Iceland Part 2: Randomness in Reykjavik

After covering a good part of Iceland's south short, we spent the second half of our week in Reykjavik, a delightful city that captures the quirkiness of the Icelandic spirit. For context, even though over half of the Icelandic population lives in Reykjavik, this only means approximately 200,000 in the greater capital area. So don't expect a bustling metropolis but more appreciate it for it's pockets of character.

We rolled into the city in the early evening and went to our Airbnb in the downtown area. This apartment was great.

A classic blend of simplicity and IKEA decorations

It was super cute, in a neighborhood with lots of parking that was super close to the areas that are fun to go out in. And it wasn't too close to the main area where all the hotels are. We walked into the closest restaurant nearby (that we only spotted because it had a green bean on the sign), which turned out to be Kryddlegin Hjortu, a place that won a certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor in 2015. They have an unlimited soup and salad bar, which is just what you want on a cold day when you're starving but still trying to stay healthy. After being pleasantly surprised by the meal, we walked around a bit, then went back to the AirBnb to get situated. We started getting ready for a late dinner because it's not really vacation unless you are eating an immense amount of food at all times. Pro tip: Before walking outside on a winter evening in Iceland, be sure to have a couple glasses of that wine you picked up in duty free to make sure your "wine coat" is securely snug. 

We hit the nearby Lebowski Bar, tailor made for American tourists (there's also a Chuck Norris bar down the street and something literally called "American Bar" which sounds like a red solo cup nightmare). They have a selection of about 20 different flavors of white russians and a good 10+ types of burgers. The drinks were strong, they were showing soccer matches, and the food was nothing special. So exactly what we expected it to be.

The dude abides in Iceland.

The next morning we woke up and were of course hungry, so we went to brunch (do non-Americans "brunch" or do they just breakfast) at The Laundromat Cafe, which came recommended. It's in the main tourist area where most of the hotels and hostels are, so there's usually a bit of a weight but the ambiance is cozy and the food is good. We had pancakes with sides of bacon that came in coffee cups and met a guy who's trying to become an Instagram influencer.

Pancakes and cups of bacon for the most important meal of the day

It was nice to be in Reykjavik around the holidays because all the streets are decorated and it felt super quaint, even on a gloomy and rainy day.

Cute, right?

Then it started to really rain, so we ran over to the Harpa, a concert hall and conference center with multiple gifts shops where you can get Icelandic gifts. The building is on the water's edge and is one of the more modern architectural highlights of the city.

The outside looks like fish scales

The architecture inside is really cool, almost trippy. Walking up the stairs is almost like being in M.C. Escher print. The texture on the outside of the building carries through to the inside in a more metallic version.

Like a never-ending spiral of staircases

But let me get to the main reason we were in this beautiful building and one of the reasons I love the randomness of Icelanders. We were there to appreciate their local celebrity hero, by participating in a Bjork VR experience!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaas

Basically you would go from room to room and be given an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and watch 2-3x Bjork music videos in 360 and basically "dance inside Bjork" if you weren't careful. It was one of the coolest, trippiest, exhibits I've ever been to and I have to say, she makes the best music videos.

Space aged "dancing"

After avoiding total VR vertigo, we went to try the culinary dish Iceland is most know for... the hot dog. True story. One of the best places to get it is this 80 year old outdoor stand, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. I've seen photos were the line for this place is a block long but since we were willing to eat under drizzly weather conditions we had minimal wait.

Spot the Jessica!

In order to truly experience it, we went with the classic "one with everything," which means ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, crisp fried onion and raw onion.

Yes, it looks disgusting. It's not bad. If you like hot dogs

After that we walked along the main streets of Laugavegur, Skolavordustigur, and Hverfisgata (don't ask me to pronounce any of these) to do some window shopping while we made our way to the Icelandic Phallological Museum aka "the penis museum." It's the largest collection of penises from animals all over the world, plus penile paraphernalia, stories, and famous molds. It's... interesting.

