Foodie Friday: What I Learned in Iceland

A Supermarket in Grindavik.

Our first visit to Iceland was a 24 hour layover. We rented a car, booked a hotel along the coast near Reykjavik, and went to a Viking themed restaurant for dinner.  One item on the menu caught my attention, something rarely seen, Whale.  It is a very lean red meat, closer to beef. Not all all fishy. When the opportunity is presented to try something that most of the world would think strange, try it. For the second or third year, Iceland recently announced that they were not fishing whale this year, leaving Japan and a handful of native populations the only places remaining whalers. Minke Whale, the species fished by Iceland are not endangered. 

Our second trip to Iceland we stayed in Reykjavik, and rented a car for about half of the time we were there.  At a small restaurant across from the hotel, lamb tenderloin was on the menu. I had never heard of this cut.  I regularly cook pork tenderloin, once a year or so I buy a whole beef tenderloin. It is one of the most flavorful and tender cuts. Lamb tenderloins are tiny, less than an inch around, about 8 or 9 inches long, and are wonderful.  The Wegmans Supermarket near where we live carries this cut. Icelandic lamb is much milder than American lamb because the animals are butchered at a much younger age.  

Iceland also makes great local beer.  The country has tried prohibition, unsuccessfully. Craft distilling is flourishing, with gin, vodka, and single malt whisky being made. The grain is mostly imported, so none of this will be cheap. 

Iceland has a very active fishery, Icelandic fish soup is hearty and warming and a must try when you visit. 

I was pleased to learn that most of the soft vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce consumed in Iceland are grown there.  Sitting on top of active volcanic fields, Iceland uses geothermal steam to heat vast greenhouses, and to produce electricity to light them. Vegetables are grown year round. Though the cows are wintered indoors (in heated barns) Iceland produces many of the dairy products it uses. 

Near the hotel was a foodhall, a large pavilion with a collection of restaurants, snack bars, food counters and bars. I had a delightful grilled fish, prepared as we sat at the counter watching, by a young local with a Texas accent. I asked, he perfected his spoken English watching reruns of Dallas on television.  

On our third trip, we discovered that the locals love Pizza. At the hotel Geysir, - well I could go on and on, but I would sooner go back to Iceland, there is so much to learn.