Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Blaðsíða 43

F D
For your mind, body and soul
BedrooM
CoMMuNItY
CookBook -
reCoMMeNdAtIoNs :
1 UNA SVEINBJARNADÓTTIR
Tjöruhúsið, Ísafjörður
The best fish restaurant I know, catch of the
day is to be recommended. With Icelandic
butter and other weapons, it is worth many
many trips to the Westfjords, where they have
the best fish and seafood in the world.
2 BEN FROST
There is nothing to be recommended here
because the man in the kitchen, Maggi, who
incidentally is the father of Haukur of the
band Reykjavík! (confused yet?...welcome to
Iceland) is the best chef in Iceland. If he has
made it, and it’s in front of you, you will eat it.
And you will cry a little.
Tjöruhúsið, Ísafjörður
3 STURLA MIO ÞÓRISSON
There is this Belgian girl in the kitchen;
she makes the most delicious food - holy
mouthwatering crumbs! Fresh stuff in every
day and the menu changes all the time.
There are the set menu meals, like kjötsúpa
& plokkfiskur but dude/dudette - I had
some mussels there the other day... They
were soooooo gooooood! I Wish I were still
there eating those mussels... Which begs the
question: why am I sitting here? In front of a
computer screen, telling you about Boston - I
should be there having my dinner... Going...
Gone... bye.
Hafnarstræti 15
4 VALGEIR SIGURðSSON
This is a great place to got to if you are
dining with a group of people with very
different tastes and needs. The price ranges
from cheap to medium expensive, nothing
extreme, and the quality is consistently great.
From juicy sandwiches and burgers, to the
freshest fish and tenderest lamb. The service
is also friendly, which is sadly not always the
case in Iceland. You will however need to
ignore the music, which is usually some awful
mtzmtzmtz.... But it's never managed to spoil
the food or a good time there.
Laugavegur 55
For full restaurant and food listings and venue
finder visit www.grapevine.is for detailed
information.
VEGETARIAN CUISINE
Skólavörðustígur 8 b, tel. 552 2028
Open from 11:30 am–21:00 pm
www.graennkostur.is
RESTAURANT
BAR & TAKE AWAY
OPIÐ TIL 22:00
sushismiðjan
FYRIR2 1AF MATSEÐLI
MÁNUDAGA-FIMMTUDAGA
Established by Valgeir Sigurðsson
in 2006, with luminaries Ben Frost
and Nico Muhly, the Bedroom
Community record label is currently
busy preparing its cross Europe
‘Whale Watching Tour.’ In addition
to the usual packing, practicing and
organising, the ladies and gentlemen
of the Bedroom Community are also
cooking up a storm—and writing a
book about it.
“We do recording at the
Greenhouse studio. It is a bit out there,
there are no restaurants close by, and
we all enjoy cooking, sitting around
and having dinner,” Valgeir explains.
“The kitchen sometimes becomes the
creative centre. Everyone throws in
ideas; everyone has sometimes made
a contribution to what is for dinner.”
The idea to record and collect
these culinary jams in a tome is one
the artists have played with for a while.
“Maybe this is a start of our recipe
collection, you know how each kitchen
has the handwritten notebook with
grandmother’s waffles with a secret
ingredient that makes them special,”
Valgeir tells me.
Almost ready to print, the book
includes recipes by the record label
artists, engineers and musicians
as well as guest collaborators from
over the years. Accompanied by
comic illustrations by artist Sam
Amidon, the label-mates also offer
recommendations of their favourite
places to eat, drink and hang out all
over the world.
“Some of the recipes have an
Icelandic theme to them, like the lamb,
the whale and the puffin, but the book
covers the whole spectrum of eating
good food,” Valgeir says. “It has a
bunch of influences, probably in a way
that is like the music,” he says, “there’s
a common ground there somewhere
but no specific style, no one way of
thinking”.
And who is the master of the
kitchen in the Bedroom Community?
“That is a constant battle,” Valgeir
smiles.
The Whale Watching Tour 24.10-
2.11; The Bedroom Community Cook
Book available on tour and in concert,
as sold by the members.
SAMPLE RECIPE
Una Sveinbjarnardóttir
Fennel Gratin from Cologne
Germans sure know how to use the
veggies in their repertoire. This dish is
a great example. I got it at a friend of
a friend’s place in Cologne, during an
Ensemble Modern session in the city,
playing the music of Luigi Nono.
4 Fennel bulbs
2 Carrots
Spinach (if so desired, no neccessity)
Balsamic vinegar
Parmigiano
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
The veggies are steamed for ca. 10
minutes, then cut in thick slices and
put in an olive-oily roasting pan.
Pour over the balsamic vinegar, don’t
use too much, 2 ½ tbsp is a good
ausgangspunkt. Grated cheese goes
on top, my friend Valerij likes to add
mozzarella to the parmigiano, that
would be the pianist´s variation – it is
quite good actually. Salt and pepper to
your taste, and place for 15 minutes in
the oven.
This is a great starter with ultra
dry white wine or prosecco, it goes
well with an Italian Gavi or a dry
Riesling. The Fennel Gratin is also
good as a side dish to a juicy steak or
fatty fish. - SARI PELTONEN
Kitchen Sessions
The Bedroom Community takes over your kitchen
Tel +354 577 60 50
www.sixt.is
Tel +354 577 60 50
www.sixt.is