Endless jars of mammal penises

After that we headed back to the apartment and got some serious "wine coats" on because it was quite cold out. Since it was Thanksgiving in America, we decided to treat ourselves to the tasting menu at Dill, which we heard was one of the best places in town. Usually you need a reservation but since we were there in the off season we put our names in, then went around the corner to grab drinks at Mikkeller & Friends. For context of how pricey drinks can get in Iceland, two irish coffees (albeit the strong irish coffees I've ever had), came to $50. Back at Dill, we have one of the most delightful tastings I've ever had. I won't go through everything in painstaking detail, as I feel that this photo montage speaks for itself.

Amuse bouches, and bread nuggets, and fish dishes, oh my!

For brunch the next morning we traipsed a little further across town to this area that felt like a shipyard to eat at the Coocoo's Nest. Looks for the robin egg blue door, that looks like a cute entrance to a concrete bunker. Once you're inside, the ambiance is super warm and cozy. I got a chai and eggs florentine with homemade rye bread. It was totally worth a quick trek in the cold.

It's like you're in a super cold surf shack

For the next adventure of our day, I need you to bare through some very Icelandic words. We started walking to see the famous church, Hallgrimskirkja. To get there, we walked down the main road, Skólavörðustígur (how anyone navigates around with these road names is beyond me). On these street we were window shopping and stumbled across this really cool photography shop, Fótógrafí. I highly recommend making a stop here for any gift needs. Amazing photography in any size and it's affordable.

Perfect for hipsters

We then continued onto the church, which is the main architectural attraction outside of the Harpa. We heard that the unique structure is made to resemble a waterfall but on Wikipedia it says it's supposed to looks like a lava flow, so take your pick. It's a Lutheran church built in 1986 and one of the tallest buildings in Iceland (there's not a ton of competition). The statue guarding the outside is Viking explorer OG, Leifur Eiríksson. You won't find any nods to Christopher Columbus here.

Don't go chasing (cement) waterfalls.

The inside felt very cathedral-like. Sadly we didn't have time to wait in the elevator line to go up and get views from the top, but we did get a good look at the impressive organ in the interior. There are 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes and it wasn't finished until 1992!

I bet the sound quality in here is EPIC!

We had places to get to... it was time to get our diplomas at Elf School! I hear about this on John Oliver and it seemed like a must-do for the perfect work desk decoration. Additionally, as we started to travel around Iceland we noticed tons of elf "shrines" and that many rationale people we met legitimately believed in elves. So we hopped in our car and headed to what I would equate to a strip mall in the suburbs.

But I've never seen this in any American suburb...

You walk into what should be an office space but instead resembles the house of a hoarder. If that hoarder was obsessed only with elf paraphernalia. I want Elf School to be a surprise and joy to everyone so here's what I'll say: prepare yourself for 4 hours of rambling elf, hidden people, and mer-people stories from around the world told by the most jovial old man.

He will seriously keep you interested for 4 hours

His husband will keep you continually fed with decision snacks. We even had a guest appearance from a psychic who also rents space in the building (they're both members of the Iceland Paranormal Society). And at the end you get to take home a 70 page study guide and you get an official diploma without actually having to take any tests!

For our last dinner, we went to test our luck again by trying to get into Fiskmarkaðurinn (I kid you not, I can't make up these words), one of the fancier fish restaurants in town that does tasting menus and sushi. The only way we were getting in without a reservation was the last two seats at the sushi bar, but that was fine with us. Our sushi chef was an awesome guy who grew up in Vic, and yes, legitimately believes in elves. He taught us all about their many Christmas elves while making some of the most beautiful sushi platters I have ever seen.

