At Krokstrom, owner and chef Katee McLean has staked a Scandinavian niche. Her restaurant honors her great-great- great-grandfather Anders Gustaf Krokstrom, who came to the United States in the 1860s. Much of the menu is inspired by classic Scandinavian dishes or stems directly from family recipes. Some items, such as lefse and pickled herring, lean to the traditional. Yet others, such as the Flying Jacob, a chicken dish that features banana chili cream, peanuts, bacon, and jasmine rice, may surprise.
For Katee, Krokstrom isn’t just a place where old country dishes are reinvented. The goal is to authentically represent her roots.
“People need to hold onto their heritage,” she says. “It upset me growing up that I couldn’t be out eating the food in public that my family made at home. When I started talking about opening a Scandinavian restaurant, people thought I was crazy, but it was important to me.”
The success of Krokstrom encouraged Katee to continue expanding. This month, she plans to open Vildhäst in the Parlor Food Hall in the Crossroads. There, she will oer Scandinavian street food such as korv, Danish and Swedish-style sausages, and tunnbrödsrulle, a flatbread wrap that involves potatoes, shrimp, a hot dog, cucumber and onion salad, mayonnaise, ketchup, and sour cream.
“It’s the real deal!” McLean says with a laugh. So, it seems, is she.
3601 Broadway Boulevard • 816-599-7531 • KlubbKrokstrom.com