Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2021, Blaðsíða 28

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
South Iceland is experiencing a re-
naissance of sorts, and nowhere is
that more evident than at Mjólkur-
búi! Mathöll in Selfoss. The spa-
cious setting is home to a wide array
of foodstuffs, some of which were
very pleasantly surprising. We had
a wonderful time stuffing ourselves
silly as we sampled literally every
food booth there. Here are our ver-
dicts:
El Gordito
Valur: What exactly is the defini-
tion of a taco? Because you’re quite
confused when eating at El Gordito,
which seems to think that a taco is
a blank canvas for anything with a
taco shell wrapped around it. It’s not
that simple, of course. The food was
fine, but you could barely taste the
meat. Overall, way too much hap-
pening here, and too little of it is
taco-related.
Andie: I was a little bit skeptical
about the idea of seared broccoli as
a substitute for meat on a taco, but it
actually worked. Their take on what
constitutes a taco stretches the defi-
nition to the very limit; by this stan-
dard, a hot dog is arguably a taco. It
was tasty, though; just not entirely
sure if they ought to be called tacos.
“Open wraps”, perhaps?
Shruthi: I commend the confidence
of stretching culinary nomencla-
tures (I don’t). And El Gordito runs
amok with their ‘tacos’. That said,
the corn tortillas themselves are
tasty, even if they’re let down by
their fillings. I thought the fried
broccoli was nice (so happy to not
see the ubiquitous cauliflower). I’m
still baffled by their choice of mayo
instead of salsa, and crushed chilli-
wasabi nuts from the snack aisle.
Romano
Valur: I was not overtaken by the
pasta dishes, but they had a warm
homey feeling. The pasta felt a little
dry and clunky and it was mediocre
at best. That said, it felt like a con-
venient fast food, and in some ways,
honest as such.
Andie: Whenever I am served pasta,
I always cite my Italian ancestry to
give my opinions an air of author-
ity. There’s no need to do that this
time, though. The pasta shells were
perfectly cooked, and the marinara
was the right mix of savory, sweet
and spicy. The alfredo was creamy
without being cloying, and included
some chunks of smoked pork that
complimented the spectrum of
tastes well.
Shruthi: I’m not Italian but none-
theless profess the same air of au-
thority having grown up on a steady
Indian diet of overcooked pasta that
would colour an Italian grandma
garnet. Which is great, since that is
the usual suspect pasta I encounter
in Iceland. Romano’s pasta took me
right back home with their arrabi-
ata. Granted it didn’t boast enough
chilli flakes to deliver that warm
heat, but it was comforting in its
familiarity. The carbonara, howev-
er, is a very Jamie Oliver affair with
copious amounts of cream and way-
too-chunky hunks of salty pork. The
bowl of grated parmesan went down
a treat at our table, though.
Flatey Total
Valur: I expected nothing less than
excellence here, and of course, Flat-
ey delivered. I loved the pizza with
sweet potatoes and dates. Inventive
and delicious.
Andie: So I had to try the pizza that
boasted hummus in lieu of cheese
with sweet potatoes and dates. It
turns out that when you cook hum-
mus, the taste of it all but disap-
pears. Either that or it didn’t have
much taste to begin with. That said,
the sweet potatoes and dates went
very well together. Definitely some-
A Promisin! Food
Gem in Selfoss
The Mjólkurbúi! Mathöll is a new food court in Selfoss with some
serious potential
Words: Andie Sophia Fontaine, Shruthi Basappa, Valur Grettisson Photos: Art Bicnick
Food
Laugavegi 28
537 99 00
sumac@sumac. is
sumac. is