Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2011, Blaðsíða 4

Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2011, Blaðsíða 4
http:// www. geysir. is WELCOME CARD See more and save more when visiting Reykjavík. Free admissions and discounts off tours, shopping and services for 24, 48 or 72 hours. Great value for money. The Welcome Card can be purchased at: The Centre, major hotels, museums, tourist information centres and Hlemmur and BSÍ bus stations. WELCOME CARD2009 - 2010 48 INCLUDING CITY BUS TRANSPORT, FREE ADMISSIONS, DISCOUNTS OFF TOURS, SHOPPING, AND SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR 24, 48 AND 72 HOURS. WELC OME C ARD ÍS L E N S K A S IA .I S H B S 4 85 92 0 1. 20 10 www.visitreykjavik.is Aðalstræti 2 • 101 Reykjavík • Tel +354 590 1550 • info@visitreykjavik.is Say your piece, voice your opinion, send your letters to: letters@grapevine.is Sour grapes & stuff MOST AWESOME LETTER FREE ICELANDIC GOURMET FEAST There's prize for all your MOST AWESOME LETTERS. And it’s a scorcher! No, really! It's a goddamn scorcher is what it is! Whoever sends us THE MOST AWESOME LETTER this issue will receive A FRIGGIN GOURMET FEAST FOR TWO at Tapas Barinn. Did you hear that? Write in and complain about something (in an admirable way), win a gourmet feast at one of Reykjavík's finest? THIS IS THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY IS WHAT IT IS! What's in a 'lobster feast'? Well, one has to assume that it has lobster-a-plenty. Is there more? Probably, but still... Gourmet feast? Wow! DON’T PANIC if your letter wasn’t picked AWESOME LETTER. There's always next month! Now, if you're in the market for free goodies next month, write us some sort of letter. Give us your worst: letters@grapevine.is MOST AWESOME LETTER: Dear Mr. Gíslason I feel compelled to write to you after experi- encing an extraordinarily disappointing din- ner and evening at Dill last Friday. After reading the feature article on your res- taurant in the Grapevine I reserved a table for 3, one week ahead of time, to take our Ice- landic host out for a fabulous meal as a thank you for all the generosity that she had shown us over the previous 2 weeks. When we arrived for our 8pm booking we were given a table for 2 near the door with an extra setting squeezed onto the table. The extra seat was placed so that its back was facing the window. Clearly the most promi- nent feature in the layout of your restaurant is the grand view of the city that your din- ing room offers. Our host insisted that she take the awkwardly positioned seat. Having booked one week ahead it is very odd that we were first, not given a proper table for 3 and second, that our table was so poorly situated. As this dinner was a thank you to her, we were not off to a good start. Next, before offering us a menu or ex- plaining how the dinner would proceed we were told that we would be starting with champagne to accompany our first and sec- ond course. I have to say that yours is the first restaurant that I have been to that dic- tated what I was going to drink and eat – no choice! I have been to restaurants where the chef offers a menu of his own design that changes daily depending on his own creative desires and the quality of ingredients avail- able, but here I felt that the “package” was being shoved down my throat. The miniscule teaspoon size mix of a layered sauce-like concoction with herbs delivered as a whole first course was beyond absurdity, as was the second so-called course that was not much bigger in size, but includ- ed the 2 smallest shrimp I have ever seen in my life. Our friend is allergic to shrimp, so her plate was taken away and the offending twosome was removed. I find this a very interesting way to deal with customers that have food allergies. They just get less. Then the menu arrived. We finally had some say in what we were to paying to eat! Fair enough, there were 3 course combina- tions available, but when we asked for a drink combination different than what was being recommended, we had the feeling that we had been bad children and we would be punished. We were punished – our glasses of wine were poured noticeably shorter than those of the tables beside us. A word about our waiter, I would expect that a restaurant of this quality would hire only confident, experienced waiters. Our waiter seemed to be in training. He was nervous, and his hand shock as he poured our glasses. None of the courses were particularly fantastic or satisfying. The combinations were overly complicated and as a result, many of the subtle flavours were lost. We were forced to rely too heavily on a soberly delivered list of ingredients announced at the beginning of each course to know (and it seems be impressed by) what we were indeed eating. It was too difficult to get all of the different parts of each serving on a fork or spoon to enjoy the full force of the intended combination of flavours. The #14 cheese that was buried in the mix of