Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.09.2014, Page 59

“ 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 “
top ten the best restaurants in Iceland
the finest thai restaurant in Iceland
m a n y f a m o u s p e o p l e a r e r e g u l a r s h e r e
BanThai
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NEW AWARDS
BEST THAI FOOD
2 0 1 4
also. . . .
DV.17.07.11
Best goddamn restaurant 2011
the best thai food
Just as the infinitely self-deprecating
Don of the Springfield mafia couldn’t
resist a tiny bicycle trick, I’m a gal who
can’t deny the appeal of a mini dough-
nut (or donut, depending on your up-
bringing). From the classic Americana
appeal of the Munchkin to the quint-
essential Canadianness of the Timbit,
when given the choice, I’ll usually opt
for the hole over the actual ring. Thus it
was with great pleasure and excitement
that I ventured down to the Don’s Do-
nuts food truck one mild afternoon to
indulge myself.
I found the small steel cart stationed
next to Ingólfstorg, the dizzying aroma
of their freshly fried doughnuts waft-
ing into the crowd of skater kids, visibly
distracting them from their ollies and
kickflips. I too fell prey to the intoxicat-
ing scent, grinning like an interloping
idiot as I made my way up to order. Two
of the truck’s owners, Tara Jonsson and
Grétar Sigurðarsson, warmly urged me
to step right up and stuff my face while
they leaned over the small vat of heated
oil, each prodding a tiny doughnut or
two along with a stick-like utensil.
Before I could even ask what fla-
vours they had to offer, Tara asked if I
just wanted to try one of each kind, and
I couldn’t refuse a mystery dozen. With
both owners working side-by-side, they
turned out each batch of three in about
90 seconds, plunking them into a shal-
low paper dish and dousing them with
a pair of toppings. They came to me as
such: caramel and cookie crumbs, dark
chocolate and chocolate sprinkles, cin-
namon-sugar, and milk chocolate and
rainbow sprinkles. Using one of their
tiny colourful forks to shove them into
my facehole, I could hardly keep up
with the pace but couldn’t resist. Even
when an errant wasp decided to en-
circle me in hopes of getting hammered
off my sugary treats, the threat of a sting
didn’t slow me down.
As I stood by the truck scarfing
down, groups of kids wandered over
from the square, breaking from their
boarding activities to get a much-need-
ed sugar fix. Parents with young chil-
dren walked them over for a treat, their
wee ones trepidatious with delight. One
little boy’s face read as if to say, “Are you
shitting me? What did I do? How did I
get this lucky!?” Days were really get-
ting made.
The whole while I stood and chat-
ted with the extremely friendly owners,
they kept insisting that the batter wasn’t
good that day, and profusely apologised
that the doughnut holes weren’t per-
fectly spherical. Frankly, though, they
were perfect. I have had a hell of a lot of
doughnut holes in my life and they have
rarely ever been perfectly round, not
even from those big corporate fat-cat
coffee shops—no shame, Tim Horton’s
gives me life—and the fresh homemade
ones have rarely been this tasty.
The best part of eating these was
the instant feeling of being transported
back to the county fair. I immediately
pictured myself on a dusty flattened
field, filled with janky old steel rides
clattering about, games ding-ing and
whirring, lights from the Gravitron tan-
talizingly flashing and the inescapable
smell of deep fried batter for kilometers
all around. If only they could put a Fer-
ris wheel in Ingólfstorg, and a perma-
nent shitty blues-rock band, this would
be like being at the carnival every single
day.
Don Donuttio DiMaggio Of The County Fair
RX BECKETT
NANNA DÍS
FOOD
FOR YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL
What We Think:
Eat fifty, ride the Zipper, live
your life.
Flavour:
Batter? Good. Caramel? Good.
Sprinkles? Goooood!
Ambiance:
Turn that fucking frown upside
down
Service:
As sweet and friendly as their
wares
Price for 2 (no drinks):
6 for 350 ISK, 12 for 600 ISK, 24
for 1,000 ISK, 50 for 1,800 ISK.
Dons Donuts
Fógetagarðurinn, 101 Reykjavík
1 0 1 Ó Ð I N S T O R G R E Y K J A V Í K Í S L A N D S N A P S B I S T R O . I S
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