17,638.

You may be wondering what that number represents. It’s not how much I owe in student loans because it’s way more than that. It’s also not my daily calorie intake because if it were, I would be dead. Instead, it’s the amount of steps I took in a single day while in Stockholm. On an average day in Los Angeles, I walk about 5,000 to 6,000 steps which now sounds completely sedentary. Considering all the things I did during the day where I walked 7.3 miles, I’m pretty proud of myself and all the places I went that got me there. A little bit of exploring, a little bit of getting lost, and of course a little bit of eating. While I can’t recall which museum I saw that exact day or where I got distracted, I can recall exactly where I ate. In between all those steps I took some time to take a break at a place I was excited to visit: Meatballs for the People.

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I found out about Meatballs for the People after searching for ‘meatballs’ on the Visit Stockholm website. Traveling from Los Angeles all the way to Stockholm I thought it would be remiss if I didn’t try an item that was popular in my current destination. It may sound a bit ‘typical’, but I would rather apply that word to myself than ‘regret’. Plus, the meatballs looked incredibly delicious on the website, so I hoped they would be just as good when in front of me.

Thankfully, they were.

Just like many restaurants I walk into, this one felt good to be in. I quickly got the impression that the restaurant was the place where people would go to spend the evening with friends. It seemed as if it was a great gathering spot where conversations bounce back and forth over plates. I may have been alone on this visit, but I still felt like I had a place and it wasn’t because I was paying.

After grabbing a solo seat at the long table, I sipped on a bottle of Sockerdricka (38 SEK, $4.50) and quickly found myself to be so excited with this bottle of soda. After having multiple soft drinks (whether bought in restaurants or at my closest 7 Eleven), it was clear that soda in Stockholm was different from what we have in the states. A few bottles leaving me with a bitter after taste and a Google search later led me to the conclusion that the same sugar and sweetness used in sodas within in states differs internationally. I stopped buying soda, but the name alone of Sockerdricka was enough to make me want to try it. Turns out, it was the best happy medium of a soda I could ask for. To my surprise, the drink came about around the 19th century and now is a close competitor to 7UP and Sprite in Sweden, but without what I noticed was a bitter aftertaste. In contrast, the drink had lower amounts of the heavy acidity and carbonation, making it easier to drink and enough sweetness to resemble soda sold back home. I loved it instantly.

It didn’t take long for my plate of meatballs to arrive. I ordered the Weekly Classic (125 SEK, $14.50). The dish served beef meatballs in a creamy gravy sauce with a traditional Swedish potato puree. To go along with it were lingonberries and pickled cucumbers. If you thought I was going to start with the meatballs, you’re wrong. I actually tried the potatoes first eager to find out what made them so traditional. While they looked like any you may have had before and tasted familiar, I couldn’t find what made them so traditional. They were fluffy and salted nicely, but nothing indicated that a different aspect that I couldn’t find at home. That was fine by me especially as I mixed in the flavorful lingonberries and pickled cucumbers. They made such a perfect trio.

After the potatoes I immediately went into the meatballs. My excitement turned into pure satisfaction as I tasted them because they were delicious. They were the perfect meatballs in such a rich gravy sauce that I couldn’t recall what meatballs tasted like back home. To be honest, I didn’t care. I kept scooping up the sauce with my fork hoping to grasp as much of it as possible while taking large halves of the meatballs to enjoy as much of the taste as possible. Adding the knäckebröd, thin and dry crispy bread, to mix only made me elated from start to end.

The minute the plate was empty and it was removed from the table, I contemplated ordering extra meatballs. The idea of reliving the same delicious meal was exciting, but my waistline suggested I do otherwise. Walking out of Meatballs for the People with my pants in their original position was gratifying, but not as gratifying as the meal I just had. I’m thoroughly excited with the weekly classic I had and would highly suggest it to anyone visiting Stockholm eager to have meatballs throughout their day. Hopefully you won’t have to take as many steps as I did to get there, but if you do, it’ll be worth it.

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