This story has a happy ending…read more It starts unimpressively. * * * Our Airbnb host told us this was the most quintessential Norwegian food in Stavenger. We were expecting classic Nordic cuisine in a fine room. We got a coffee and sandwich shop in the middle of downtown next to some ugly office buildings. ??????? But it had some nice modern decorating. It sold fancy pillows and grocery oddments on the side. (Marcona almonds, Danish licorice, Norwegian health food cookbooks.) We were tired, so we said what the hell. * * * The first half of the meal confirmed our worst impressions. We got two healthy good-for-you salads of the types prepared by major priests of the good-for-you-school. The salads were made competently enough. I struggled through my kale-equivalents. There were some surprisingly good and strong Norwegian red-purple sprouts on top which added a nice accent to the salad. Norwegian sprouts aside, I was beginning to curse the moment Moosewood ever opened its restaurant. * * * But now that I had eaten my vegetables, I could have my treat. The second course was a platter of Norwegian and French cheeses. OSTEHUSET, YOU ARE SO FORGIVEN! No duh, Ostehuset means cheese house in Norwegian. You wouldn't think this was a cheese house. The only cheese in their grocery holdings were two small refrigerated cases, less than 10% of their total inventory. My local supermarket carries more brands of cheese. And the overwhelming majority of menu items and grocery items they sold were non-cheese. But cheese is one thing they do extraordinarily well. I won't bore you with an item by item list of the cheese orgasms I had. I will just point out that the brie they served was the best brie I have had in my life. Not the bland cream cheese of people who are afraid of Brie. Not the death metal brie of people who want something to shock themselves into insensibility and to hell with cheese tasting good. This was an uncompromising nasty brie that was also suave and mellow. Beauty and the beast in a cheese. An added treat on the side were apricots candied in orange peel. A vast improvement on normal candied apricots. * * * We did not get the grand Norwegian classics we were looking for. But we ate healthy and had nice French cheese. You can do worse.

An excellent alternative if you have had your fill of sandwiches. Great vegetable dishes, coffee,…read morecheese. Fancy cafeteria style. Can get pricey but I had a great salad plate for under 80k ($10).

In a country where everything is expensive, I was happy to find this little convenience store in…read moreStavenger. Did not feel like spending a lot for dinner so Narvesen to the rescue. Bought a couple of Bacon wrapped hot dogs, ice cream bar, Softis ice cream, and a drink for the wife and I. It was no gourmet meal, but it made for a fine budget value deal. You get what you pay for, and we were pleased with what we got. Aside from the usual convenience store staples, they had some Norwegian souvenirs. Service was friendly and excellent. Shop was clean. Location is next to the ferry. I'm a fan!