This fish is fresh AF

The next morning was our last day in Iceland. Our only activity of the day was to hit the Blue Lagoon on the way back to the airport. Since it's so close to the airport, everyone recommended either going directly there upon landing or when you leave. I would recommend making it your very first Icelandic activity, because once you've been to places like the Secret Lagoon (with only 20 other people and a legit geyser erupting next to you) this place seems super touristy. It's pricey, there's a ton of people, tour buses roll up on a regular basis. Pay a little more for the express pass, you also get an additional facial mask throw in and two drink tickets (can be alcoholic, green juices, or yogurt smoothies). The restaurant there feels almost like you're in an overpriced American spa, but that all food options are heavy on the cream and not so healthy.

Spa fish. It doesn't look creamy but it's there...

But it's cool to look at and actually blue. Plus there's lots of sauna and steam room options. I'm just saying make it your first stop so you really appreciate it before you experience all the other wonders Iceland has to offer!

But how is it blue?? Oh the molecules...

Caturday Lunchtime Break

Apparently there is an actual name for cats dressed as pieces of sushi: nekozushi. Well, I like cats. And I like sushi. So here goes nothing....

For more nekozushi, go here.

Eats Near Union Square

I’m always impressed when I find hole-in-the-wall restaurants with quality food, tucked away in the Union Square area. I live in Nob Hill, right above Union Square and am constantly navigating my way through hordes of tourists. I don’t understand, when one goes on vacation do you automatically forget how to walk normally and extend common decency to other pedestrians and drivers? When tourists come to Union Square they either flock to the familiar chain they love so dearly, like the Cheesecake Factory, CPK or Burger Bar, or they head to the over-hyped, San Francisco branded restaurant where you have to wait in line (which must mean the food is good) like Sears Fine Food or Cable Car City Pub. I've lived in this neighborhood for over a year now so when a friend suggested dinner at Ryokos Japanese Restaurant & Bar I was like isn't that the sketchy looking sushi place I head by when going to Owl Bar (a good place for drinks)?

Ryokos is on Taylor St, near Post. The restaurant front is small. You basically duck under some low-hanging Japanese banners and walk down a staircase. Once you’re at the bottom things come alive. We went there on a Monday night and the place was hopping. We had to wait 15 minutes for a table. Once seated you’re bombarded  by different sake handouts and menus. After deciding that reading all of these descriptions was just too much after a long day at work, I opted for the plain hot sake. Nothing special about it but a large bottle is $7, which is a pretty good price.  The food menu is pretty extensive with a lot of Japanese cuisine options, even for those crazy people who don’t like sushi. The sushi selection is pretty good, with one full page for nigiri/sashimi selections, one for standard maki rolls and one for specialty maki rolls. They automatically give you an order of edamame on the house when you sit down. We ordered the miso soup, which was nothing out of the ordinary. We also ordered a house salad to split. Usually house salads are served in the same small bowl size as miso soup but this one was gigantic, a great deal for $5. The table next two us had the gyoza, which smelled delicious so we got an order of that. It comes with this spicy dipping sauce instead of the standard soy, which was a nice change. For sushi, we for the spice scallop which was listed as a standard roll when a lot of places charge premium prices. And it wasn't a weak spice, it was actually so spicy that the friend I was with couldn't eat it (which means more for me!). We also ordered the rainbow roll, which is a choice you can’t really go wrong with as long as the fish quality is up to snuff. I would definitely recommend checking out Ryokos if you want good sushi near Union Square (although my favorite will always be Sushi Toni).

On another note, I went to dinner with a couple girlfriends on Valentine’s Day. We went to Jasper’s Corner Tap on Taylor, also in the Union Square area. It’s a pretty sizable place, nothing too special about the ambiance. Surprisingly they have a pretty extensive cocktail list, although they were supposed to have special anti-Valentine’s cocktails, which they ended up not having. Don’t plan on being healthy here. When you sit down there’s a French fry menu on the table, where you can pick the type of fries, seasoning sprinkles and if you’d like to make it poutine. If you don’t know what poutine is, you need to make friends with a Canadian ASAP. Poutine is one of their national dishes where they take a plate of French fries, douse it in gravy and melt cheese curds on top of that. A complete heart attack but worth it! Anyway, nothing too special to report about the food. It was your average, run of the mill appetizers that you’d find at any American bar. I didn't order it, but Yelp overwhelmingly recommends the grilled cheese with pork belly sandwich. The prices do reflect the proximity to Union Square and I most likely will not be back again.

