Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.07.2010, Blaðsíða 19

18
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09 — 2010
Best burger:
Hamborgarabúlla Tómasar
After some pretty heated debate, our
panel of amateurs finally decided to
award the ‘best burger’ category to
Hamborgarabúlla Tómasar—Búllan—
for the second year in a row. Last year
they were pretty much a shoo-in for the
title, but this time around their title was
a bit more disputed.
This might mean that they are
faltering, but we’re hoping it just means
that Reykjavík has a better selection
of juicy burgers these days. In any
case, Búllan offers “consistency,” “an
authentic and original burger,” and a
“really nice atmosphere,” according to
our panel. But watch your back, Búllan.
You are being challenged...
Runners-up: Vitabar (“nice and juicy,”
“excellent location”), American Style
(“an Icelandic Hamburger if there ever
was one”)
(2009: Hamborgarabúlla Tómasar)
Best veggie burger:
Saffran
While last year’s winner, Drekinn, still
offers up nice and cheap veggie burgers
for the discerning carnophobe, Saffran’s
veggie burgers seem to have earned
a reputation for being “inventive,”
“filling,” and “luxurious.” So they scored
top vote this time around.
(2009: Drekinn)
Best ‘specialty burger’:
Hamborgarafabrikkan
Last year, we called this category ‘Best
blue cheese burger’ and awarded it
to the very deserving Vitabar. We felt
kinda stifled by the category, however,
as it is pretty much a given that if you’re
picking a blue cheese burger, Vitabar
will take home the prize, every time
(you hear that Vitabar? You’ve just won
our ‘Best Reykjavík blue cheese burger,
ever!’ award!).
So we thought we’d expand it to
‘Best specialty burger’, effectively
opening it up for all the fancy
and crazy burgers to be found
around town. Almost immediately
Reykjavík’s newest burger joint,
Hamborgarafabrikkan, took the prize.
Our panel (and quite a few e-mails)
agree that Hamborgarafabrikkan
somehow manages to make even their
most adventurous burgers (namely the
‘Lamburger’ and that crazy chicken
breast thing they offer) exceedingly tasty
and satisfying.
“It might be too zeitgeist-y and
too packed at this point—and I’m not
exactly a big fan of the celeb-owners—
but you’ve gotta admit that once you’ve
tried one of their specialty burgers you
instantly develop a craving to try all the
rest.”
Best slice:
Deli
When we gave Deli the prize for ‘best
slice’ last year, we argued that “getting
a good pizza on the go can be an
utter ordeal,” since lots of them were
cardboardy wafers that had been sitting
in heater boxes for a week. “Not at Deli,
however. Their slices are consistently
awesome and fresh, the topping
selection is intriguing and tasteful, and,
best of all, they’re really cheap.” After
some minor debating this time around,
we came to the conclusion that nothing
had changed. Congrats, Deli. Your slices
rule.
(2009: Deli)
Best drunken slice:
Devitos/Pizza King TIE
This was argued about. A lot (drinking
and pizza: two things we care deeply
about). Many claim that Pizza King are
ready to claim the title away from last
year’s winners, Devitos. Both places
offer pretty much the same pizza for
the same price, but Devitos won last
year as they had been doing it for longer
and were deemed “more consistent in
quality.”
This time around the margin was
even tighter, so in the end we thought
they’d share the prize. It’s our list,
and we can do whatever we want with
it. So this year’s drunken slice award
goes to BOTH Devitos (“greasy, salty,
awesome”) and Pizza King (“greasy,
salty, awesome”), with Devitos getting
minus points for being way up in 105
and Pizza King losing score due to
sometimes-stale slices on offer, and the
often rowdy crowd there late at night.
But you need to try both.
(2009: Devitos Pizza)
Best pizza:
Gamla smiðjan
Gamla smiðjan won this one hands
down. This very welcome addition
to Reykjavík’s pizza palette has been
steadily winning over fans since they
opened for business last year, and with
good reason too. Operated by a group
of Eldsmiðjan old-timers (from when
Eldsmiðjan was really, really, really
good), Gamla smiðjan seem to handle
every single order with care, love and
respect. “What makes them great is a
combination of the toppings, the crust
and the attitude,” one reader remarked
in an e-mail, and this seems true. Now,
while it’s not the most charming place to
eat out at, they do deliveries, and we’ve
yet to receive a cold pizza from them.
