By Bo Zaunders, Los Angeles Times Syndicate, 01/99

ADDRESSES Here are the addresses and average prices for the restaurants mentioned in the article. Please note that in July, when many people may want to visit Sweden, some of Stockholm's top chefs are prone to go on vacation themselves. Bakfickan, Jakobs Torg 10, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 676 5809. Swedish home-style cooking, from $11-$15, specials from $10-$21 per person. Bon Lloc, Bergsgatan 33, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 650 5082, fax 650 5083. Dinner around $47 per person. Den Gyldene Freden, Osterlanggatan 51, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 092 497 60. A three-course dinner will cost about $49 per person. Eriks, Osterlanggatan 17, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 238 500. Dinner averages about $87 per person. Lejontornet, Lilla Nygatan 5, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 142 355. A three-course dinner runs $49 per person. Ulriksdals Wardshus, 170 79, Solna; tel. 46 8 850 815, fax 850 858. The smorgasbord costs $25-$33 per person. Wardshuset Ulla Winbladh, Resendalsvagen 8, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 667 0571, fax 663 0573. Lunch or dinner for one, $11-$30.

The Swedish miracle these days is cooking, not tennis. The racquet has been replaced with a whisk, Borg with Bocuse, and the arena of fierce, international competition among young Swedes has moved from the tennis courts into the restaurant kitchens. As a result, a showering of various cooking awards and Michelin stars has descended on the country, especially its capital which, with a population of 1.5 million, now boasts more than 700 restaurants.

This culinary upswing is immediately apparent. As I walk around Stockholm, remembering what it was like just a few years ago, I'm continually amazed. Streets that used to lay empty, brooding in Ingmar Bergmanesque gloom, are now vibrantly alive, lined with little bistros and outdoor cafes. It feels like Paris or Barcelona.

Speaking of Barcelona, one of the most talked about places in Stockholm right now is a Catalan-inspired bistro called Bon Lloc. Its chef and owner, Mahtias Dahlgren, rose to fame last year after winning first prize in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or contest in Lyon, France. At 29, and after receiving a Michelin star a few months ago, Mahtias is a ``supernova,'' in the word of one hyperventilating food critic. His little bistro (it seats only 38 customers) is located in Kungsholmen, not far from City Hall. Here, in pleasant but understated surroundings, the serious gourmet may start with a duck terrine with mixed greens and apple puree, continue with an escalope of monkfish with shellfish paella, and finish with a slice of ginger cake drenched in dark rum and topped with caramel ice cream.

The fanciful, vertical food presentation at Bon Lloc reminded me of a previous visit to Stockholm during which I had sampled a 5-inch-high moussaka, made of wild boar and basil. I was then at Fredsgatan 12, which was named the country's best restaurant by the Swedish Gourmet magazine in 1994. It was time for a revisit.

Through a doorway in the foyer, flanked by an attractive display of bottles with herbs and oils, I glimpsed a new room that had been added to this popular, usually packed, establishment. In contrast to other parts of the restaurant, where guests can watch the action in the open kitchen half a flight of stairs below, this room offered a classic view of the Old Town, stylishly framed by tall, rounded windows.

Melker Andersson, the chef/owner, takes his cooking very seriously, which doesn't exclude a measure of playfulness. In an unexpected homage to two parts of the world that have influenced him greatly -- France, and, more recently, the American Southwest -- goose liver tacos are served at the bar.

Incidentally, these tasty tidbits are sometimes part of a constantly re-invented five-dish antipasti table that, at about $14(US), may well be the best appetizer haul in town, a gastronomic treat that looks rather like some colorful modern sculpture. Reading from left to right, I noted a salmon pastrami, tamale with black tiger shrimps and chanterelles, a blini with French caviar and (ITAL) tzatziki (uqTAL), and a jerk chicken with Miami salsa.

When it was time for the main course, I sacrilegiously toppled and messed up a beautifully sculpted halibut with a ``garden Caesar.'' Any remorse was soon forgotten. It was very, very good.

From Fredsgatan 12, it's only a five-minute walk to Operakallaren (the Opera Cellar), the undisputed flagship of Swedish restaurants. Rebuilt in the late 19th century, Operakallaren exudes an air of Victorian splendor, with a main dining room featuring exquisite carved oak walls, deep plush velvet chairs, magnificent chandeliers and a series of bacchanalian paintings starring men and women (ITAL) au naturel (uqTAL).

These paintings, to digress slightly, form a chapter all to themselves. When unveiled at the inauguration in 1895, they so shocked some of the guests that a storm of moral indignation soon swept the country. Although defended by August Strindberg and other intellectuals, the paintings were condemned by the Parliament for their pornographic content. It was time for His Majesty King Oscar II to step in.

Inspecting the offending canvases one morning, he said, ``One could possibly ask Bjorch (the artist) to allow the reeds to grow a little.'' As a result, the paintings are still there, with lots of lush vegetation covering all the strategic body parts.

In the '60s, Tore Wretman, the high priest among the chefs, brought gastronomic excellence to Operakallaren. His most enduring legacy -- he's now retired to the south of France -- may be that he adapted and refined good Swedish home cooking and turned it into something you might enjoy in the finest of restaurants. In consequence, simple dishes of low origin can always be found in this regal setting, except in the main dining room, where French cuisine reigns supreme and no meatballs are allowed. Nor, for that matter, are cellular telephones or men without jackets.

Before hurrying off to yet another restaurant, I sampled a delicious pea soup with crab and Iranian caviar, and chatted with Stefano Catenacci, Operakallaren's rising star, whose chef's hat, perhaps significantly, was the tallest and crispest I've ever seen. In what might have been a slight slur against his competitor at Fredsgatan 12, Catenacci confessed to a dislike of ``crossover'' food. He then became enthusiastic as he thought of how today's high-tech knowledge could be applied in developing new, exciting produce.

