Reykjavík Grapevine - Aug 2021, Page 28

Food
NATIONAL MUSEUM
OF ICELAND
Opening Hours
Daily 10–17
Closed on
Mondays 16/9–30/4
The National Museum of Iceland
Su!urgata 41, 101 Reykjavík
www.nationalmuseum.is
+354 530 2200
@icelandnationalmuseum
@thjodminjasafn
WELCOME
TO THE
NATIONAL
MUSEUM
OF ICELAND
What does Reykjavík love more than
building hotels? Food courts, of course!
It was with tempered stomachs that we
approached the latest gastro-court in
Reykjavik, Borg29 Mathöll. How soon
it all melted away as we sampled dish
after dish that was, without exception,
excellent. Every offering has an idea
behind it and an energy of playful com-
petition runs throughout the place.
Chefs check out what everyone else
is doing, keeping the standards high,
while the open layout keeps everything
beautifully on display. The view isn’t
bad either.
Yuzu
You ever try something and imme-
diately think, “Yeah, this is going to
be a problem for me.” Well just take
one bite of a Yuzu burger and you’ll
be worried for your wallet, as this
place is something you’ll crave on
the daily. The gastro-burger joint
already made its mark on the dining
scene with its Hverfisgata location,
but now they’ve got a smaller locale
at the food hall, with a selection of
crowd favourites. So what’s our ob-
session? No doubt the Stóri Yuzu. It’s
a Big Mac tribute burger in honour
of the travel restrictions, which has
prevented many from getting the
real thing. Eating one is somewhat
of a spiritual experience, as it man-
ages to quench that primal urge for
good ole’ fast food, while also being
distinctly high-end. Of course, the
Chili burger is another favourite.
Basically everything here is amaz-
ing.
Bál Vín og Grill
Award-winning chef Hafsteinn
Ólafsson is not resting on his laurels
with his latest project, Bál Vín og
Grill. Bál, meaning fire, features a
variety of grill classics like skewers,
steaks, and fish. But where Hafste-
inn’s eye for presentation and at-
tention to detail truly shine are the
small dishes and appetizers; these
are dishes clearly made by someone
with passion, taste, and a sense of
play. The dishes are perfectly cu-
rated, with modern classics like par-
ma-wrapped dates and more adven-
turous offerings for the discerning
foodie, like chicken pâté and beef
tartare. I admit, before my time at
Bál, I had never sampled a tartare.
But with a creamy horseradish and
delightful flatbread, this may now
be a new addiction.
La Masa Taqueria
The taco has a storied history in Ice-
land. In fact, you could probably do
a dissertation on that topic alone.
But whatever chapter you’ve stopped
writing at, add another for La Masa
Taqueria. Created after owner Ein-
ar Örn Einarsson went on a taco-
fueld journey through Miami, the
selling point for this place is their
fresh tortillas, which use corn di-
rectly imported from Mexico—in
fact, it’s the same one that wowed
Einar in Miami. You won’t find any-
thing, and we mean anything, like it
in Iceland. The fish tacos are a must,
but seriously, they could serve us
anything on those tortillas and we’d
be pleased. In fact, if La Masa could
drop off some tortillas at the Grape-
vine office, we wouldn’t complain.
Wok On
It’s Wok On, baby. We all know you’ve
been in that situation where all
you want is noodles. In fact, we’re
stressed about making this issue
right now, so we’d like to gorge
ourselves on some noodles. But as
longtime Wok On eaters, we swear
they are the best place to cure every-
thing from unquenchable hunger
(their portion size tho) to the worst
hangover to a hankering for cre-
ativity, as you can put anything you
want on your noodles. But for us,
it’s all about the Kóngurinn—egg
noodles with chicken, beef, broccoli
and much more—as the dish that
never fails to delight and never gets
old. That said, when half our office
was on Keto (yes, that actually hap-
pened), the Keto special was many
times savoured for its zucchini
noodle carb-like wonder. Rock on.
Or, how the Editorial Staff was uncomfortably full for days...
Words: The Grapevine Professional Eating League Photos: Art Bicnick
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