Food & Drink Jan 8, 2014 at 4:00 am

Two Scandinavian Bakeries, One Old and One New

It looks like a potato, tastes like the best eclair ever. Kelly O

Comments

1
Nielsen's also makes excellent cakes, which are covered in marzipan instead of fondant.

(p.s., Nielsen's moved to lower Queen Anne around 1997, when their previous location at 3rd & Union was razed to build Benaroya Hall.)
2
Hi! My name's Lisa, and I'm the "alarmingly chatty" barista named in the article (it's the coffee guys... seriously). But yeah, just wanted to drop by to mention that our awesomely delicious potato at Nielsen's also has custard in it, and this detail was left out of the article. Yes, that's right... homemade whipped cream, custard, marzipan, AND cocoa powder, all in one pastry! Can't get any better than that, can it? ;)
3
I went to Byen for my holiday pastries this season and they were fabtastic!!
4
Don't forget Larsen's in Ballard (8000 24th Ave NW @ NW 80th)! Freshly made lefse (almost) as good as my Norwegian grandma's.
5
@2 Will you marry me?
6
No mention of Ballard?
7
This Ballardite finds Larsen's consistently meh, @6.

Nielsen's snitter, poppyseed danish, and miniature kransekage are definitely where it's at.
8
@5 (longwayhome)... Sure, babe, but can I see your picture first?
9
@8 Soon as I can figure out how to send one. I'm Norwegian, takes me awhile to figure out this computer stuff.
10
I love Nielsen's! When I used to live in lower queen anne I'd stop in from time to time and was always impressed with the quality of their pastries.
12
@11 - if I fill the computer with custard, whipped cream and marzipan will I make even more?
13
Correction: Nielsen's has been charming lower QA since the late '90s. The ( I think ) original store on Third Avenue was razed to make way for Benaroya Hall.
14
My first thought was to say "What about Larsen's?" -- but now I see that I need more data points!
15
I miss Svedala. God their prinsesstårta was to die for. And their semlor and vetebrod... damn.
17
Don't forget Scandinavian Specialties on 15th in Ballard. More of a store/deli to be sure, but the baked goods were awesome. And try the Verdensbestekake (world's best cake), so amazing!
18
@2 I think you may be the subject of this Nielsen's Yelp review as well:

"So why three stars, you ask? I occasionally go here for lunch. The salad sandwiches are a little bland, and the soup is watery. But my real issue is with the service. One of the employees is exceedingly chatty, and I know she's just trying to be friendly, but gah, she just has to talk about "back home," which is a Midwestern city I will neglect to name, all the time. She's not from Seattle, so she doesn't do "Seattle nice" which is polite, but not super chatty. Anyway, this came to a head when I decided to get a sandwich one day and her transaction with the people ahead of me took like fifteen minutes. I had limited time, since it was my lunch break, so I just ended up leaving and going elsewhere."
19
This article is bizarre! Writing about "Scandinavian bakeries" with no mention of Ballard, the second-largest settlement of expat Scandis in the U.S.??

Larsen's is probably the most authentic Scandi bakery in Seattle. An earlier poster described it as "meh"--Ever been to Norway, Dude? Lots of "meh" stuff. It's an acquired taste. But Scandinavian Specialties goes for the rich, intense stuff.
20
Like some others, surprised to see Ballard passed over, with wording almost as though the writer didn't know about it.
21
@19 Authentic shouldn't automatically translate to good.
22
Concerning the way that I do things, I've been doing the coffee thing on-and-off for many years, both on the East and West Coasts as well as the Midwest, and while many people like what I do, some people don't. It is what it is. As in life, you can't make everyone happy (even if you try to), but for each negative comment, there are MANY more positive ones. That's just how the cookie crumbles (no pun intended).
23
@19: Yup, I've been to Norway. And as anywhere, there was some meh food and some great food to be eaten there. I fail to see why Larsen's should be applauded for its "authentic" pursuit of the meh end of the spectrum.

I've never been to Denmark, but if Nielsen's is in any way representative, perhaps the Danish try a bit harder.

Anyway, if Scandinavian Specialties is making in-house pastries, then shame on me for never having been aware of this. I owe it to my chosen neighborhood to give their goods a try.
24
Larsen's should have been mentioned in the article because it is a fantastic danish bakery. It was great to see the article though, Nielsen's is a treasure and I will now need to check out byen.

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