Way back in May, the Swedish Club threw a dinner party to try to convince Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised superstar chef Marcus Samuelsson to come visit on his Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home cookbook tour this fall. They made a four-course dinner of gourmet modern Swedish recipes from his book Aquavit, sang his praises, and everybody signed a big card begging him to come to Seattle. It worked: Samuelsson will be at the Swedish Club on Halloween, and those who want to cough up the ticket price ($75, with a copy of the book included) can meet the Swedish chef, eat Swedish canapés, get books signed, and toast him with a drink (one included with ticket price, more available, plenty of aquavit!). Here are all the details, and hurry; this will probably sell out.

The Swedish Club was founded in Seattle in 1892 (!), and it's devoted to "promoting a better understanding between the United States and the Scandinavian countries through learning about, practicing, and celebrating the culture and traditions of Scandinavia, with an emphasis on Sweden." It's located in an unstoppably excellent example of mid-century modern architecture—the lobby with open-air staircase is marvelous—which just so happens to have an unstoppably excellent view of Lake Union, particularly from the second-floor bar and lounge, which just so happens to have a balcony. Every Friday for happy hour, prospective members (that could be you) are invited to come and drink and enjoy it all, with smörgås sandwiches and other Swedish snacks available, plus live music. This Friday, October 3, the band Gigantor with Lynval Golding from the Specials plays at 7:30 p.m., and it's free. Skål!