Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Global Traditions
190
3 Frakkar
The Puffin Place
Reykjavik, Iceland
Dinner at this cozy little corner restaurant
in the residential heart of Reykjavik can be
an adventure, provided you're willing to
keep an open mind. Seafood is the heart of
the menu, but it's seafood like you've
never had it before. Chef Úlfar Eysteinsson
set out to make his restaurant a showcase
for Iceland's more unusual delicacies, and
this may be the best place in town to try
them.
Specialties include
plokkfiskur,
hashed
fish accompanied by traditional, cakey
Icelandic brown bread;
smjörsteikt lúðu-
flök,
a fantastic butter-fried halibut that
comes with lobster and lobster sauce; or
pan-fried
saltfiskur
(salted cod fillet) with
pine nuts, raisins, tomato, and apple.
While you may blanch at trying the whale
sashimi or whale pepper steak, you can
rest assured that Eysteinsson only uses
meat from nonendangered minke whales,
which turns out to have a delicious taste
that's like a cross between tuna and beef.
It would be a shame not to try the smoked
lake trout caught up near Thingvellir, the
ancient Icelandic parliament; the reindeer
pâté is quite a delicacy as well, with a
gamy taste not unlike venison.
Granted, you may be too soft-hearted
to try certain dishes on the menu here—
the smoked puffin breast (served with
mustard sauce), cormorant, or
guillemot
.
But if you do give it a try, you'll find that
the half-fish, half-poultry taste of seabirds
is intriguing, and Eysteinsson knows how
to cook it just right (it helps that he only
Chef Úlfar Eysteinsson's salt cod with pine nuts, raisins, tomato, and apple.
