Al Johnson's Traditional Swedish Julbord 2019

With its unique foods and gifts, a Scandinavian Christmas is truly special. This year, on Fri., Dec. 6 and Sat., Dec. 7, Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay is serving a traditional version of the famous Swedish Julbord celebration, a multi-course Christmas smörgåsbord that's a holiday tradition of many many years. If this unique tradition is intriguing, think about making the required reservation soon! Seatings start at 5 pm.

The Swedish Julbord — perhaps Sweden’s best known culinary tradition — has specific customs to follow. Despite the meal’s pick-and-choose display, dishes should be eaten in a specific order and a clean plate should be used with each new trip to the food table. The first course would typically be a variety of fish. The second course is often a selection of cold sliced meats, the most important being the Christmas ham. It is also common to serve the cold meats with sliced cheese, pickled cucumbers and soft and crisp breads. The third course would be warm dishes, including roast pork, potato sausage, meatballs, red cabbage, and Jansson's Temptation, a baked dish of potatoes with anchovies. Desserts and coffee come last. Al’s will also be serving its own version of Swedish Glögg, a hot spiced wine made of red port, spices, fruit and nuts.