Sons of Norway

This is a nice lodge hall. The chapter the runs it is full of really great people. They hall itself has really nice Norwegian deco. They offer a great limited summer camp once a year.

Thousands of years of my Norwegian ancestors have prompted me to write this review.
This review is for the annual Lutefisk and Meatball dinner put on by the Van Nuys Sons of Norway chapter.
I have been to this event several times, but this review is for the most recent event, in 2013. Overall, i highly recommend this event for both food and company.
First off, lutefisk is definitely an acquired taste, a Norwegian-​specific fish. Without going into the interesting history of the fish, suffice to say that it is a somewhat gelatinous fish when prepared correctly, not very tasty as fish go, but still palatable. Some jokingly say that eating slimy lutefisk is worse than eating MRE’s. Not true. The issue is whether or not it is prepared correctly. My own Norwegian mother-​rest her soul-​who was otherwise an excellent cook, never quite got the knack for making this fish-​hers was always rubbery-​but the cooks here at S.O.N. have got it down to a science. These dedicated people have produced the best lutefisk i have ever had, in my culinary endeavors from Minnesota to California, including Norsk family venues. This lutefisk is tasty and with the provided melted butter, just excellent. That being said, remember that this is the opinion of a Norskie who is familiar with this fish. First timers may not feel the same way. as they are sometimes put off by the consistency of the fish. The taste itself is not that bad, but is somewhat bland. Just think of it as a Norwegian Sashimi and you will get by. However, it is optional to eat the lutefisk and if not so inclined, the meatballs and the rest of the dinner are more of a neutral fare.
The meatballs (Norwegian, not Swedish) were delicious and had a faint clove-​like taste, just like my mom used to make, and much better than Ikea’s (which I include for reference for non-​Nordic people who have that as their meatball benchmark). They were cooked just right-​not over or under cooked. There were sides of lefse, (Norwegian potato flatbread similar to tortillas, or as we say, tortillas are Mexican lefse) potatoes and vegetables with the dinners which were also cooked just right.
Seating is round-​table, family style, and you wind up sharing a table face-​to-​face with people from all over the map. For we Scandinavians, who are somewhat a quiet and reserved culture, this is a treat since we all share a common heritage and we all start blabbing like Italians (and i mean this in the fondest way). It is truly a cozy feeling and everyone gets along nicely. The staff who put this on from S.O.N. are very pleasant and patient and help to make this a very nice experience. Our table had people of all ages and origins so we all had a great time.
The only negative I can say about the event is that the good beers disappear quickly as they do not stock up as a regular restaurant does, so i recommend showing up early if that is important to you. The aquavit (think of it as Scandinavian reply to Ouzo) however never seems to run out, but it too is an aquired taste and at 40% alcohol, be careful.
Unfortunately this is a special event and not a restaurant open for business on a regular basis so if you are interested, get on their mailing list so that you will know when these events are coming up.
But yes, go early since they are always packed for these events!

LUTEFISK MEATBALL DINNER!
I came here this past November as a treat from my professor along with my other classmates! First off, lutefisk is definitely a delicacy.
It’s fish but not an ordinary fish. It’s soaked in lye and then soaked in water so it’s okay to eat. My first description of it is: SALTY! However, if you put some gravy on top it will taste better.
The lutefisk dinner is actually served family style.
have meatballs which are not out of the ordinary, bread, veggies (mixed), potatoes (which I loved but nothing out of the ordinary), cole slaw (okay), and others that I can’t quite remember. The food was okay to me and I’m not sure if I would come again. However, the service here is quick and the people here are super friendly! They even have a section of small merchants selling things. Parking is in a small parking lot with street parking available.

This is a review for their annual Lutefisk & Meatball Dinner…
So for those of you who are wondering what exactly IS lutefisk, let me tell you something, the fish is not as bad as people make it to be. When you first hear about the process a slab of fish has to go through to become this delicacy, you may cringe a little. Why? Because after the fish is soaked in water for about a week, you soak it again in lye, which is a corrosive substance. Sounds deadly huh? Don’t worry, after that second process is over, you just soak the fish in water again! Then it’s all safe and ready for cooking and eating.
Now, on to the dinner. So the lodge is not really big at all. It can hold about 200 people comfortably, but any more than that you are asking for trouble. There’s only about 10 parking spots on the property so good luck finding parking on the streets during Lutefisk night because this place gets PACKED! Even at $ 20 a pop for AYCE strange fish, there’s a bunch of people flocking in and out. I heard that there’s about 1,000 a night that come to dine on meatballs, lutefisk, potatoes, lefse (flatbread made from potatoes), bread, and some type of rice pudding.
I was treated my by professor to this dinner, which was really nice! A bunch of my fellow classmates and their spouses/​friends also enjoyed the meal.
If you are ever interesting in coming here, just know that you can’t make reservations or anything. You just show up, get a # and tell the person selling tickets how many are in your party, and then wait to be called upon. First seating is at 4PM and then after they reach full capacity, you just have to sit around until a table clears up. Sometimes you just have to dine with strangers, which is fun and adventurous in my opinion.
There are merchants selling random goods such as handmade wooden tags, tshirts, buttons, waffle irons, and jewelry behind the lodge. For the drinker, there’s beer, aquavit (this stuff is so STRONG!), and water for the non-​drinkers.
I had a blast and I hope you will consider attending a lutefisk dinner in the near future!
OH! One more thing… if anyone watches California Gold on PSB, Huell Howser devoted an episode to lutefisk and he also showed up at the lodge last night! All the super old senior citizens (they actually made up like 90% of the people there) were so happy to see him and he even spent a few minutes taking pictures and signing scraps of paper. I had no idea who he was when I saw him, but he came up to me and shook my hand. HAH!