Runners-up: Devitos Pizza (“so
consistent!”), Eldsmiðjan (“they still
bake a mean pie”), Saffran (“not your
average pizza, but who needs average?”)
(2009: Devitos Pizza)
Best place to go for ice
cream:
Ísbúðin Ísland
Along with selling some really nice
standard soft serve, Ísland offers all sorts
of crazy flavoured scoops of the cold
stuff (beer? Rhubarb?), straight from the
farm where it’s made in small batches.
Many remarked that while “their hand-
made stuff is quite pricey, you’re willing
to pay the price for that ice cream.” They
also get bonus points for having a bunch
of literature on cows and sheep to read
while one feasts. Make sure to try ‘em!
(2009: Ísbúð Vesturbæjar)
Best bakery:
Sandholt
Sandholt won this category hands down.
This downtown institution isn’t the
cheapest bakery in town, but it certainly
offers some of the finest baked goods
known to mankind. Try their cake, try
their sandwiches, try their snúður. Just
try them out.
(2009: Mosfellsbakarí)
Best Indian food:
Shalimar
Shalimar took the prize this year, due to
their “authentic ingredients,” moderate
pricing policy, “top-notch mango
lhassies” and ability to make “proper,
spicy food.” “Just make sure you note
that their menu items are usually much
better than the day’s specials,” remarked
one panellist. So we did.
(2009: Austur-Indía félagið)
Best Thai food:
Ban Thai
Again: Reykjavík is chock-full of high-
quality Thai restaurants, but Ban Thai
remains the greatest. Folks noted lots of
reasons why: “They’re only a tad higher
priced than some of the places, but a lot
better on quality and atmosphere. “It’s
like some sort of magic world in there!”
“It’s surprisingly fancy for the price.”
“Thai people eat there!”
(2009: Ban Thai)
Best coffeehouse:
“Kaffismiðjan OWN Reykjavík coffee
these days. Why are we even debating
this?”
(2009: Kaffismiðjan)
Best coffee to-go:
Café D’Haiti
Don’t go there to sit all day: Café D’Haiti
is tiny. Their specially imported Haitian
beans, the way they brew them and the
friendly manner in which they all come
together to make it into a must-try cup of
coffee, however.
Runner-up: Kaffifélagið (“that place
has got some top notch coffee”),
Kaffismiðjan (“they OWN coffee!”)
(2009: Kaffifélagið)
Best sushi:
Sushibarinn
Sushibarinn scored the most votes
in this category, with one Facebook-
er remarking: “These guys should
definitely win for best sushi, but they are
already so popular that the queues often
deter me from getting my fix. Maybe it’s
best not to point them out to others?”
(2009: Sushismiðjan)
Best vegetarian:
Á næstu grösum
While vegetarian choices are becoming
more numerous in Reykjavík as of late,
the good people of Á næstu grösum
remain at the top of this game. Large
portions, vegan options and a nice
location are some of what make them
stand out—also, their food is pretty
damn tasty!
Runners-up: Krúska (“yet to prove
themselves, but still a damn tasty
meal.”)
(2009: Á næstu grösum)
Best hangover meal:
The Truck at Prikið
This category always brings some very
loud arguments, whether on e-mail
or in person. Last year, we wound up
hopelessly deadlocked, OJ trial-style,
between the ‘trucks’ at Grái kötturinn
and Prikið, before finally going with
Grái kötturinn (for the uninitiated,
‘a truck’ usually entails bacon, eggs,
pancakes and various other fried
delicacies). This time around, Prikið
won the vote. And it’s probably a good
thing, as their trucks are a tad cheaper,
and when you’re ready to bid a final
adieu to your hangover their beer is
pretty cheap too.
(2009: The Truck at Grái kötturinn)
Best soup:
Most soups at Súpubarinn
Súpubarinn at Reykjavík Art Gallery
(Hafnarhús) serves up some really
delicious soup, for a pretty fair price.
They score many bonus points for their
superb location; after viewing some nice
art (or some Erró), you may sit down by
a glass window overlooking the harbour
and feast your heart out!
