Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Qupperneq 18

Starts with a shot of the Icelandic
national spirit “Brennivín“
Puffin
Smoked puffin with blueberries,
croutons, goats cheese, beetroot
Minke whale
Date purée, wakame, teriaky
“Torched“ Arctic charr
Cucumber, truffle ponzu vinaigrette
and yuzu mayo
Icelandic roll – 4 pcs
Gravlax roll with Brennivín (Icelandic
traditional Snaps) and dill. Avokado, mango,
cucumber, dill mayo, rye bread crumble
Market fresh Ling
Miso and yuzu marinated spotted ling
with zucchini, chorizo, apples
and Beurre Monté sauce
Rack of icelandic lamb
Onion purée, slow cooked leeks,
chimichurri, baked carrot
And to end on a high note ...
Icelandic Skyr
Skyr infused with birch,
berries, white chocolate
crumble, and sorrel granite
7.990 kr.

Sushi Samba
Þingholtsstræti 5 • 101 Reykjavík
Tel 568 6600 • sushisamba.is
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Our kitchen is open
17.00–23.00 sun.–thu.
17.00–24.00 fri.–sat.
Amazing
7 course menu
A unique
Icelandic
Feast
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2016
18
QUOTE OF THE ISSUE
“I’ve been pretty
surprised by all the
coverage, but happy
for it. I’m just glad to
see a postcard cause
so much happiness
in the world.”
-Farmer Rebecca Cathrine Kaad Ostenfeld, who famously received a postcard in the
mail which used a crude map of her North Iceland environs in lieu of an address, the
photograph of which became a viral hit.
Ásgarðslaug

Words MAGNÚS SVEINN HELGASON
Photo ART BICNICK
Ásgarðslaug used to be the only pool
in the suburban town of Garðabær,
until the municipality swallowed
bankrupt neighboring village Álf-
tanes along with its luxurious
pool (featured last issue). The two
pools could not be more different:
Ásgarðslaug is everything Álf-
taneslaug is not, but not in a good
way. It is old and run-down, offering
practically nothing to children, and
little for adults beyond the opportu-
nity to swim a few quick laps. The
hot tubs are uncomfortably deep, re-
ducing their lounging potential, and
the steam bath is just awful: dark,
dingy and not even decently hot.
However, the second-rate fa-
cilities do have a sort of post-Soviet
charm. You really get the feeling
you’re visiting a place that got lost
in the bureaucratic shuffle, but just
keeps going out of force of habit
more than anything else. This is
all the more baffling in light of the
fact that Garðabær is a well-off mu-
nicipality, which many of Iceland’s
wealthiest people call home. To
wit: Garðabær’s mayor is the single
highest-paid municipal employee
in Iceland. This really makes you
wonder why the municipality would
offer its residents a third-rate public
pool. Perhaps they figure everyone
has their own private pool?
Despite all of this, the pool has
its regular and very loyal customers.
The pool also has a decent sauna,
which is gender-separated, with
women’s and men’s hours.
They host a kind-of-monthly
“floating” session, check in with the
pool for dates and more info.
SHARE:
gpv.is/pool14
POOL OF THE ISSUE
Address
Ásgarður, Garðabær
Opening hours
Mondays-Fridays: 06:30-21:00
Saturdays-Sundays: 08:00-18:00
Regulars
Norm!
Sauna
Yeah, but it's complicated. Read on.
General Vibe
Decaying post-Soviet Union
industrial city