Now being rested for two whole nights, we were apparently on a mission to sample ALL the culinary goodness that Iceland offered and nothing solves that problem faster than enrolling in a local food tour.
First though, we had an appointment to keep. Rapid COVID Antigen tests were our first stop this morning. And by first stop I mean we rugged up in all layers we had and ventured out into the freezing rain to walk 2km uphill and have a very nice woman poke a very long swab-on-a-stick very far up our noses! It was a brain tickler for sure! A negative test is a requirement to board the flight back to the US in 3 days. We got tested at 10:00am and had Negative COVID test results emailed to us by 10:20am. It was free too. Thanks Iceland!
The Reykjavik Food Walk was recommended to us by friends, Jon and Julia... long time and frequent visitors to Iceland.
We met the tour guide and 6 other participants outside the Harpa Concert Hall/Event Center. It had been an hour long walk - still in freezing rain - to get there and we were pretty damp. All in all not as bad as it could have been thanks to the great gear we had packed. I myself was sporting 2 layers of merino wool on the base, a hoodie brushed with a wool lining, a down jacket and a Goretex Jacket. Legs were wrapped in fleecy tights and Goretex pants and inside Goretex hiking boots I had some extra cushioned wool Darn Tough socks. Just when you think that was enough... it wasn't. My head featured a possum fur beanie, that down jacket hood and the rain resistant layer on top and my hands were safety stuffed into electric gloves turned on high (you heard me correctly. Battery powered, heated gloves are my friend. ) And yep, a mask ordinance was just put into place here last night, so I had a mask on too. And I was grateful for how it cut the icy wind before it burned my lips and froze my nose.
How cold was it? Hmmm... they say about 30F, but that discounts how it felt with the fierce wind. My guess is it felt like 15-20F today. And as the day wore on those boots and that jacket were no longer able to completely hold out the rain either... so that's how we ended up a bit damp too.
Ok so on with the tour. Five stops, led by our new Icelandic friend Goodnee (at least that is the short version of her very long Icelandic name and how I spelled it in my head, to remember it).
Stop 1:
Char with capers on a tiny pancake and a kind of pulled lamb.
Stop 2:
Reykjavik's oldest restaurant - a hot dog cart. Unfortunately outside and between the weather and the hands needed, there are no pics of this stop. But that didn't take away from the flavors. It's the condiments that make it different and there are 5 of them in a fully loaded hot dog.
Stop 3: Fish-mash - fish with grated potatoes and bits of other stuff all cooked together and served on rye bread. And a sauteed char fish with baked potatoes, tomatoes and greens.
Stop 4: Super interesting restaurant that only serves Icelandic-sourced things. Beer, meat, vegetables and fruits from the greenhouses and seafood of course. We dared to try fermented shark here. If I remember correctly, the shark is 100-300 years old, accidentally caught rather than actually sought out, fermented underground for months, then hung in a barn to desiccate for another 6 months before being cubed and stuffed into a jar. Apparently some people really like it. I find that questionable. Everyone at our table tried it and descriptions of its pungent flavor ranged from fish skin and clams to seaweed. Nothing pleasant here. Good to try new things though, eh?
We washed it down with a bit of local beer and some lamb stew. Then we braved the weather once more and headed for the final destination...
Stop 5:
Coffee and dessert. Dessert being a rye bread ice cream with whipped cream and a caramelized rhubarb drizzle. Also a little baked pastry - but that was way less memorable and enjoyable than the ice cream IMHO.
A couple of local shots to round out the day...
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