This Month In Food: May 2015

Iceland’s two most popular shawarma places have gone to war. Owners of shawarma joint Ali Baba are pressing charges against the owners of next-door kebab-slingers Mandí. The owners were formerly in business together but have now gone into competition with nothing but a wall separating them.

—

Despite that, the month’s strangest story has to be that local R&B sensation Friðrik Dór and neoclassical composer Ólafur Arnalds are opening a restaurant selling nothing but Belgian french fries. We are still waiting for the punch line.

—

Jón Pálmar and the rest of the kids at Bar Paloma are testing out a new taco wagon in their backyard. High time that Reykjavík picks up on the bar + taco truck combo, for all of those high times.

—

Fans of British produce and artisanal kitchenware mourn as Pipar og Salt, Iceland’s only place to get Walkers shortbread and whiskey marmalade, closes up shop after 28 years in downtown Reykjavík.

—

The Yotam Ottolenghi-inspired Bergsson Mathús has branched out from brunching to offer full dinner service with the new Bergsson RE in the ever-popular Grandi neighbourhood.

—

We$tfjord company True West came out with an all-natural, sustainable cold press fish oil called Dropi. Is this the first real competition for Lýsi?

—

Gastropub Public House opens minutes after the Reykjavík Grapevine publishes a pedantic prick’s guide to getting a gastropub right. They seem to have gotten some things right.