Ikea, The Lunch Spot?

You know as a mom who is on the go a lot, I am always looking for a place where I can have a good lunch that is somewhat affordable and that is better for the kids then a hamburger and french fries. One of my favorite places is Ikea.

OK so now you say...What? Ikea? That's a European Target. Your right, but they have a wonderful Cafeteria. Yes, cafeteria. But this is not your office building cafeteria. This is a wonderful yummy one. Our favorite meal is the meatballs. My mouth is drooling just thinking about it right now. For the kids they have a $.99 plate of meatballs. Each side dish is $.99. You can have french fries, veggies, potatoes etc. We usually do the 3 plate meal of meatballs, veggies and a drink for $2.49. Not too bad of a deal. Then my husband and I get the 20 meatballs and split it between us. It is more then plenty of food for us. And if meatballs are not your thing, there is plenty of other food to choose from.

Now a few of the draw backs of this is the fact you can not just pull up to a drive through window and get your food. You have to park and go up the elevator and move around the store. (By the way when you get off the elevator you go to your left immediately and you can bypass all the shopping.) You do actually have to sit down at a table and not have food dripping on your lap as you drive. And you do have to have a conversation face to face with the kids instead of them talking to the back of your head in the car. LOL! And, yes, there is always the temptation of the shopping. But if you maintain control of your shopping you can go directly to the cafeteria and then back down the elevator to the front door. One other stop you might want to make on the way out is at the small cafeteria downstairs. They have cinnamon rolls, six for $4.00, ice cream cones for a $1.00 and hot dogs for a buck too. All yummy!

All in all I would give Ikea a 8 out of 10. It is a yummy and healthier way to eat then fast food hamburgers. But it lacks the convenience. The Ikea we visited was off the 405 fwy and Harbor. Trust me you can not miss this shop. If you do, then you need your prescription in your glasses changed. Give it a try this week. See what you think and then write me back and let me know how it worked for you. And remember......Straight to the cafeteria and back down to the front door. No shopping!