(2009: Lobster soup at Sægreifinn)
Best place for a fancy meal:
Dill
Dill came pretty close to winning this
category last time around, and from
what we can tell they have upped their
reach and reputation just enough to take
the prize in 2010. Folks REALLY love
Dill from what we can tell, with some of
the letters we got damn near dripping
with the drool of overtly-impressed
patrons. “Everything comes together
at Dill,” one reader noted, “The view is
amazing, the service is top notch and
the Nordic-style food is to die for,” while
another commented: “I really think they
are the premier restaurant in Iceland
today, even though their prices prevent
me from going as often as I would like.
Definitely the best fancy meal around.”
Runners-up: We like to proudly
exclaim that Reykjavík is a great place
for fine dining, if you’ve got the money.
Last year’s winner, Gallery Restaurant
at Hotel Holt, haven’t lost a bit of their
charm and are always a safe bet. Fish
Company also got many votes, as did
Primavera and The Grill at Hotel Saga.
Win a lottery and try them all out for
yourself ASAP.
(2009: Gallery Restaurant at Hótel Holt)
Best place for grocery
shopping:
Melabúðin
Iceland really isn’t the best place for
grocery shopping, all things considered.
Everything is overpriced, over-aged, and
under-stocked, pretty much. But we are
an island that relies heavily on imports,
so maybe it’s understandable in a way.
So while no one will deem grocery
shopping in Iceland an especially fun
or constructive practice (especially
considering the fact that by spending
money at some of the chains (well,
all of them) you are “directly funding
some of the banksters that fucked us all
over,” as one reader remarked), there are
places that make it bearable-to-awesome
(depending on your budget).
While last year’s winners, Krónan,
are still in many respect the place for
bulk grocery shopping (they are slightly
more expensive and better stocked,
and slightly less evil than Bónus), this
year our panellists near unanimously
agreed that Melabúðin is the best place
for grocery shopping in Reykjavík.
Melabúðin “isn’t the cheapest, but
they provide the most satisfying and
healthy shopping experience to be had
in Reykjavík. The community feel is
very generous and warming.” Readers
also loved the fact that they have
working butcher and fresh fish tables,
and noted that their selection of food is
“staggering, especially in light of their
Alright. So here it is. Our second annual BEST OF REyKJAVÍK list is finally ready for all y’all to
pour over. We have spent countless hours compiling the thing [via your suggestions, e-mails, Facebook comments and bar-
talk] and we feel that it does provide some pretty good pointers about some of what makes Reykjavík-life worthwhile these
days. And we are very happy to point it out and draw y’alls attention to it.
See, as we said last year: “We love the great city of Reykjavík. We really do. In fact, we love it so much, we named
our magazine after it – and most of us choose to live here for extended periods at a time.”
Now, since our loving Reykjavík is most definitely the case, we sometimes feel like we’re spending a little too much
time focusing on what’s missing, instead of celebrating what’s here. And this is the primary purpose of our now-
annual BEST OF REYKJAVÍK list – to celebrate some of the stuff we feel somehow enriches our lives and adds to
them. It’s about big-upping stuff, giving mad props to it and patting it on the shoulder. Sort of a print-version of
the Facebook ‘like’ if you will.
The list is of course by no means a scientific one, and it is certainly heavily contestable. It should be read
as such.
It should be used as a starting point for a conversation of appreciation; something for you folks to read,
verify, distrust, totally disagree with, argue over, send us angry rants about and generally enjoy.
It’s for fun, but we still hope it serves as some sort of guideline to enjoying our fair city.
Here’s how we did it: Ever since last year’s BEST OF issue, we’ve been accepting readers thoughts on
what’s BEST at bestof@grapevine.is, as well as conducting random polls on our Facebook, on the street and at the
bar. Using your suggestions and arguments for guidance, we then assembled a couple of large panels of tasteful
folks that represent pretty much every gender, income bracket and political affiliation to discuss. Below are the results.
Enjoy, and remember to send your suggestions to bestof@grapevine.is for consideration in our 2011 edition.
DINING
AND
GRUBBING
BEST OF
THE
REYKJAVÍK
2010
Grapevine readers, friends, enemies and staff do the choosin’!