Episode 24: Allmänna Galleriet 925

Oooooh, leather couches and artz and oysters, and more tile than an abattoir, Allmänna Galleriet, sound pretentious enough for you? Well, enjoy! Don't forget your Sally Jesse Raphael sized specs!

Episode 23: Peppar bar

Peppar bar -- my dear, insane German friend is obsessed with this place, and the food isn't bad -- Tex-mex, burgers and such. They completely plaster the walls with Xmas decorations -- it is an impressive display of Yuletide kitsch.

Episode 22: Harvest Home

Ok, after countless evenings of drinking in the closet like confines of snotty's, I have chosen to switch horses and stake my claim to a stammtisch at Harvest Home, where I can get back to my midwest, country roots, and pretend to Neil Youngify my life a little.

Episode 21: Ritorno

One of my favorite cafes in town, Ritorno, still has the shabby charm of the 50s. They have great a stromming lunch plate, perfect for winter days, and a pretty decent shrimp sandwich too. But it's really best suited for long afternoons of booth occupation and coffee drinking. I love the little individual table jukeboxes. Reminds me of a place back in Kansas...Fritz's, but without the food delivery by train.

Episode 20: Saturnus

Saturnus, right around the corner through (Brunkeberg tunnel), has amazingly enormous cardamon bullar as large as a medium sized child's skull. They are so good, but do not try to eat one alone, or you won't accomplish anything else for the rest of the day. Then again, that wouldn't be the end of the world either. Apparently this used to be one of the princess' favorite hang outs. Naturally, as a zealous monarchist, I only support establishments with the royal stamp of approval.

Episode 19: Multikulti

In a world music emergency, drop by MultiKulti. Imagine a cafe full of young vampire weekend-enthusiasts planning the next great fusion of world music and pop...then snap out of it and smell the guy with the dreads sitting next to you.

Episode 18: Gamla Amsterdam

WHEELS of GOUDA, my new band. Gamla Amsterdam: when your cholesterol count needs that extra boost.

Episode 17: Mellqvist Kaffee

I tried the portland here, I don't know what it was, the barista explained it to me in Swedish and I didn't quite catch everything, but it tasted and felt like coffee crack. Located at Hornsgatan, on Sodermalm, this is the perfect place to grab a coffee and a bulle before ogling the ridiculously expensive clothing stores on Krukmakargatan. Herr Judit is also up the street if you're aiming for the Brideshead Revisited aged former Oxford man look, which is rather popular here.

Episode 16: Nordiska Museet

Basically a cathedral to Nordic culture, built for the Stockholm Exhibition, along with a dozen other amazing structures in the area, Nordiska Museet shouldn't be missed. They have several great permanent exhibits -- one on Swedish holidays, grumpy Stringberg, etc., but my favorite is the exhibit on Sami culture. I can never get enough of Sami knives. Oh, the restaurant is surprisingly yummy, if you're looking for a decent lunch stop.

Episode 15: KonstnärsBaren KB

KB is this amazing bar on Smålandsgatan. It's a self-proclaimed celebrity art party hang out, well, maybe in the 1940s. As far as the decor goes, it doesn't seem to have changed much since the 30s -- which is very good. Dark wood, plush booths, waitresses in sailors uniforms (I know, I know). The restaurant serves fancy Swedish husmanskost, and lunch isn't too outrageously expensive, but really, the best thing to do is just sit in the deep red bar and drink a beer while watching trams on Stockholm's only tram line wiggle past.

Episode 14: Soldaten Svejk

One of our absolute favorite bars in town, Soldaten Svejk, sits on Östgötagatan, on Söder, as one would expect. It's a Czech joint with a great selection of beers on tap, hilarious illustrations from Hasek's the Good Soldier Svejk everywhere, and a MEAN raggmunk med fläsk (potato pancakes and bacon) or schnitzel.

Episode 13: Valand konditori

Konditori Valand is right around the corner from us. It may not have the BEST coffee in town, but it certainly has one of the best interiors. It's a place where time has stood still, for better or for worse...mostly better. The woman who runs the place is the wife of the designer. She's German, so there are plenty of German magazines and newspapers!

Episode 12: La Neta

This new Mexican restaurant, La Neta, opened just around the corner from us on Barnhusgatan. I tried their Al Pastor tacos and they were the best thing I've tasted since Polvos in Austin. They weren't Riverside and Burton taco truck quality, but really, really good.

Episode 11: Coffee in Vasastan

There are two great places for coffee and a panini right around the corner from us...sostabar on Sveavagen and non solo bar on Odengatan. Simple, quick, delicious. Get your coffee to go and climb up the stairs to Observatorielunden for an awesome view of Stadsbibliotek -- a beautiful Gunnar Asplund creation. It should also be seen from the inside.

Episode 10: Rosendahls Trädgård

While wondering around Österlmalm, youll have to walk down Strandvägen to Djurgården on the other side of the bridge. You can also take atram if you'd like -- it's the last functioning streetcar in Stockholm. They also have a cafe tram that I've always wanted to ride, but haven't yet. There's no way to cover all the things you can do on Djurgården in a single post, so well revisit the subject later, but for now, start with Rosendahls Trädgård! You should spend some time exploring the grounds, and then grab a bite to eat in their greenhouse cafe. The lines can be intense in the summer, but it's usually worth it. I also strongly suggest napping under an apple tree in the orchard.

