Good-bye kabobs, hello meatballs

That little space on 29 North beside Pizza Hut, the former home to two Middle Eastern restaurants, Zandi’s, and more recently, Zam Zam Kabob, has yet another international tenant.

Hint: "B¶rk, b¶rk, dee doo!"

However, unlike the Muppet’s Swedish chef, Little Sweden Caf© owner Eva Elm doesn’t speak gibberish, wear a toque blanche, or fling utensils. Plus, she really knows how to cook!

Originally from M¶lndal, Sweden, and a graduate of one of the country’s top cooking schools, Elm moved to the States in 1992 and began work catering in Maryland. In 2003, she and her husband moved their family to Charlottesville and she ran Little Sweden Catering on her own. But she had always wanted a restaurant of her own. That dream became a reality on Wednesday, September 1.

“This is something I have planned for a long-time,” she says. “I was just looking for the right location.”

As for the food, Elm says you can expect traditional Swedish dishes like the famous meatballs (second only to Greta Garbo and ABBA as widely familiar Swedish imports), smoked salmon, shrimp, and pork chops, plus the “open face” type sandwiches the country is known for. Indeed, Dish learned that smorgasbord, a word he has been using his entire adult life, actually breaks down as sm¶rg¥s (open-faced sandwich) and bord (table). Thanks Wikipedia!

However, Elm also points out that she’ll be serving up American favorites as well, things like burgers and fries, club sandwiches, and bacon and eggs, etc. Little Sweden Caf© will also be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week. And get this: Elm says nothing on the menu is over $10.

“Plus, I make everything from scratch,” says Elm, “my own breads, my own soups.”

But Dish had a question: what makes Swedish meatballs so special? While Elm isn’t willing to divulge her recipe, she does reveal that it’s all in the blend of spices, particularly allspice.

"B¶rk, b¶rk, de doo!"