A walk through the Old Town took me to Den Gyldene Freden, the country's oldest restaurant. A charming place with candlelit vaunted cellars and rustic yet elegant furniture, Den Gyldene Freden has become somewhat of a national shrine. Ever since an illustrious poet chose it as his hangout in the 18th century, it has been a magnet to the Stockholm literati. This is where the members of the Swedish Academy meet once every month in an upstairs room, not just to pick the Nobel Prize winners, but to enjoy good, traditional Swedish cooking.

That cooking was on a downturn when chef Ulf Kappen took over a few years ago, but is now causing food critics to rave. Last time I was there, I thoroughly enjoyed a roast of reindeer with juniper sauce, followed by small pancakes with (ITAL) punsch (uqTAL) and raisin ice cream, and this time I feasted on prime veal with truffle sauce. Wonderfully tender, but so filling that I had no room for any of the desserts for which Kappen received glowing reviews this summer.

Crammed with beautifully preserved old buildings in a labyrinth of little squares, narrow streets and even narrower alleys, Gamla Stan (the Old Town) is saturated with history -- history that goes back to when Stockholm first became an urban settlement in the 13th century. The ground, like Swiss cheese, is riddled with cellars, many of which have been turned into restaurants or cafes.

There are several good restaurants in Gamla Stan besides Den Gyldene Freden. First, of course, there's Eriks, which recently topped the list in a competition in which the country's 199 most outstanding restaurants were picked and rated by the Swedish Gourmet magazine. For a combination of high-quality food and utter extravagance, Eriks, with the possible exception of the Grand Hotel's French Dining Room, stands alone.

Here, in a most elegant setting, you may expect such dishes as turbot cutlets in goose liver, (ITAL) vichyssoise (uqTAL), or, at a stiff price, Eriks' fish and shellfish cabaret in three servings. This is a place in which bread is baked twice a day and is good enough to spoil your appetite.

Another noted restaurant is Lejontornet, where the specialties are game, fowl and fish, and where medieval chic sets the tone with proud displays of coins, ornaments and even a sizable chunk of the city's old fortification wall.

I had heard that the best smorgasbord is served at Ulriksdals Wardshus. Trying it out, I've no difficulty believing this to be true, nor can I imagine a more appropriate and elegant setting for this all-time classic. Situated in parklike surroundings next to a royal palace a few miles north of Stockholm, Ulriksdals Wardshus is a sprawling, ornate wooden building with large windows, a glassed-in veranda and an adjacent little pavilion. The royal touch, I noticed, extended to the extreme courteousness with which each arriving guest was greeted.

As guests lined up for repeated attacks on the impeccable smorgasbord, smiling waiters and waitresses supplied the required drinking material, including En Immig Ulrik, the restaurant's own flavored aquavit, 1,300 bottles of which were consumed just last Christmas, according to innkeeper, Lauri Nilsson. At sunset, when the flag outside is lowered, the Swedish national anthem is invariably played to an amazed and delighted audience. It doesn't get more Swedish than this.

The next day, I met Nils-Emil Ahlin for lunch at Wardshuset Ulla Windladh, a pretty, turn-of-the-century tavern of the green, lush inner-city island of Djurgarden. Ahlin is a well-known chef and restaurateur, and this is one of his three high-profile Stockholm restaurants. Like his mentor, Tore Wretman, Ahlin has refined and brought dazzle to Swedish home cooking.

An easygoing man with a twinkle in his eye, his particular passion appeared to be Baltic herring. After presenting me with a book he wrote on the subject, he suggested I sample this delicate fish -- much smaller and quite different from regular herring -- in some of the multiple ways in which he prepares it. Delicious! And such friendly atmosphere. The outdoor section of the restaurant had filled up to the last seat, and I could see why.

Before leaving the capital, I popped into Bakfickan for a glass of wine. Part of the Operakallaren, Bakfickan (the hip pocket) is a small counter restaurant where the guests eat at the bar or at narrow tables. It's a place you feel comfortable going to just to be by yourself, where the house wine is respectable and where, for $10 to $15, you can have a classic Swedish meal.

I asked the bartender if many foreigners came there and, if so, what they ate.

He said, ``Sure, and they all eat meatballs. Last week, there was this couple who came for meatballs two days in a row. When they came back and ordered it for a third time, I felt I had to put a stop to it. After all, we have other good things on the menu.''

They do, indeed.

INCIDENTAL INTELLIGENCE

Here are the addresses and average prices for the restaurants mentioned in the article. Please note that in July, when many people may want to visit Sweden, some of Stockholm's top chefs are prone to go on vacation themselves.

Bakfickan, Jakobs Torg 10, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 676 5809. Swedish home-style cooking, from $11-$15, specials from $10-$21 per person.

Bon Lloc, Bergsgatan 33, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 650 5082, fax 650 5083. Dinner around $47 per person.

Den Gyldene Freden, Osterlanggatan 51, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 092 497 60. A three-course dinner will cost about $49 per person.

Eriks, Osterlanggatan 17, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 238 500. Dinner averages about $87 per person.

Lejontornet, Lilla Nygatan 5, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 142 355. A three-course dinner runs $49 per person.

Ulriksdals Wardshus, 170 79, Solna; tel. 46 8 850 815, fax 850 858. The smorgasbord costs $25-$33 per person.

Wardshuset Ulla Winbladh, Resendalsvagen 8, Stockholm; tel. 46 8 667 0571, fax 663 0573. Lunch or dinner for one, $11-$30.

(Bo Zaunders is a travel writer and photographer in New York, New York.) (c) 1999, Bo Zaunders. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate.