARGE IMAGE »

Semla, fettisdagsbulle or fastlagsbulle - lenten bun, a a traditional pastry traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday - “Fettisdag” in Swedish. See how the experts make them, under www.nordstjernan.com/video/ - Semlor, FIKA style. ENLARGE IMAGE »