“I haven’t eaten everywhere, but it’s on my list.” ~Elda Eats
Eating in Iceland. From the time my friends and I started planning our trip, I knew eating on this vacation would be an adventure. I mean, how often can one blog about eating from the northern most capital in the world.
I’ve always been one of those people who reads all about a place before I visit. I love to learn about the history, the culture, the people, and the food. And depending on where, I especially love learning about the food. While many people make a packing list right away or begin planning their wardrobe, I immediately start working on my vacation food list. That food list will usually consist of new foods to try, and maybe old favorite foods to try in a new way—or maybe those everyday foods I eat at home, but I finally get to try them abroad in their natural environment or birthplace, if you will. You know, pizza in Naples, paella in Spain, croissants in Paris, feta in Greece. And beer everywhere. Because, well, I like beer.
To be honest, before my pre-vacation reading, I didn’t really know what to expect from Icelandic food. I had a vague recollection of watching Anthony Bourdain’s visit to Iceland, and maybe remembered reading some other person’s experience with hakarl (more on that in the next blog post…); And maybe I knew that Icelanders are independent eaters—still eating puffin, horse, whale, and other things many in the world don’t feel comfortable with—but not sure I knew what else to expect. One thing I did expect, was that Iceland would be a different kind of food vacation, and that expectation has definitely been met. All in a very good way.
I’m traveling with two of my best friends, and when we travel, we not only make memories, we also make friends while learning about local food. We love doing this, and it’s now become a kind of informal tradition of ours. On past vacations, we’ve had great luck taking a cooking class or joining a food tour, and so we decided to do the same here in Reykjavik.
We spent about four hours on Friday walking the city center’s streets, visiting local businesses that are doing Icelandic food and drink right. From the traditional Icelandic lamb soup to the delicious black Gouda, the surprisingly good rye bread ice cream, the famous hot dog topped with pylsusinnep, and everything else in between (and pictured here on this page), it was truly an amazing experience.
Amazing not only because of the great food, but because we did indeed, once again, make friends while experiencing an amazing new food culture.
So, the best thing I ate last week? Let’s just say that it’s really too difficult to choose one thing from a day filled with so much great food (AND from a week filled with so much great new food!) I’d like to say that everything I ate on Friday—and walking through rainy Reykjavík to discover it—was an experience I’ll never forget. The best thing I ate was everything shared that day with new friends, bonding over amazing food.
#eldaeats XO
