Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2011, Page 59

Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2011, Page 59
F D For your mind, body and soul Madeleine T.: This is Grapevine’s annual best of, top of the pops issue. Now, I am not one for superlatives. I continually come back to Dill. Dill is on the top of my list. There is nothing that compares to it in Iceland. I rather inactively choose not to take part in this, as I do not believe in this gold star dunce cap reward system. I find that really boring. Dill does reign king of haute cuisine in Iceland. For our readers that have not had the pleasure of dining here, can you talk about the mission and spirit of Dill? Gunnar Karl Gíslason: We opened up two years ago. Then, the whole thing was about this Nordic Kitchen. We were going to open this Nordic restaurant, and of course we did. Both me and Óli [Dill Sommelier and co-founder Ólafur Örn Ólafsson] had worked at Vox before, so it was logical to come here and open up a restaurant in the Nordic House. It was probably the perfect way to move on. We had our things at Vox, but we wanted to take it further. I wanted a smaller location so the whole thing would be more personal. When Nordic House director Max Dager offered me the location, I really could not say no. First of all, the house, location and the view are unbelievable. We had some investors who were coming into this project with us. Then came the crisis, and the investors dropped out, so it was only Óli and I left. We were thinking that maybe it was too much for the two of us to handle, but we could not say no. We had to find a new strategy. When we opened, we noticed that because of the crisis, the prices on all of the imported ingredients from the other Nordic countries started to go up, not only a little bit, but a lot. So our Nordic restaurant is thus probably more Icelandic than Nordic. We basically try to find ingredients in Iceland, and if we cannot find them here, then we look to the other Nordic countries. It is much more Icelandic than it was in the beginning, and it is much more Icelandic than the things we were doing at Vox. In addition, I think in these two years since we started here, I have started to focus more on the traditions: the traditions of making the food. I am looking at the producers and I try to find producers that are making things in the really old tradition. For example, we only buy fish from one guy in Hauganes, and this guy makes a beautiful bacalao. He is the third generation in Hauganes, using the same methods. It’s a one-year process. Some places have started to actually inject the cod with salt; which of course is not the same. So we have chosen to use his products. The same with harðfiskur, which is dried outside, as opposed to using an oven. WHERE IS THE FRESH FISH IN ICELAND? MT: Maybe that wouldn’t be such a problem, injecting salt into the bacalao, if that was strictly our export bacalao. The problem would be in Portugal, and maybe then they would re-establish their fish salting tradition. It is so difficult for us to find fresh ingredients here in Reykjavík, especially fresh fish and seafood. I find this absurd. I have lived in several cities around the world, and have always had easier access to fresh seafood than in the capital city one of the world’s largest fish exporters. Everything is packed and shipped off for export. It is becoming slightly easier to find, especially if you own a car, but you still have to hunt. GG: It is getting easier now, especially for restaurants. I learned to cook at a restaurant in Akureyri, and it was impossible to get fresh fish, this was a long time ago, you more or less had to buy it frozen. Now the situation is much better. Here we get everything fresh, everyday. MT: With the abundance of geothermal energy that we have in here in Iceland, we have the ability to produce most of our agricultural needs and become once again a nation with a self-sustainable food supply. With greenhouses using DILL REIGNS SUPREME 3 Frakkar Baldursgata 14 | G5 Aktu Taktu Skúlugata 15 | E7 Alibaba Veltusund 3b | D3 American Style Tryggvagata 26 | D4 Argentína Steakhouse Barónstígur | F7 Austurlanda- hraðlestin Hverfisgata 64A | F7 Á Næstu Grösum Laugavegur 20B | F5 B5 Bankastræti 5 | E4 Bakkus Tryggvagata 22 | D3 Ban Thai Laugavegur 130 | G8 Babalú Skólavörðustígur 22A | F5 Bæjarins Beztu Tryggvagata | D4 Íslenski Barinn Pósthússtræti 9 | E4 Bar Ellefu Hverfisgata 18 | E5 Café d'Haiti Tryggvagata 12 | D4 Café Loki Lokastígur 28 | G6 Café Paris Austurstræti 14 | E4 Café Roma Rauðarárstígur 8 | G8 Deli Bankastræti 14 | E5 Domo Þingholtsstræti 5 | E4 Einar Ben Veltusundi | D3 Eldsmiðjan Bragagata 38A | G5 Fiskmarkaðurinn Aðalstræti 12 | E3 Geysir Bar/Bistro Aðalstræti 2 | D3 Garðurinn Klappastigur 37 | F5 Gata Laugavegur 3 | E5 Glætan book café Laugavegur 19 | E5 Grái Kötturinn Hverfisgata 16A | E5 Grillhúsið Tryggvagata 20 | D3 Habibi Hafnarstræti 20 | D4 Hamborgarabúlla Tómasar (“Bullan”) Geirsgata 1 | C3 Hlölla Bátar Ingólfstorg | D3 Hornið Hafnarstræti 15 | D4 Hótel Holt Bergstaðarstræti 37 | G5 Humarhúsið Amtmannstígur 1 | E4 Hressó Austurstræti 20 | E4 Icelandic Fish & Chips Tryggvagata 8 | D3 Indian Mango Frakkastígur 12 | F6 Jómfrúin Lækjargata 4 | E4 Fjallkonubakaríið Laugavegur 21 | F5 Kaffifélagið Skólavörðustígur 10 | E5 Kaffitár Bankastræti 8 | E5 Kaffivagninn Grandagarður 10 | B2 Kofi Tómasar Frænda Laugavegur 2 | E5 Kornið Lækjargata 4 | E4 Krua Thai Tryggvagata 14 | D3 La Primavera Austurstræti 9 | E4 Mokka Skólavörðustígur 3A | E5 Nonnabiti Hafnarstræti 9 | D4 O Sushi Lækjargata 2A | E4 Pisa Lækjargötu 6b | E4 Pizza King Hafnarstræti 18 | D4 Express Pizza Vallarstræti 4 | E4 Gamla Smiðjan Lækjargötu 8 | E4 Prikið Bankastræti 12 | E5 Ráðhúskaffi | E3 Tjarnargata 11 Santa Maria Laugavegur 22A, | F6 Serrano Hringbraut 12 | I5 Shalimar Austurstræti 4 | E3 Silfur Pósthússtræti 11 | E4 Sjávarkjallarinn Aðalstræti 2 | D3 Sólon Bankastræti 7a | E5 Sushibarinn Laugavegur 2 | E5 Sushismiðjan Geirsgötu 3 | C3 Svarta Kaffi Laugavegur 54 | F7 Sægreifinn Verbúð 8, Geirsgata | C3 Tapas Vesturgata 3B | D3 Thorvaldsen Austurstræti 8 | E4 Tíu Dropar Laugavegur 27 | F5 UNO Hafnarstræti 1-3 | D3 Vegamót Vegamótastígur 4 | F5 Við Tjörnina Templarasund 3 | E4 Vitabar Bergþórugata 21 | G7 Food & Drink | Venue finder Grapevine’s restaurant critic visits her favourite restaurant Special | Best Of Reykjavík sushismiðjan Veislubakkar pantanir í síma 517 3366 www.sushismidjan.is A genuine Nordic 3 course feast starting from 4.900,- Pósthússtræti 11 101 Reykjavík Tel: 578 2008 www.silfur.is breakfast brunch lunch dinner drinks snacks gata food & drink reykjavík´s best kept secret kitchen hours sun-thu: 11:00-23:30 fri-sat: 10:00-00:00 laugavegur 3 www.gata.is tel: +354 5270077

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