Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.12.2009, Síða 37

RESTAURANT
BAR & TAKE AWAY
OPIÐ TIL 22:00
sushismiðjan
FYRIR2 1AF MATSEÐLI
MÁNUDAGA-FIMMTUDAGA
The whole world watched and the
whole of Iceland cheered when
McDonalds left the country—a lovely
showcase of the nation’s nature: “Our
country is so screwed that even the
biggest fast food chain in the world
leaves, let’s friggin’ celebrate!”
McDonalds left since it was not
viable to keep importing everything
to the country, while the competitors
were using local ingredients. The ex-
franchise holders, though, decided to
open shop anew, this time under a new
local brand, “Metro” (it should be noted
that the word is not Icelandic and has
no meaning in the language, lending it
an air of international sophistication).
This is surely clever for business and
the environment —local ingredients,
less shipping, boosting the troubled
economy. With some saying that the
true reason for the Mac fleeing the
rock was not kreppa but the brilliance
of the local burgers—see Búllan—surely
tastebuds benefit too?
As it turns out, going local does
not necessarily mean better burgers.
At Metro, the metal brackets for
the late arches and the yellow stripes on
the wall still remain—the new nametag
has simply been bolted on top. Inside,
the decoration and set up continue the
theme of minimalistic change—even
the headset wearing staff’s manic
behaviour (“Two cheeseburgers left!”)
screams McDonalds. Now, however, the
menu has been translated to Icelandic.
I ordered the Metro Meal (999
ISK), including a burger, fries and a
soda of choice. My companion chose
the bacon burger with fries and coke
(999 ISK) plus a vanilla shake (300 ISK).
My burger was bland and the
fries tasted of bitter oil—has the global
company taken standards regarding
cleaning and filtering the oil with it?
The bacon burger was no better,
neither the salty richness of good junk,
nor the goodness of a real quality local
burger. The shake went in the bin half
finished.
According to Sky News, “The
withdrawal of the golden arches
symbolises a sharp fall from economic
grace for a nation.” As far as taste at
least, the new burger shaped logo of
Metro isn’t making things any better.
It takes more than shredding the
local iceberg to get the burger right.
- SARI PELTONEN
The Post-Mac Burger
GRAPEVINE FOOD REVIEW KEY
0 God-awful
Awful
Passable. Much room for improvement
Good, but not great.
Really rather good
Extraordinary
The food is rated in three categories:
Fast food: Pizza, pylsa and kebab, food on
the go (0-2000 ISK)
Mid-range: Everyday eateries, sit-in. (mains
2000-4000 ISK)
Fine dining: Fancy, expensive-type food.
(3-course dinners 6000 and up)
To best judge the restaurant experience,
the Grapevine conducts its reviews anony-
mously. The sole exception is the payment
method: When the bill arrives, the reviewer
presents a written statement, previously
signed by the restaurant management,
allowing the reviewer and one companion a
meal on the house for review purposes.
Using this approach, we aim to best
preserve the reviewer’s objectivity (and the
restaurants’ consistency), within the humble
means of a free newspaper.
The Grapevine does not favour foie gras
over fast food. Restaurants are reviewed
for what they are; both burger and beluga
can be extraordinary in their own right.
In all evaluations, the food is key: Does it
taste good? Is it properly prepared? Are
the ingredients fresh and of high quality?
Secondary considerations include setting,
service and value for money.
All opinions expressed are the critic’s
own. SP
R E V I E W S
Flavour: Almost non-existent
Ambiance: Families, teenage boys
and the newsreader-turned-TV-
chef Jóhanna Vigdis cooking pork
on the numerous TV screens.
Service: Efficient
Metro Burger
Skeifan
What we think: : Like McDonalds
but even worse
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY:
3 x PRE-CHRISTMAS
1 LAuFABRAuð PARTIES
Gather your friends to decorate and fry
laufabrauð, thin crackers eaten during
Christmas time. There is a specific tool for
the patterns (8.000 ISK or so, see Kokka on
Laugavegur), but a plain old knife works just
as well.
2 GINGERBREAD HOuSES
Build your own Christmas house, or if you
feel lazy, go see the dozens of creations
at Smáralind shopping mall for the annual
cookie house competition.
www.smaralind.is
3 MAKE CHOCOLATE TREATS
This is a newfangled Icelandic tradition
– making ones own chocolate treats for
Christmastime consumption. There are
recipes available, but most folks just choose
to roll up some store-bought marzipan and
dip it in melted suðusúkkulaði. It tastes pretty
awesome, too, especially if you add some
nuts on top.
3 x 23.12
1 EAT SKATE
The old West Fjord tradition of eating rotted
skate on Þorláksmessa is alive and well.
Smelly but refreshing, they claim. Some even
say it will invigorate your sex drive. Others
claim it might invigorate your vomit drive. Try
it for yourself at the Restaurant Reykjavik
Skate party or at Þrír Frakkar, which serves
Skate throughout the month of December.
2 DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE
Preferably from a street-vendor. Drinking hot
chocolate from a plastic cup on the 23rd is
not only a tried and tested Icelandic tradition
– it is also universally acknowledged as being
a super-Christmassy activity.
3 MEET FRIENDS AT KAFFIBARINN
Sit down, have a Christmas beer and meet
friends at Kaffibarinn once the present
shopping is over and done with. The
atmosphere is particularly cosy on the 23rd.
But try not to fall in the classic Icelandic trap
of getting too drunk, losing all your freshly
bought presents and showing up all ragged
and hung-over for your Christmas-meal as
your children cry bitter tears of discontent.
That is pretty uncool.
3 x 24.12
1 HAVE SOME HANGIKJöT
The beloved Christmas food hangikjöt (“hung
meat”), smoked lamb meat (often via sheep
droppings or birch), is found on almost every
Icelandic Christmas table – more than 90%
of the population eat it at least once over the
holidays.
2 PECK AT THE PTARMIGAN
On the rarer end of game, ptarmigan is the
second most popular Christmas delicacy
after hangikjöt.
3 SAMPLE SuGARED POTATOES
The potatoes at the Christmas table are
often roasted with sugar – a longstanding
Icelandic tradition. Some love it, others less
so, but it is good to come prepared.
3 x HOLIDAY SEASON
1 JÓLAöL
A true Icelandic original, this holiday soda
is a 50-50 mix of orange soda and brown
ale. The authentic version, sold in the shops
over the holidays includes Egils Appelsín and
Maltöl. Some folks like to add a tenth of cola
to their mix.
2 JÓLAGLöGG
The consumption of this hot and spiced
red wine glögg is a long standing Icelandic
tradition. It generally contributes a lot to
making office parties more embarrassing
than they need be, as few realise the
potency of the drink.
3 JÓLABJÓR
Most Icelandic breweries – try Jökull, Kaldi,
Egils or Ölvisholt, for instance – give out
special Christmas editions of their beers.
They are generally darker and fuller than
their usual output – the Ölvisholt one even
tastes kinda like Hangikjöt!
For full restaurant and food listings and venue
finder visit www.grapevine.is for detailed
information.