After a bit over four decades on this rock, I decided that enough is enough ; I have to get a stamp in my passport. So, around late March, I’m going to drive to JFK, park the car, hop on a flight to Reykjavik, and spend a week around the Arctic Circle. Okay … technically that part of Iceland is still in North America, but culturally speaking, it’s Europe. Besides, I can rent a car for a day, and cross the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, along with checking out some of the other Golden Circle attractions.
Icelanders boast about everything in their country being “best i heimi” – best in the world . After reading about their food, though, I gotta’ ask “what the hell were they thinking?” It seems like Icelandic cuisine was the result of Vikings trying to one-up each other in a each other in a Saga-era Fear Factor-like contest of consuming grossout foods. I stumbled across this page, which describes some of the culinary delights that await visitors to Iceland.
Have any Dopers tried Icelandic cuisine? Were you able to hold it down?
The only one of that bunch that gives me pause is the kakarl. If it’s anywhere near as bad as the Swedish dish surströmming (and it looks to be worse from all accounts), wow. Liver, blood pudding, boiled sheeps heads, head cheese, etc. I eat that stuff or similar (though not Iceland versions) fairly regularly.
Airfare from the States is reasonable (RT about $600 to $700), as are hotel rooms ($60 to $80 a night will get you a very nice room in downtown Reykjavik; about two-thirds to one half the price of an equivalent room in upstate New York). Restaurant menu prices seem about 50% more expensive than their American equivalents, and clothing, alcohol, and rental cars are a lot pricier. Thank the collapse of Iceland’s banking system for the country’s new-found affordability. If I wait a few more years, hot dogs might be back up to $6, another reason to go ASAP.
That is good to hear, as i was under the impression that a room in Reykjavik was closer to $300 per night, but obviously I was WAY off.
It sounds like a great trip; Hope you have a blast, and if there is one thing I have learned on my assorted travels, if the local food is not sitting well with you, no matter where you are, there is ALWAYS pizza somewhere in the nearby vicinity…
May I point out that the ‘cured in lactic acid’ means it is soaked in a container of whey [left over after cheesemaking] and is roughly like being pickled in vinegar? if it helps, think of it like pickled pigs feet or pickled eggs and beets.
Yum!
Having lived in the Northen Hebrides (Scotland, not currently) foir years, I’ve had several similar foods.
Black aka blood pudding - countless times and I like it. Especially with runny eggs and hot sauce.
Haggis (sheep guts ground with pepper and oatmeal) - LOVE good haggis.
Liver sausage aka liverwurst, sure.
Hung meat, raw meat and air-dried fish, yes, also can be good. Better if smoked, though.
Head cheese yes.
Bull and lamb testicles, yes, prepared several ways (tastes like kidney and I don’t care for it.)
What sort of vegetables and fruits do they eat in Iceland, I wonder? At any rate, I’m jealous of your trip.
Yeah, as elmwood says, there was a pretty big financial collapse in Iceland a couple years ago. To give you an idea, in 2007, a buck would buy you about 60 Icelandic Krona. In December of 2008, you got about 150 for a buck (!). Currently, it’s at about 120. Iceland suddenly got affordable.
If I remember correctly, after the Reykjavik episode of No Reservations (and it’s like, the second or third episode ever filmed) Anthony Bourdain had it written into his contract that there would be* no more* Scandinavian episodes.
Your mileage may vary. But this is the man who ate unwashed warthog rectum.
Just forget all that weird stuff and order the lamb. The lamb in Iceland are delicious. They have a unique two-way breed that’s equally good for meat or wool.
Regarding hakarl: some people say that it tastes like a mild cheese.
I went for a long weekend-the people are incredibly friendly-booze is super expensive, but the seafood is geat.
Don’t miss the Blue Lagon-imagine, a giant outdoor swimming pool-with the water at 85F!
Doesn’t change the location though. Seven years and I graduated high school there. And was at the boarding hostel in Portree. Which would explain the lots and lots of black pudding.
