Freya Café and the Rekesmørbrød
When in Seattle, live like a Norwegian at the National Nordic Museum. And, when at home, watch “Pavements.”
It’s one of life’s simpler joys, a Rekesmørbrød, and one that many places outside of Scandinavia get wrong. And I sort of get why. On paper, this shrimp sandwich sounds almost too simple. Rye bread topped with lettuce and an egg, mayo-covered shrimp tossed in between. A couple of lemon slices add acidity, and, importantly, a bucketful of dill rounds out the palate. It sounds, if I may be so bold, boring? Pedestrian? Bourgeois? And maybe all of that is true, at least in theory. In practice, though, it’s this honest simplicity that is the backbone of the Rekesmørbrød, and any type of modification is wholly unnecessary.
Freya Café, a restaurant inside Seattle’s National Nordic Museum, lives up to its promised Scandinavian standards. The Rekesmørbrød follows the traditional formula, and the use of high-quality ingredients is its only secret. The rye bread has a proper dense bite, and the sandwich is almost aggressively dill-forward. Even the Oregon Bay shrimp sit well – you can’t really beat the North Sea variety, but when coated in mayo, these are more than acceptable.
That’s really all there is to it. Simple. Distinct flavors that play well together. No crazy additions. A Rekesmørbrød does not need pickles or red onions.1
The rest of the menu remains true to its Scandinavian roots as well. The current shrub special leans heavily on rhubarb and is appropriately refreshing without being too sweet. The smoked salmon sandwich is suitably simple, with the fish delivering the dominant flavor punch.
All of it is a medley of good, Scandinavian (or, let’s be honest, Norwegian) flavors.
Now, this is the point where I would add a Rekesmørbrød recipe, but frankly, just look at the photo above. It’s straightforward. Just remember to add a bunch of dill – it’ll even help mask the shrimp/mayo breath you undoubtedly will acquire.
Find Freya Café inside the National Nordic Museum, 2655 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107.
If you, like me, are a fan of jangly nineties guitar rock, you likely enjoy the “best and most influential band in the world,” Pavement. The Stephen Malkmus-fronted band never got the commercial breakthrough of its peers – R.E.M., Sonic Youth, etc. – but has remained a highly acclaimed cult band.
Recently, Alex Ross Perry – the man behind Her Smell, a true banger of a movie – put together a… Well, it’s hard to say exactly what he put together. A documentary on Pavement which incorporates elements of a fake biopic (Range Life) and a semi-real musical (Slanted! Enchanted!), as well as a look at a kind-of-real-ish museum exhibition that had a lot of fake items on display. I’d embed the trailer to Pavements here, but I don’t feel it really does the movie justice or explains any of it in a coherent way. (You can watch it on YouTube.) Instead, if “Harness Your Hopes” is a song and video you enjoy – it’s also directed by Perry – you will likely enjoy the quasi-surreal movie.
The song has become a minor TikTok hit, where a bunch of kids recorded their versions of the “Find me a word that rhymes with Pavement” verse. Thus, this video was assembled a few years ago, starring Sophie Thatcher (you know her from Yellowjackets and recent movies like Heretic and Companion).
As for Pavements, its documentary-on-a-movie-within-a-movie stars Joe Keery (Stranger Things) doing an unexpectedly hilarious portrayal of a fictional version of himself. A method actor who demands photos of Malkmus’ tongue so he can fully replicate his vocals. (He will, in best Jared Leto style, only respond to “Stephen,” not Joe.)
Yeah, I know, it’s all hard to explain. Just go watch the movie on VOD if you like Pavement’s music or simply enjoy weird films. You (probably) can’t go wrong.
A common addition these days.