one of the courses was completely lost. A thin slice at the side of the plate, that we could cut from to add to our mix, would have at least allowed us to appreciate its uniqueness. In summation, the whole experience was uncomfortable, unsatisfying and un- enjoyable at a very inflated cost. There was more attitude served up than good food. The true beauty and sensuality that should be the experience of a wonderful meal in a wonder- ful setting was totally lacking. Sincerely Lyn Carter Dear Lyn Carter, we’re sorry that you had such a miserable dining experience at Dill. Maybe you’ll like Tapas better. Hi, can I have the gourmet meal because my friend's a vegan so I could eat her lobster too. Finland loves lobsters, Kisse. Dear Kisse, would you take your vegan friend out for lob- ster? And then eat hers too? That sounds far more gluttonous than awesome! For the past 3 years I’ve been pretty into paranormal activity. I’ve spoken to dozens of people who have been visited by spirits, or seen ghosts, but one conversation I had with an Icelander left me bewildered. I’m an American (and proud of it), and I don’t believe in silly things like “The Easter Bun- ny”, “Santa Claus”, or “God”. However, I do believe in spirits. When a human leaves the physical body, he/she enters a spiritual world. Once the spiritual world is entered, the spirit has a CHOICE whether or not it wants to make contact with other physical beings. I’ve noticed this typically happens in cases where there is some sort of unfin- ished business (murders, car accidents, sui- cides, overdoses, etc). Now, to be clear, this whole concept of “evil demons”, “angels”, “exorcisms”, and “Jehovah’s Witness” makes absolutely no sense because where did these creatures come from to begin with? They can’t exist in the spiritual world if there was no physical human in the beginning. And this isn’t my opinion, it’s physics: Matter cannot be created nor destroyed. This is where I get confused. I respect the Icelan- dic people, I have at least one friend that’s a quarter Icelandic, but the concept of “hid- den people” or “Huldufolk” defies logic. I’ve read the Wikipedia article, but I still don’t understand where these people (or elves) came from? How can they exist if there was no mortal being? Surely not all Icelanders believe in this rubbish. I’d love to hear an opinion on this or an explanation where the “hidden people” originated. God Bless, XPIII (Xavier Steven Prolish III) Dear XPIII, Thank you for your letter! Though I have to say, it's a little hard to follow your logic here. Leaving aside the easy pot-shot of pointing out the irony of a spiritualist calling belief in huldufólk “rubbish” (ever see that one episode of Peep Show where Mark is dating that woman who thinks New Age beliefs are bullshit, but firmly believes in the power of crystal skulls? Great episode, that one), you rest your dismissal of the existence of huldufólk on physics, pointing to Albert Ein- stein's assertion that matter cannot be cre- ated or destroyed. To this, I have to say: huh? Huldufólk cannot exist because they would have had to come from nowhere, and this defies the laws of physics? This makes little sense. Huldufólk, according to legend, are simply another species that have co-existed with hu- man beings since before we can remember. They did not appear out of thin air, anymore more than other living things on this planet, and therefore they did not come out of “noth- ing”. There is just as much empirical evidence for the existence of huldufólk as there is for the existence of ghosts and spirits. Which is to say: none. So rest assured, your beliefs are no more nor less rubbish than that of people who believe in elves.
Blaðsíða 1
Blaðsíða 2
Blaðsíða 3
Blaðsíða 4
Blaðsíða 5
Blaðsíða 6
Blaðsíða 7
Blaðsíða 8
Blaðsíða 9
Blaðsíða 10
Blaðsíða 11
Blaðsíða 12
Blaðsíða 13
Blaðsíða 14
Blaðsíða 15
Blaðsíða 16
Blaðsíða 17
Blaðsíða 18
Blaðsíða 19
Blaðsíða 20
Blaðsíða 21
Blaðsíða 22
Blaðsíða 23
Blaðsíða 24
Blaðsíða 25
Blaðsíða 26
Blaðsíða 27
Blaðsíða 28
Blaðsíða 29
Blaðsíða 30
Blaðsíða 31
Blaðsíða 32
Blaðsíða 33
Blaðsíða 34
Blaðsíða 35
Blaðsíða 36
Blaðsíða 37
Blaðsíða 38
Blaðsíða 39
Blaðsíða 40
Blaðsíða 41
Blaðsíða 42
Blaðsíða 43
Blaðsíða 44
Blaðsíða 45
Blaðsíða 46
Blaðsíða 47
Blaðsíða 48
Blaðsíða 49
Blaðsíða 50
Blaðsíða 51
Blaðsíða 52
Blaðsíða 53
Blaðsíða 54
Blaðsíða 55
Blaðsíða 56
Blaðsíða 57
Blaðsíða 58
Blaðsíða 59
Blaðsíða 60
Blaðsíða 61
Blaðsíða 62
Blaðsíða 63
Blaðsíða 64
Blaðsíða 65
Blaðsíða 66
Blaðsíða 67
Blaðsíða 68
Blaðsíða 69
Blaðsíða 70
Blaðsíða 71
Blaðsíða 72

x

Reykjavík Grapevine

Beinir tenglar

Ef þú vilt tengja á þennan titil, vinsamlegast notaðu þessa tengla:

Tengja á þennan titil: Reykjavík Grapevine
https://timarit.is/publication/943

Tengja á þetta tölublað:

Tengja á þessa síðu:

Tengja á þessa grein:

Vinsamlegast ekki tengja beint á myndir eða PDF skjöl á Tímarit.is þar sem slíkar slóðir geta breyst án fyrirvara. Notið slóðirnar hér fyrir ofan til að tengja á vefinn.