Snapshots from Iceland: Wall of Coca-Cola
I visited Iceland from April 18 to 24. Although this sparsely populated country may not be known for its cuisine, there was plenty of interesting food to report on. This week I'll share some food-related bits with you.
Aluminum, plastic, and glass; it's all here.
The 24-hour supermarket 10-11 in downtown Reykjavik is a small shop—perhaps the size of a 7-11—but seemed to devote a disproportionately large area of refrigerator space to Coca-Cola. A bit of googling tells me that Iceland and Mexico have the highest consumption rates of Coca-Cola per capita. (Iceland doesn't appear on it, but Coca-Cola has this handy website with per capita consumption data.) One of my travel partners insisted that Icelandic Coke tasted better than American because theirs is made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup; the Icelandic Tourist Board also attributes it to the use of Icelandic water.
If you're a Pepsi fan, you'll be able to find Pepsi Max, a low calorie, sugar-free Pepsi drink. And...that was all I saw. Considering that Pepsi Max is the only thing that shows up on pepsi.is, it seems to at least be the most popular choice.
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8 Comments:
I leave for Iceland next Friday. I am looking forward to reading your entries this week. Is there anywhere in particular to eat in Reykjavik we shouldn't miss?
amandalaird at 10:29AM on 04/28/09
@amandalaird: I'm writing more in-depth posts at my blog, although I'm not sure how much I'll get up before you go on your trip. As for "shouldn't miss," I'd want to check out Sea Baron again. Tasty fish on skewers and lobster soup! I also loved the danishes from Sandholt bakery (they made a lot of tasty stufffff). Oh yeah, everyone says you have to try their hot dogs..I'll write about that later this week.
roboppy at 10:35AM on 04/28/09
Thanks! Your post on "Things I Should Have Known..." is great. We're renting a car, we will remember to bring CDs!
amandalaird at 11:25AM on 04/28/09
@amandalaird - i recommend hot dog stand near the harbor for cheap eats. there is (or was, in 2001) a cute little cafe on the corner of Laugavegur and Ingolfstraeti that i remember being OK for breakfast. probably everything else there is different (and hopefully better!) than when i was there, years ago, so i can't recommend anything else specific.
avoid: mcdonald's... this goes without saying, of course, but somehow icelandic mcdonald's is worse than regular mcdonald's (ended up there in a bit of a food emergency after mistakenly ordered "traditional" herring - that is to say, pickled).
j at 12:30PM on 04/28/09
@j: Hot dog stand = my next Iceland post! ;)
Everything is definitely cheaper now than 3 years ago. And by that I mean I had no problem eating for reasonable prices. I didn't notice McD, which is probably a good thing. I did see a few Subways though..and a Taco Bell and a KFC.
roboppy at 12:36PM on 04/28/09
@j: thanks for your recommendations. We'll be sure to avoid McDonald's! And perhaps the pickled herring also.
amandalaird at 6:03PM on 05/02/09
Speaking of burgers, the best burgers in Iceland are available right in front of Saegreifinn actually, a small place called Bullan (The Dive), that makes the best damn burgers you'll get. And if you go there, make sure to order Béarnaise sauce with your fries, it's to die for.
swarez at 9:36PM on 05/03/09
@swarez: I ate there!
roboppy at 11:14PM on 05/03/09