Seduced by Sushi

First off, apologies to the few loyal readers (my parents, a co-worker, a couple really nice friends), life has been crazy so I haven't had time to write! I got promoted at work so now I actually have to work :) Thanks for bearing with me and constantly pretending that my blog is an important read.

Onto the sushi! My first review needs to go out to my favorite neighborhood joint, Sushi Toni. When I moved to Lower Nob Hill in December, I left behind an apartment a few blocks away from Japantown, where there were sushi joints on every corner. I tried a couple sushi places once I was settled at my new place, but they were too close to Union Square, which meant they were over-priced and aimed at tourists. I always walked by Sushi Toni on Bush Street, but it looked like such a random hole in the wall that I didn't trust them to fulfill my sushi needs. Eventually I looked them up on Yelp, saw they had four stars and a ton of rave reviews so I decided to give it a try. I am now hooked. To be honest, I get carry out at least once a week. The waitress has stopped asking me if I need one pair chopsticks or two (apparently I order way too much sushi for just me). Last week I officially added them to my favorite contacts list so I could call them quicker. Their maki rolls are creative, tasty and affordable. The 49er roll (tobiko, siso, avacado topped with salmon and a lemon wedge) tastes just as good as the salmon citrus roll at Michelin rated Sushi Ran. I'm a huge fan of seaweed salad, so the fact that I can get it over a spicy tuna roll and call is a Swamp roll is pretty perfect. Yelp reviewers rave about the Romeo and Juliet roll (salmon and avocado wrapped in soybean paper, topped with scallop) and I have to concur. I like the Family Affair roll (tuna, white tuna and cucumber) even though they get a little carried away with the white and green onion garnish on top. The Red Dragon and Crunch rolls are also worth trying out. They're also able to make spicy scallop handrolls, which are a favorite of mine ever since I moved to SF. Basic maki rolls range from $4.50-$6.50 and specialty rolls are on average $9-$10. Everything is rolled well and made with quality ingredients. If you're looking for an affordable sushi dinner, this is the place to go.

The next place warranting discussion is Zushi Puzzle. When I ask San Franciscans what the best secret sushi places in the city are, they usually say Zushi or Sushi Bistro (coming up next). This place also looks like a hole in the wall and an unattractive gray facade. It's on a rather barren part of Lombard, which is still technically Marina/Cow Hollow but definitely on the edge. I've tried to go here before but there's always a wait and it seems to be always at least an hour. Plus they have some random business hours, which means I have to go to Mas Sake (which is good but like eating sushi in a Vegas club after 10pm). A friend and I finally got in on a Friday night by going directly after getting off work. I can't wait until I'm old and it's acceptable to eat dinner at restaurants at 5:30p. Anyway, we ended up trying a couple of the specialty maki rolls. I'm going to spare you the details. No one roll specially popped as being more memorable than the others. My main takeaway from this place was that there was a lack of skill/finesse. The sushi wasn't rolled very well. Every time we went to grab a piece, it would fall apart by the time it hit the soy. I was pretty disappointed by my experience, this place definitely did not live up to the hype!

After checking out Zushi Puzzle I had to check out the other local favorite, Sushi Bistro. There's two locations, one in Inner Richmond and in the Mission. I went to the one in the Mission that's fairly small but didn't have its usual wait that night. I think my favorite roll was the Billie Jean. I fully support the new trend of using soy paper as a substitute for the seaweed wrapping. The Billie Jean was filled with baby lobster, avocado and cucumber, topped with salmon. I have a propensity to order anything with tuna, so I also got the albacore dream, which is spicy tuna and avocado topped with albacore and their signature spicy sauce. I have to say, if someone asked me if I would recommend Zushi Puzzle or Sushi Bistro, I would hands down always say Sushi Bistro.