Episode 9: Cafe Tessinparken

At some point, and to the great dismay of your bohemian culture-worker friends who live on Södermalm, you'll have to spend some time exploring Östermalm, the fancy part of town, home to Sweden's brat pack, small dogs in leather handbags, and furs. Still, the upper class undeniably has some of the best parks and structures, both Jugendstil and Functionalist, or funkis as they say in Sweden. So, take a nice little walk from our apartment via Humlegården to Tessinparken. I'd suggest approximately this route. Humlegården is also home to the Royal Library, which is worth a quick peek inside. I guess like Tessinparken because its surrounded by funkis houses -- it's a little modernist oasis in a sea of art nouveau. There's also a little summer cafe, Cafe Tessinparken, that serves beer and yummy shrimp sandwiches.

Episode 8: Ornös krog

At some point, you have to take a Waxholms boat out a little farther into Stockholms archipelago, in Swedish skärgården (skerry garden?). There are thousands of islands and rocky skär in the skärgården, only some of which can be reached with the big Waxholms boats. One island, not too far away, is Ornö. Not far from the little church on the island is Ornö krog, which has great seafood. If you want to spend more time in the archipelago, you can always buy a Båtluffar ticket and travel on the boats as much as you want for a few days!

Episode 7: fjäderholmarnas krog

Fjäderholmarnas krog is one of those places we like to go when we have guests or want to wear fancy pants. It's not REALLY out in the archipelago, but you have to take about a 45 min boat ride to get there. The place is beautiful, the food is pretty great, it's not absurdly expensive, and you get to watch the bajillion story ferries from Finland pull in.

Episode 6: Katarinavägen

Anyone who visits Stockholm should take a walk up Katarinavägen via Slussen. It offers one of the best views of Gamla Stan! Voila:
At the top of the hill is Hermans, a vegetarian restaurant with outdoor seating (even hammocks!). To be honest, I've never actually eaten there, but it looks pretty fantastic, and, again, the view! If you don't feel like walking, you could take Katarina hissen (you'll need some spare change to pay) to Gondolen, a fancy French place, and get a drink in their bar, or just walk down the gangway and head to the only other decent beer garden in town,Mosebacke. It can get pretty crowded on summer evenings and weekends, but it's worth it! Right next door is Södra Teatern and Kägelbanan, which usually have decent medium to largish shows -- for instance, we've seen the likes of Arthur Lee (RIP) and Bembeya Jazz there. It's a big venue for "world music" -- friggin hippy Swedes.

Episode 5: Back A Yard

Back a yard is a pretty amusing little Jamaican place on Södermalm, the southern island where most hipsters are "contained." Back-A-Yard has some pretty great jerk chicken and a nice selection of rum. Last time we were there, Mr. Callertun, a.k.a Roger Moore, identified Sweden's most important reggae star digging into a goat curry at the adjacent table. Of course, he also pointed out that nobody really cares who Sweden's most important reggae star is -- he just looked like another white fisherman to me. They also have supersized Red Stripes, which I never knew existed!

Episode 4: Nystekt strömming

Okay, I love herring. Baltic herring. Pickled. Fried. Fried then pickled. In mustard, or dill, or cream sauce, or chili sauce or curry. I don't care. I love it. In fact, herring may be the real reason why I moved to Sweden. Sure, I married a Swede. BUT, did I marry her for her soul, or her herring? In any case, Nystekt Strömming, located right in front of Stockholms Stadmuseum, is simply amazing. It's cheap, about 70 SEK, and it comes with mashed potatoes and pickles and other sides. The Stadsmuseum has great exhibits, is free, and has a decent gift store (where you can pick up your obligatory Stomatol toothpaste sign snow globe).

Episode 3: Tegelhuset

Tegelhuset is a great little Czech-ish beer garden in Fatbursparken behind Medborgarplatsen. Although there are plenty of places to eat and drink outside in Stockholm (in fact, Swedes are so obsessed with the sun and being outside that they'll wrap themselves in blankets just to eat al fresco even when it's freezing), there aren't that many beer gardens, sadly -- despite the long history of German cultural influence on Sweden. This one is klein aber fein.

Episode 2: Cafe Järntorget

Located in Gamla Stan (at Järntorget, to be precise, which means you don't have to fight the throngs of tourists on Västerlånggatan to reach it, just cut in from Skeppsbron), Cafe Järntorget has our favorite ice cream, Lejonet and Björnen (the Lion and the Bear), and our favorite flavor -- Saffran Honung (Saffron Honey). Mmmmm. Swedes like to brag that they eat more ice cream per capita than any other country on the planet. That sounds more like an expression of Freudian wish fulfillment.

Episode 1: Bockholmen

In this week's episode, our dashing stars are ordered to investigate the mysterious island of Bockholmen. It's a bit off the beaten path, but there's a great restaurant, Bockholmen Hav & Restaurang, with a view of Lidingö bridge and Stockholm's "inner archipelago." In the role of Roger Moore, Rickard Callertun.