Admittedly I knew that going to the new Ikea Miami near the Dolphin Mall (1801 NW 117th Street) the opening weekend was probably not a good idea, but curiosity got the best of me, along with a desire to get some of their food products.

I’ve been to other Ikeas but don’t remember any of them being so mammoth, nor such a huge parking lot (looks like parking for a National Football League stadium). This visit reminded me of the attractive contemporary design of all of the products which are too numerous to begin to describe. Suffice it to say that what you see on the website is what you get. Very clever marketers these Ikea people: they show fully furnished rooms in every area of a home with the square footage and what it would cost to replicate the furnishings.

A difference from others I’ve been to is the very large area devoted to the cafeteria which contributes to making an Ikea visit a day’s outing, which many seemed to do.

What I most like  are their Scandinavian food products which range from cookies and pastries, jams, condiments, frozen and marinated fishes and frozen entrees to cheese, beverages and more. Favorites are the smoked salmon and gravlax , coffee,  jams, mustard, and the non-alcoholic beverages. Have you noticed that fewer people are drinking sodas? If you want to have some interesting beverages for when friends come to the house, then this is the place to get them. Into my bag (you have to buy one for 99 cents plus tax) went several bottles of the sparkling apple lingonberry drink that comes in a champagne-like bottle which makes it festive. There were numerous others including elderflower, rosehip, blueberry and sparkling pear drinks, and all well priced.

Fortunately, food purchases are made at a special counter, so if you haven’t bought any non food items you can proceed directly to that counter and avoid the long, slow lines I saw.

Probably because it just opened there are kinks in the operation — The entrance off of NW 12^th Street is the same as the one to Dolphin Mall and it didn’t seem to be marked, so I overshot it. Parking lanes have no number or letter so you have to be very careful to find a landmark to remember where your car is. And when you walk to the store, there are no sidewalks (guess they assume you’ll take one of the bus shuttles rather than walk). Anyway, yesterday I had my smoked salmon  with goat cheese for lunch along with a glass of the sparkling apple and lingonberry drink  and it made the visit more than worth it.