Sushi on Sutter

Last weekend we went to eat dinner at Sudachi Sushi on Sutter Street in San Francisco (how's that for alliteration). When we first walked in, the place was surprisingly spacious (I swear I'm not going to use all "s" words this whole review). They were projecting a soccer game from TV over the sushi bar in the front room. This was probably a good place to watch the USA vs. Japan Women's Cup that just happened. There's also one of those small rooms you can reserve where everyone sits on cushions on the floor surrounding a low table. We were seated at a booth in the back, next to some crooked artwork. In the area we were in, it felt like they were trying to get that urban loft apartment feel. Then halfway through our meal, a deejay started. I'm sorry, but I'm over restaurants with DJs. It just feels like they're trying to hard too be hip.

We started off by looking at the drink menu. They must not have a liquor license because they only offer beer, wine, sake and cocktails made with sake. However, there are very few drinks over $5, which is very cheap. I got the sake sangria for $4 and my boyfriend got a Fat Tire for $2! The sake sangria was a little disappointing. It was served to me a room temp and it just tasted gross. I put some ice in it and it tasted a bit better, but I wouldn't recommend it, too overly sweet. We were a little confused when we were the only table around us not doing multiple rounds of sake bombs. Apparently they're $2 on Saturday nights.

Then we turned our attention to the menu. The first thing we noticed was that it was quite lengthy. Outside of the traditional Japanese appetizers and entrees, they offer things like burgers made with beef bulgogi and quesadillas with chicken katsu. This is where their advertised Japanese Korean fusion food comes into play. We thought this all sounded a little off and kept flipping until we found the sushi. The basic make rolls are amazingly cheap. We got spicy tuna crunch roll for $6 and the spicy scallop nigiri for $3. The spicy scallop is aptly named the scallop volcano, as the spicy scallop mixture is piled on higher than I've ever seen it. What's really amazing is all of the specialty/premium maki rolls available. There were two full pages of them, which is more combinations that I ever thought possible. We ordered the sweet 16, sutter, salmon killer and calamari tempura rolls and sat in anticipation. When they first arrived by boyfriend was ecstatic because the rolls were huge. They were only 6 pieces each, but the width was bigger than I've ever seen. This quickly turned in to their biggest downfall. Now, I have a pretty big mouth (insert joke here) and I still had to eat the largest one in 3 separate bites. I think the best part of sushi is that all the ingredients work in harmony to provide a delicious and satisfying bite. It's hard to achieve that effect when you have to eat it in multiple bites. And one of the reasons they were so large was that there was way too much white rice rolled on the outside of them, which just mutes out the flavors inside the roll. I scraped some rice off the rolls and it made it a little more manageable. We'll probably eat here again, but this is due to the price and that they have late night delivery. Based off it's sushi merits alone, Sudachi is not very spectacular at all.

Sushi lunches in Minneapolis

Sometimes the only affordable way to get your sushi fix is to going during the lunch hours, when many sushi places have deals. This weekend I tried the lunches at both Wasabi (downtown on Washington Ave) and Tiger Sushi (Uptown on Lyndale). Wasabi had a great deal where you got miso soup and either 2 maki rolls for $9 or three for $11. The list of rolls available for this special were fairly basic, but the spicy tuna was good and salmon and avocado was available on the list. Overall, a pretty good deal on price but don't expect amazing tasting sushi. Tiger Sushi's lunch special in terms of sushi was discounted nigiri and sashimi. The only maki specials were discounts on the $20 rolls. While the sushi tasted good, and the fish was fresh, $50-$60 for a sushi lunch isn't a special in my book. I still think one of the best sushi happy hours in town is Mt. Fuji (See earlier review).