The $40 IKEA Dinner Party

You know to look to IKEA as a low-cost resource for furnishing your rental space in contemporary style, but do you ever consider their food offerings? Sure, you've grabbed a hot dog and a soft-serve at the snack bar, but there's an entire Scandinavian grocery store just waiting to be discovered!

One journalist recently set out to create an entire dinner party consisting only of foods available in the IKEA market. The Atlantic's Alfa-Betty Olsen (yes, her real name - and her Norwegian heritage lends an air of credibility to the experiment) put on an authentically Scandinavian spread for her five guests, with moderate success.