Pretty much “everything”…?
We don´t eat as much fish as we used to.
Perhaps we could blame “the pizza” for that?
And lamb…not as much as we used to.
Shall we blame “the burger” for that?
And who wants dried fish when they can have Pringles?
We don´t eat McDonalds – at least not in Iceland. Fortunately we don´t even have a McDonalds ( hurray!! ).
But we do have our very own greasy burgers….and if unable to find anything else on your drive around the countryside, you will have to “survive” on those nasty things for the duration of your journey.
There are other places to eat – sure – but they are few and far between.
They are there – but you´ll have to have a good guidebook…better yet a guide…
You´ll surely find the gas stations/restaurants called N1 that seem to have swarmed the countryside – usually situated on the highway.
Conveniantly located for the hungry traveller that doesn´t have a clue that there might be alternative just a bit further down the road.
Unfortunately, it is often very difficult to find that alternative and the local delicacies.
Again – you´d need a good guide and a bit of luck.
They are there…and they are often quite good…But where the hell are they? And who is to blame?
Let´s distribute the blame among the consumers, gas stations/shops and the lack of enthusiasm among the local people.
That sounds fair enough. In a way we are all to blame.
You are more likely to find decent “local” delicacies in Reykjavik – where we do have a few smaller shops that stock up on them when they are available. I think that is a shame – because eating the local food…in the right setting and in the right season…is what it should be all about.
Hopefully, we´ll see the opening of more Farm shops around the countryside..there are a few farms that sell their products, but finding them is a bit like playing hide and seek. Again – a good guide…Putting up signs that are visable from the road and tell you they are there and open for business might also help…
So what would be “the meal”…the one we remember from our childhood?
Here´s a recipe for sunday roast:
Whole leg or a rack of lamb cooked to death in the oven.
Served with carmalized potatos and canned peas of the kind that has been canned to death like the lamb,so it´s more like mushy peas if anything. Still…it´s “good” in a way – but it isn´t really peas…is it? Then we have long dead and canned redcabbage and then there´s lots and lots of gravy.
Having said that – I don´t like raw lamb either. What is it with that? It´s lamb people – not beef!!
It is often served too undercooked…almost rare – especially in restaurants – perhaps to make sure that it is not overcooked?
There is definately time for change and finding some sort of balance in the Nordic cuisine.
Sigurveig 