- Hi, I'm Manda Malina.
- I am Ben.
- Hi, my name is Mikael.
- I'm Jenna.
- And today we are gonna compare
Swedish meatballs and Italian meatballs.
I don't actually know if I've had Italian meatballs.
- I have not had Swedish food before.
- You've been missing out.
There's a lot of weird stuff that we eat.
We have everything from rotten fish to meatballs.
- Tomato sauce and meatballs for me,
doesn't go hand in hand,
but, I mean, it's probably delicious, so we'll see.
(drum beats)
- I have had Swedish meatballs from IKEA,
but I don't know if those are legit or not.
- I actually really love the meatballs from IKEA,
so I don't blame you, they're really really delicious,
they're not really the meatballs
that my mom would make in the kitchen,
but they are really good.
- Okay, okay.
- Swedish meatballs!
- Oh!
Wait, what is this?
I thought there was supposed to be like,
gravy and stuff on there.
- This is like the Swedish meatball sandwich.
But we kind of call it (talks in foreign language).
At least that's what I say where I'm from.
- And there's like pink stuff.
- Yes, the pink stuff's the red beet salad.
- So we have beet salad-- - Okay.
- Made of beets, meatballs,
this is dried onion.
No, roasted onion, lettuce.
But they kind of put it in a hot dog bun, I think.
- What is it usually served in?
- A baguette.
- Is this like a meatball sandwich?
- It is.
It's like a meatball sub.
- I am not a picky eater, but there's something about this.
It's not my fav.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
- Okay.
- Mmm.
- You like it?
- Oh yeah, it's really good, especially with the beets.
Mmhmm.
- I like the beets. - Mmhmm.
- I didn't think I was going to like them,
but they're good.
- You're not supposed to eat it with a fork.
You kinda...
You know, take a big bite out of it.
I feel like the meatballs in Sweden are smaller.
- Yeah, these are big ones.
- But this one though, the beet salad.
(clicks loudly)
- I mean, the meat part is like, relatively similar.
But the sauce in Italian meatballs makes it
a whole 'nother level.
- It tastes like it's missing some key
Italian herbs and spices.
You know, the oregano and the fennel.
- I'm gonna have to say we win, on this one.
- But we haven't tried yours yet, right?
- Yeah, but I already know.
- The Swedish meatball sandwich,
I didn't even know they existed.
I'm here for it, I like it.
(laughs)
- Awesome!
(Italian music)
- Oo!
- Oh, yeah.
- They're smaller than I thought they would be.
- Well, authentic Italian meatballs
are actually quite small. - Oh really?
- American meatballs are the giant ones.
They're actually called polpette in Italy.
- You know, I don't think I've ever ordered this.
- Ever?
- Ever!
- You like, twirl the fork, get a little spaghetti in there.
- This is what I'm talking about.
- [Manda] You ready?
- Let's do it.
- Do you have like, Parmesan we could sprinkle?
- You're just adding things now, aren't you?
- It's an affair.
(mumbles)
- I like this better.
(laughs)
I can't believe I said that.
I feel like it has more, more flavor.
- I mean, the pasta and the sauce really helps
bring in moisture.
- It's a weird combination for me
to eat meatballs with marinara sauce.
I know it sounds so,
of course you do that, right?
But we don't in Sweden, so,
it's still a little weird.
- They're definitely a little more
easy to chew, they're not,
they don't feel as dense as the Swedish ones did.
- You got somethin'. - Oh, I got somethin'.
- You know what I'll say,
is that I think the Swedish meatballs stand alone
really held their own.
I'd say like this, because it has the tomato sauce
and the pasta, all of it together is just like,
mwah, perfect!
You know?
(mumbling)
(laughing)
- Maybe! (laughs)
- That's okay, it's okay.
- In this particular round,
I think the Italian ones win.
I'll give it to you. - Thank you.
That's all I needed.
(blues music)