Reykjavík Grapevine - nov 2019, Qupperneq 6

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Best of Reykjavík 2019
6

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OUR STORES IN REYKJAVÍK: FARMERS & FRIENDS Hólmaslóð 2 / GrandiLaugavegur 37
WWW.FARMERSMARKET.IS
Look out for these stickers of recom-
mendation, which we’ve handed out to
this year’s winners. They indicate your
best option, whether you’re looking for
shopping, dining, drinking or fun days
out in Reykjavík. We at the Grapevine
know what’s best!
Also, these are the stickers from
our previous “Best Of’’ selections, giv-
en to winners from prior years.
THE GUIDE-GUIDE
The word “conclusion’’ is a little strong
in this case. We have argued, fought and
interviewed panels, tried blind taste-
tests, and, in one case, consulted what
we believe to be an oracle. This was not
an easy or scientific endeavour.
The best comparison is glíma, or
Icelandic wrestling. It’s not flashy or
well produced like WWE. It’s not ex-
actly graceful like Olympic wrestling,
especially Greco-Roman. It’s two people
in weird leather underwear, staring
into each other’s eyes and trying to hip-
check each other while simultaneously
attempting an atomic wedgie.
We’ll be honest. Some of the winners
are just outright winners, but some
are a matter of debate and controver-
sy. Like in any other country, there
are cliques or special interest groups.
The bar most liked by a 22-year-old
noise music fanatic might seem a lit-
tle off-putting to a bespectacled jazz
enthusiast. We’re not saying those two
groups can’t overlap. Maybe they can.
Jazz people are good at improvising and
noise music definitely needs more fans.
The thing is, this is a guide. It’s a
work in progress. It’s an attempt at
letting people know where we think
they should go. We didn’t all agree on
everything, so the runners up could end
up being more palatable to you, and the
winners could be your third favourite.
Yikes.
If this lack of certainty is too much
for you: Imagine being the origi-
nal tourist to Iceland. A wandering
tax-evader from Norway who decides
to settle on a rock almost uninhab-
ited by animal life. A land that occa-
sionally explodes, with geysers that
burst scalding sulphur-scented water
from the ground like a cannon ball
at Satan’s pool party. It’s the kind of
place where people would invent glíma.
THE AWARDS:
How We
Picked the
Winners
GrANdaGArDur 101
101 REyKjaVÍK