Foodie Fridays: Cheap Food Makes It All Worthwhile (Sometimes)

We came to Vancouver on vacation swearing up and down that we wouldn’t go to Ikea, but what do we end up doing on our second day here? We go to Ikea of course, our excuse being it’s a good place to look for bunk beds for the girls, a dresser for me, one for the youngest, and some new pots and pans.

So off we go to Ikea. The oldest is excited because she is old enough to play in the play area now (last time we visited she was just a baby). But when we get there she doesn’t want to go into the play area because mommy can’t stay with her, AND there are other kids there. Sigh.

We are on a mission. No looking at anything except bunk beds, dressers and pots and pans. Get in, get out.

We reach the bunk beds. We find something we like. The girls crawl under the duvet on the bottom bunk and pretend to nap. They love it. All is going well. Then the girls decide it would be fun to play in all the beds. Soon, we lose them – or they lose us. Some teenage girls find the youngest under some bedding and we find the oldest playing in the wardrobes. While we talk about dressers they are playing chase and screaming and getting in people’s way. It’s time to move on. But then daddy wants to look at wardrobes too. Maybe I should get one to replace my dresser. Noooo!! Let’s just go!

We start walking towards the end of the store but it takes forever. There are no short cuts and now the kids are in love with Ikea: its show rooms – the furniture you can hide under and sit on, and its wide open aisles, perfect for running and chasing. Even though the kids are moving fast they are going in the wrong direction most the time and it’s a constant battle to keep them with us. I’m losing my patience. By the time we reach the staircase to the next floor I’m ready to go, but we still need to find the pots and pans.

Dinner first or pots and pans? We decide that choosing pots and pans will be fast. We’re wrong. Then the oldest trips and falls and though she isn’t very hurt she won’t stop crying loudly, and the youngest keeps going missing when we turn our backs for a moment, so we abandon the pots and pans in favour of eating something NOW!!

The restaurant has a play section and penne and tomato sauce for 1.99! We tell the oldest that if she can stop crying we’ll buy her a treat – chocolate milk! She’s never had chocolate milk before so she doesn’t think this is such a great idea. She takes her chocolate milk back to the cooler. She doesn’t want any pasta. She doesn’t want salad either (her favorite). We make it through the check out but she’s still crying. Then the youngest falls and drops her plastic cup. It hops and rolls across the slate floor. The oldest runs to get it and the youngest runs to get it. They start trying to pull it away from each other. Both of them are screaming. The cup drops again and I grab it and put it on the nearest surface. The oldest looks at me defiantly and marches over to the table, picks up the cup and throws it back on the floor.

“Pick it up now!” I yell. People turn and stare. Oh, God, I’ve just lost it in public. I pray to become invisible. Husband to the rescue. “Everyone go sit down,” he directs as he goes about getting us all waters and napkins.

We survive the rest of the meal. The oldest eventually decides to eat something and tells us, “I love it here!” The youngest likes her food so much she forgets to ask to breastfeed.

I marvel at how much food we can eat for $3 per person. Much of it is white and starchy, but there are vegetarian options! The penne is oily but the sauce is quite incredible. The mesclun salad greens are fresh. The garlic bread is addicting. Did you know you can eat breakfast here for $1? I treat myself to a heavenly slice of an almond buttercream torte with a caramel topping and what tastes likes bits of Skor bar for an extra $1.99. I wish I had purchased one of those miniature bottles of wine – just for the novelty. We’re all coming around. The kids are covered in tomato sauce and they’re still running around the feet of strangers like little mice, but now that I’ve eaten I realize those mice are my kids and they’re just trying to cope with being in this big store that takes us forever to walk through the best way they can.

We get to the warehouse to purchase our boxes of bunk beds and dressers. Then it hits us. We have no room for these in our vehicle and we left our roof racks at home. Delivery is way too expensive.

Three hours since our arrival we leave the store with a coffee press, a package of batteries and an Ikea catalogue. Ordering is good. And the next time we actually go to Ikea it will be for the cheap food.

Related posts:

1. Foodie Fridays: Spicy Pinto Beans and Chipotle Chili Puree
2. Foodie Fridays: Weird Food Combinations
3. Foodie Fridays: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
4. Foodie Fridays: Ice Cream Cake
5. Foodie Fridays: Thai Peanut Sauce

Tags: Foodie Fridays