Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.08.2014, Side 58

Hverfisgata 12 · 101 Reykjavík
Tel. +354 552 15 22 · www.dillrestaurant.is
Lífið er saltfiskur
#109 Dill is a Nordic restaurant with its
focus on Iceland, the pure nature and
all the good things coming from it.

It does not matter if it’s the
ingredients or the old traditions, we
try to hold firmly on to both.
There are not many things that make
us happier than giving life to old
traditions and forgotten ingredients
with modern technique and our creative
mind as a weapon.
www.fabrikkan.is reservations: +354 575 7575
BE SQUARE AND BE THERE
PLEASED TO
MEAT YOU!
The Hamburger Factory is Iceland's
most beloved gourmet burger chain!
Our 15 square and creative burgers are made from
top-quality Icelandic beef and would love to "meat" you.
Reykjavík
The groundfloor of
Höfðatorg, the tallest
tower in Reykjavík, right
opposite Höfði
Akureyri
The groundfloor of
the historic Hotel Kea,
in the heart of the
city center
Our burgers are square - beef and bun!
Does it taste better? You tell us!
HERE WE ARE
ATTENTION
HAMB
URGER
FACT
ORY
TH E ICE"N DIC
FOOD
FOR YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL
Located further afield than most of
Reykjavík’s new brigade of food trucks,
Walk the Plank—specializing in crab
cake sliders from locally caught Atlan-
tic rock crab—seems right at home in
its harbourside location, tucked com-
fortably between working trawlers
and whale-watching boats. Started in
June, Walk the Plank is the product of
a (rather spontaneous) collaboration
between entrepreneurs Daði Janusson
and Davíð Freyr Jónsson, the latter
of whom is also a professional fisher-
man. In true Icelandic fashion, Daði
says the pair got together “at 11 o'clock
one morning, wrote a business plan,
and bought the cart before the day was
over.” And just a month and a half later,
they were selling their first crab cake
sliders.
Rock crab is not native to Iceland,
but its local population has been grow-
ing for about ten years. Davíð—who
does all of the truck’s fishing himself
and sources all of its crabs from Reyk-
javík’s Faxaflói bay and the nearby
Hvalfjörður fjord—says that rock
crabs were likely brought to Iceland
from Canada, dredged up with sea-
water used for ballast in large cargo
ships and then released into the waters
here when the ships’ ballast has been
drained. The idea with Walk the Plank
was to focus on what Davíð referred t
o as “exotic Icelandic seafood,” noting
that “most Icelanders know nothing
about crab.” The experience is then
two-fold: visitors gain a “quick taste of
Iceland” while at the same time, a local
market focused on “underutilized spe-
cies” (such as mackerel and mussels, as
well as rock crab) will also, hopefully,
grow.
Walk the Plank’s menu is simple,
offering two varieties of crab cake
sliders, the Arctic Slider and the spicy
New Orleans-style Slider (both 1,500
ISK), with an optional side of fried
potato wedges served with aioli (400
ISK). (Order both a slider and a side
of potatoes and they’ll throw in a soda
for free.) I tried the standard Arctic of-
fering and, of course, the thick wedge-
cut fries, which—oily and lemony and
spicy—were so good that they practi-
cally distracted from the main course.
These are almost worth a visit on their
own.
The Arctic slider was made while
I waited. The crab cake is fried to a
nice crispy texture on the outside,
served on a brown roll with aioli and
garnished with a fresh carrot, cabbage,
cucumber, and a skyr/mayo coleslaw.
It’s a substantial serving: each slider is
comprised of about four crabs’ worth
of meat (mostly from the upper leg,
I’m told).
The meat of a rock crab is rather
sweet and pretty subtle—one that
could easily be overwhelmed by too
much sauce or added flavours. Walk
the Plank’s slider is nicely balanced,
with the crabmeat as much in the fore-
ground as the garnish. Also, since it’s
served to you straight off the griddle,
there’s no time for the whole slider to
get soggy—the coleslaw is crisp, the
bun warm and soft, and all the textures
play off of each other nicely. Being a
fan of spicy food, I’d be inclined to try
the New Orleans version next time.
The fishing season for rock crab is
mainly late summer and early fall, so
as of this writing, Davíð will be likely
heading back out to bring in the com-
ing season’s catch. And I for one am
grateful that Walk the Plank is adding
some variety to both the local seafood
and food truck scenes.
Selling Like Hot (Crab) Cakes
LARISSA KYZER
MATTHEW EISMAN
What We Think:
A welcome edition to the local
seafood and food truck scenes.
Flavour:
Crispy, crabby patties.
Ambiance:
Outdoorsy.
Service:
Quick and tasty.
Price for 2 (no drinks):
3,000 – 3,800 ISK
Walk the Plank
The harbour at Ægisgarður