Optimistically Cautious: Big Box of Meals: IKEA

I spent an inordinate amount of time at IKEA (1311 102 Street) this weekend.

After an initial furniture-buying spree on Friday, Mack and I ended up returning to the big blue giant on both Saturday and Sunday to pick up odds and ends.

Though the environment wasn't too happy with our errand-running, this did give us ample opportunity to try out the many food items IKEA has to offer. With cheap, fast, crowd-pleasing eats, the edible fare made the many trips there less of a drag.

Day 1: Supper

A discovery of the coolest little carts made my day. For those ordering multiple plates of food (or having to carry more than one tray back to the seating area), IKEA now ingeniously offers push carts that accommodate up to three trays!

Tray carts

I've written about their meatball plates in the past, so I won't go into any more detail except to say that I am always satisfied with the consistent quality of their food.

Day 2: Breakfast

Trying to make the most of our day, we thought it would be best to start off early and shoot for the economical $1 breakfasts offered in the restaurant until 11am daily.

For one dollar, a small croissant, two sausages, home fries and a scoop of scrambled eggs can be had. Of course, most patrons opt to buy a drink or two as well, helping with the profit end of things. Even for a few extra dollars, there's nothing like starting off a weekend in the bustling, bright airport-hangar of a cafeteria.

Who doesn't love a good deal?

Day 3: Brunch

By the time we reached IKEA on Sunday, we had already missed the breakfast window, but I was actually keen on having something sweet anyway. The bistro on the main floor (next to the Swedish food mart) serves takeaway items like hot dogs (only 50cents!), soft drinks, and ice cream.

On that day, I decided upon the $2 cinnamon bun and coffee combo. While the bun could have been warmer, for that price, my complaints wouldn't go very far.

Cinnamon bun

Probably encouraged by all of the children running around with similar confections, Mack decided to top off his carb treat with a non-fat frozen yogurt cone ($1).