West Foster Ave.

The first thing you notice about the strip on West Foster Avenue tucked in the shadows of North Park University are two buildings adorned with blue and yellow awnings, the signature colors of Sweden. They are the last bastion of what once was a community filled almost exclusively with Swedes and Orthodox Jews. Latino, Eastern European and Asian cultures have since opened up shops on the block, which benefits from the student populations of surrounding North Park University, North Park Theological Seminary and Northeastern Illinois University.

Browsing the menu at this lace-curtained Swedish gem in the heart of North Park is a treat in itself. Ribeye with sauteed mushrooms and Danish blue cheese. Vanilla and orange French toast. The Stockholm omelette with falukorv sausage and caraway havarti cheese. Norwegian salmon broiled with chive buerre blanc. Prices at Tre Kronor (Three Crowns) are reasonable at $5-$7 for breakfast dishes and $10-$16 for dinner entrees. It's an intimate setting, so there can be a wait early on the weekends, but rarely more than 15 minutes. In the summer, a tranquil shaded patio entices passers-by to perch with a book and an iced drink or the dessert creation of the day. If spirits move you, come packing. It's BYOB.

Hours: 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.

This showcase of all things Swedish, in four connected storefronts, is the only one of its kind in Chicago. Glass cases sparkle with fine Swedish porcelain and crystal and almost all of the items are imported from Sweden or Scandinavia. In keeping with the motherland's extended Christmas season, the Sweden Shop keeps the holiday spirit in the store year-round. Santa collectors can find the skinnier Swedish variety here as well as straw Christmas goats, candles, advent wreaths and colorful holiday linens.

Tourists may come to the 56-year-old shop for the clogs and the chocolates; Chicagoans of Swedish heritage come to fill their shelves and cupboards with reminders of their origins.

Hours: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Better come hungry to enjoy the menu at this Ecuadorian hole-in-the-wall. Entrees for lunch and dinner range from beef stomach and fried sea bass to fried pork with sides of fried mashed potatoes, white corn, tomato salad and pastries with cheese for dessert. You'll get plenty of food for not much cash, even at lunch, with most entrees $8-$9.

The color scheme is as festive as the Latin music playing with lime green and citrus-colored murals lining the walls.

Hours: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily; closed Wednesday.

This bookstore, linked with North Park University, has hundreds of volumes of religious-themed books, Bibles, CDs and DVDs, and features the works of local Evangelical covenant authors as well as national best-sellers.

You'll also find typical college student fare -- mugs, sweatshirts, bumper stickers, keychains, water bottles -- and even Jesus toe rings.

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m Monday-Friday (summer hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.); 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.