So my first blog said a lot about going to Iceland… but as one very attentive follower told me… WHERE’S THE FOOD???!!!

Well here I am, today! Sadly, I have no picture to show you guys, so that’s disappointing, but I can recommend you!

I heard from the locals that there are a few pretty common grocery stores around here that have good Icelandic food!

1. BONUS
   • A very nice store, with a piggy bank as the “O” in BONUS. Their breakfast pastries are very traditional, with yellow and pink frosting coating the sides, and a custard cream filling, topped with chocolate shavings. While I was at the grocery store, we bought what we thought was milk, but it turned out to be a sort of yogurt milk, sour milk kind of drink. So be careful about that. This grocery store is also the best store for the best prices.
2. 10-11
   • This grocery store is also pretty common, and it hosts a variety of convenience store food. There’s a lot of yogurt in all of the grocery stores, since Iceland has a lot of farms with cows and sheep. This grocery store is like the grocery store to just buy some stuff if you don’t have time and get out of there. But be careful – this store is very expensive for no reason…

Also, be really careful – don’t drink bottled water! All water, from the sink, to the showers, are all using natural spring water. Buying bottled water is just a waste of your Icelandic Krona, and stuff in Iceland is pretty expensive. Trust me. Just drink tap water. It’s better.

Onto the actual food! Here are some traditional food that you must get:

• Lamb
  • No matter how it’s served, in a soup or a brisket, you must have lamb when you go to Iceland. Their lamb tastes nothing like the teeth wrenching, dead meat at home. That’s because they let their sheep and lambs out all throughout the summer, and let them free-roam in land that’s thousands of acres across. That way, the sheep are almost wild, and they get all these nutrients from the grass they eat and not artificial food. Maybe the US is too crowded for us to have good-quality lamb.
• Skyr
  • I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Skyr, or Icelandic yogurt, is really good. They sell it here as well, but you have to get it in Iceland. Topped with some granola and fresh fruits, it’s so silky smooth and nice. They even have it as drinks! And you can get it in any flavor. They sell it everywhere in Iceland, just go to a store, or even a hotel sometimes has a little store that you can buy it from!
• Hákarl
  • I haven’t had this yet, but Hákarl is fermented shark. For those of you who are not interested, like me, just scroll over this. But Hákarl is a traditional dish in Iceland where they cure the shark meat with a particular fermenting process, and hang it outside to dry for up to four or five months! It then gets a very strong ammonia smell and has a distinctive fishy taste…
• Icelandic Fish
  • There are about 340 species of saltwater fish that have been recorded in Icelandic waters. Here are some of the most common species:
  • Wolffish/Atlantic Catfish
    Capelin
    Cod
    Dealfish
    Greenland shark
    Haddock
    Halibut
    Lumpsucker or lumpfish
    Lycodes
    Mackerel
    Monkfish
    Saithe/Pollock
  • It’s… a lot. They also have some fish found in the rivers and lakes, such as Arctic char, Atlantic salmon, and brown trout.
  • You should eat as much fish as you possibly can when you are in Iceland. The fish are very healthy and fresh from the waters, so they taste really nice.Especially look for “fish of the day” on restaurant menus, since most fish on the menu are caught the day before!
• “Best Hot Dogs” – Baejarins Beztu Pylsur
  • This restaurant was reported by Bill Clinton to have “the best hot dogs in the world”. These hot dogs are totally affordable, and though I haven’t tried one myself, you should get an opportunity to get a hot dog. (A friend also recommended them.)
• Dark Rye Bread
  • This bread is not your normal type of bread. This bread is baked in the ground! Areas where hot springs are numerous also means volcanic activities. Not only are the hot springs warm and nice, the ground also absorbs some of that heat! The Icelanders use a special wooden casket that is buried in the ground to bake this bread! The taste is quite sweet, and the bread itself is crustless and quite dense as well. Great with butter, smoked salmon, mutton, smoked lamb, and pickled herring or cheese!
• Baking Goods
  • You should always make a quick stop to a local bakery wherever you go. But in Iceland, there are some special pastry items that you should try out, just like how in France you have to eat at least one macaron. The Icelandic snúður is a soft cinnamon bun, usually with an icing topping. Usually good with coffee and a nice thing to wake up for in the morning.
• Ice Cream
  • Icelanders are crazy for ice cream, just like I am! Some ice cream parlors are open until 1 am all-year round! There is also a wide variety of flavors in all parlors! Most ice cream is also homemade!

Thanks to this awesome website!