Iceland: Baejarins Beztu Pylsur
At the end of March, I went on a 10-day Icelandic adventure with two of my friends and their partners. And yes, before you ask, I was the fifth wheel. It's much better than being the third wheel, let me tell you.
The decision to go to Iceland was made rather suddenly. I received an email marked "URGENT" from T one morning and after some frantic texting on BART, tickets were finalized and booked before I'd even gotten to work and cleared my vacation days with my boss.
Tickets were so cheap that we thought we had a great deal on our hands. Little did we know that was all part of Iceland's grand plan to suck us in and milk us of our paychecks.
Our flight landed in Iceland at 4:00am. Four. Freakin'. AM. The Blue Lagoon didn't open until 8:00, so we spent our first few hours in Iceland napping in our rental car. In a dark parking lot. That wasn't sketch at all.
Besides one traumatic moment where an elderly naked British woman walked in on me while I was showering (this is why doors should have locks!), the Blue Lagoon was awesome. Our plan was to head directly from the Blue Lagoon to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Because we spent much longer at the Blue Lagoon than originally predicted, we altered our plan to include a lunch stop in Reykjavik on our way north.
The only place I could think of on the fly was Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. It was certainly easy to find. We just looked for the crazy long line:
All of this...for a hot dog stand:
Because that's all Baejarins Beztu Pylsur sells. Hot dogs. Well, that and soda.
It was raining/hailing while we were waiting in line. Luckily, the line went fairly quickly. I grumbled that the hot dog had better be worth getting pelted by hail or I was going to flip a table. (I always picture myself flipping a table in rage, but I know I'll never have the guts to do it. Sigh.)
It was with high expectations that I bit into my hot dog (450 ISK or ~$4.50):
Two words: WORTH IT.
We asked for everything on our dogs without really knowing what that meant. Apparently it means having your dog smothered in ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, crispy fried onion, and raw onion:
My mouth is watering just thinking about that creamy, tangy-sweet mix of sauces and that contrast between the soft bun and the crispy/crunchy onion. That crispy fried onion was magic. Pure magic.
The sausage itself is a mix of lamb, pork, and beef. If you love lamb like I do, you'll love this hot dog. After the first bite, I turned to T and excitedly exclaimed, "It tastes like lamb!" She made an abrupt slashing motion with her hand and I suddenly remembered that CV hates lamb.
I fumbled to recover. "Um...I mean, it tastes like...cheese!" T could only look at me incredulously.
Thank goodness CV missed the entire exchange.
Halfway through her own hot dog, CV scrunched up her nose and said that she was picking up some lamb notes in the sausage. Just as T and I were about to jump in to assure her that she was only imagining it, CL piped up from behind that she tasted it too.
CV refused to finish the rest of her hot dog after that.
Oh, well. Her loss.
Opened in 1937, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur literally means something along the lines of "best hot dog in town". Not that I've had all the hot dogs in Reykjavik, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. That's a damn good dog. A little expensive, but that's Iceland for ya. Also a bit on the small side. It'll take at least two to make a meal.
I'll be dreaming about that hot dog for the rest of my life.
Baejarins Beztu Pylsur
Tryggvagata 1, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
+354 511 1566
http://www.bbp.is/
The decision to go to Iceland was made rather suddenly. I received an email marked "URGENT" from T one morning and after some frantic texting on BART, tickets were finalized and booked before I'd even gotten to work and cleared my vacation days with my boss.
Tickets were so cheap that we thought we had a great deal on our hands. Little did we know that was all part of Iceland's grand plan to suck us in and milk us of our paychecks.
Our flight landed in Iceland at 4:00am. Four. Freakin'. AM. The Blue Lagoon didn't open until 8:00, so we spent our first few hours in Iceland napping in our rental car. In a dark parking lot. That wasn't sketch at all.
Besides one traumatic moment where an elderly naked British woman walked in on me while I was showering (this is why doors should have locks!), the Blue Lagoon was awesome. Our plan was to head directly from the Blue Lagoon to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Because we spent much longer at the Blue Lagoon than originally predicted, we altered our plan to include a lunch stop in Reykjavik on our way north.
The only place I could think of on the fly was Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. It was certainly easy to find. We just looked for the crazy long line:
All of this...for a hot dog stand:
Because that's all Baejarins Beztu Pylsur sells. Hot dogs. Well, that and soda.
It was raining/hailing while we were waiting in line. Luckily, the line went fairly quickly. I grumbled that the hot dog had better be worth getting pelted by hail or I was going to flip a table. (I always picture myself flipping a table in rage, but I know I'll never have the guts to do it. Sigh.)
It was with high expectations that I bit into my hot dog (450 ISK or ~$4.50):
Two words: WORTH IT.
We asked for everything on our dogs without really knowing what that meant. Apparently it means having your dog smothered in ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, crispy fried onion, and raw onion:
My mouth is watering just thinking about that creamy, tangy-sweet mix of sauces and that contrast between the soft bun and the crispy/crunchy onion. That crispy fried onion was magic. Pure magic.
The sausage itself is a mix of lamb, pork, and beef. If you love lamb like I do, you'll love this hot dog. After the first bite, I turned to T and excitedly exclaimed, "It tastes like lamb!" She made an abrupt slashing motion with her hand and I suddenly remembered that CV hates lamb.
I fumbled to recover. "Um...I mean, it tastes like...cheese!" T could only look at me incredulously.
Thank goodness CV missed the entire exchange.
Halfway through her own hot dog, CV scrunched up her nose and said that she was picking up some lamb notes in the sausage. Just as T and I were about to jump in to assure her that she was only imagining it, CL piped up from behind that she tasted it too.
CV refused to finish the rest of her hot dog after that.
Oh, well. Her loss.
Opened in 1937, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur literally means something along the lines of "best hot dog in town". Not that I've had all the hot dogs in Reykjavik, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. That's a damn good dog. A little expensive, but that's Iceland for ya. Also a bit on the small side. It'll take at least two to make a meal.
I'll be dreaming about that hot dog for the rest of my life.
Baejarins Beztu Pylsur
Tryggvagata 1, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
+354 511 1566
http://www.bbp.is/
So awesome! Iceland has long been on my travel list and I've heard from so many people that Baejarins Beztu Pylsur is a must-visit.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend going soon before it's even more overrun by tourists. (And yes, definitely stop at Baejarins Beztu Pylsur!) =)
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