Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2016, Page 53

Open Faced Sandwich
Letter to Ronaldo
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.
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
s n a p s b i s t r o @ s n a p s b i s t r o . i s + 3 5 4 5 1 1 6 6 7 7
F R E N C H O N I O N S O U P
I c e l a n d i c Í s b ú i c h e e s e , c r o û t o n s
2 . 3 0 0 . k r
M O U L E S M A R I N I È R E S
s t e a m e d m u s s e l s f r o m B r e i ð a f j ö r ð u r
2 . 1 0 0 . k r
F I S H O F T H E D A Y
c h e f ´ s s p e c i a l
3 . 6 0 0 . k r
E s t . 2 0 1 2R e y k j a v i k
Dear Ronaldo,
I want to thank you. I’m sitting in
the Scandinavian restaurant, Jóm-
frúin, scrolling through Twitter
and devouring a nice smørrebrød
open-faced sandwich aptly named
“The Portuguese.” Iceland and Por-
tugal have enjoyed a long and fruit-
ful friendship. Way back, Portugal
pressured Iceland into purchasing
wine as a tradeoff for all the fish
Portugal was purchasing from Ice-
land. That historic deal gave Ice-
land wine for decades before beer
was legalized for sale in 1988. The
wine of Portugal has always ben-
efited Iceland and we thank you,
Ronaldo, for continuing this tradi-
tion.
This sandwich is a refreshing
snack. All the dish’s flavour, force
and international attention is due
to Portugal: sardines and capers
are not local. However, as I sit here
and dine, all the attention is on
Iceland. The salty almost saline fla-
vour of the sardines coupled with
their oily, well maintained struc-
ture try to overpower your senses
with their offensive olfactory atti-
tude, but it doesn’t compare to the
hunger and enthusiasm of the Ice-
landers devouring this sandwich.
My breath after the fact results in
a draw for the whole experience—
but that’s basically a win.
You are right, though, Ronaldo.
Iceland likes to celebrate the small
things. This sandwich is a small
and light lunch, but that doesn’t
mean I won’t celebrate it with an
aquavit or two. This is a little over-
board for a work lunch, but I need-
ed something to go with my pint of
beer.
You are right, also, that all
Iceland does is defend, defend,
defend. I tried, and I’m most
ashamed, to insult you or at least
make jokes at your expense, but
Icelanders just weren’t having it.
They thought maybe you were still
high on adrenaline from the game,
and your mood was understand-
able. They could all relate, and
shared stories of when their own
mood got the best of them—espe-
cially when they were supposed to
do something, and failed.
And, yes, you did dominate. You
had possession and control con-
tinually throughout the game. By
half time, Portugal had completed
more than four times the amount
of passes that Iceland had. You
were statistically, and historically,
the better team. Iceland rarely gets
on the world stage, but they do
more with the few chances they get
than any other small country. You
gave Iceland brief moments to re-
ally shine.
You gave us much more than the
shirt off your back. You reminded
Iceland of what they value: small
mentality as opposed to big head-
edness and a quickness to celebrate
rather than cynicism. I’ve finished
this sandwich and it’s time to move
on. Iceland plays Hungary next
and I need to have an empty stom-
ach—luckily, this sandwich shoots
through me quickly.
SHARE: gpv.is/ronaldotears
Sæta Svínið &
Johansen Deli
Words & Photo YORK UNDERWOOD
Words by ELIJAH PETZOLD
Photos by HREFNA BJÖRG
Icelandic Food & Cookery
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