Excellent news this morning: The McDonald’s hamburger chain has decided to pack up its frozen burger patties and over-processed fish sticks and say goodbye to Iceland.
Huzzah!!
Back in my North American incarnation, I used to be able to brag about the fact that in my home country there was not a single McDonald’s. I can still recall the look on people’s faces when I told them – like they were talking to a combination of an alien and a total pleb. [Granted most of the people I told back then were in their teens.] No McDonald’s??? God – what did people EAT??
Then, sometime in the 80s, McDonald’s descended upon this nation of singed sheep’s heads and pickled ram’s testicles, and suddenly it was like we’d lost our innocence.
To be fair, it is not McDonald’s per se who is leaving, but rather the people who have held the franchise have decided that, what with all the food needing to be imported [McDonald's apparently doesn't trust anyone else to make their delicious burger patties], it’s no longer viable to maintain in the current economic climate. So not only is the kreppa saving the children, it’s also vastly improving our culinary habits.
UPDATE: I stand corrected that McDonald’s doesn’t trust anyone else to produce their food. I spoke to the franchise owner this morning [wrote a little piece on this for The Guardian, will post link] who said that the main problem is that it’s not economically viable for such a small market to invest in the equipment needed for the production, hence everything has been imported from a McProduction plant in Germany. In the past, apparently, the burger patties were produced locally.
WEATHER RIGHT NOW
It looks beautiful out there, even if it is raining. Looks like the sun is struggling to break through the clouds and even though I haven’t been out yet, I’d say it’s really mild and lovely. As far as I can see there is no wind – and here in Iceland, the weather is always excellent if there is no wind.
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So the last relict of US led NATO occupation is gone.
Who’s said Dodsson’s reign was a failure?
It appears that the basic menu will be the same as McDonalds but will use the no fat/no cholesterol Icelandic beef and cheese. I should also mention that the fish sticks will be natural as opposed to the processed variety. Go Metro!
Iceland’s expulsion from The Economist’s Big Mac Index is an important indicator for, as Wikipedia says, that index is a “way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currencies and provides a test of the extent to which market exchange rates result in goods costing the same in different countries”. If Big Macs are no longer economically viable in Iceland, then it appears that economic theory has broken down. Food for thought…
Good news – but there are still some other places left, where you can get a Burger. BTW: Burger King is also gone…
Not so fast Great Eastern, we still have Dominos, Subway, Pizza Hut, Quiznos, Taco Bell, Ruby Tuesdays and others. You can´t kill us all, we have the calories and the sodium up against your Haddock, Cod and Skýrr. By the way, if you look up Doddson in the dictionary one of the synonyms reads “Ass*ole”
Congratulations, this is excellent news!
Smoked guillemot for me, please.
I have almost stopped eating those “delicious burger patties” for quite a while now, but I remember, when I tried last, that the quality of the Icelandic variety of Big Mac etc. was even below average, compared to McD in many other countries. So, this is a double win for Iceland.
Unfortunately, this kind of food is often enough the only one that is offered at fast-food restaurants along the roads in the rural parts of Iceland. And it is almost everywhere pretty awful.
Wait… the “mcnuggets” I had at the Reykjavik McDonalds last year were NOT pickled rams’ testicles?
McDonald’s opened in Iceland in september 1993. So they have only operated here for 16 years. I can’t say that I’m sorry to see them go though. But their Ice-cream was good.
It was MD that left but not burgers – you can get them at virtually any gas station.
So I wouldn’t be so optimistic about culinary habits…
PS. Lambalundir vs burger – man must be crazy to chose latter
Dear Silvia, next time I come to Iceland I would like to see those ugly neon shining fast food and whatever gone.
May be they look O.K. enroute 66 in the US but every time I saw them in Iceland .. emmm they looked out of this world creatures.
The McDonald’s in Laugarvegi was a pleasant exception when it used to be there.
Like I said it before, It all depends how we want to see things, if we want to be very optimistic and possitive, and in this particular case it is very convenient to embrace the health point of view, and be possitive about it, I’m all for healty eating, I can proudly say that I never eat in Mcdonalds, but being a little realistic, or lets say going to the dark side and be a little pessimistic, I think James has a very good and valid point, and I think it’s deffenetly worth a thought.
Somewhere, José Bové is smiling …
It probably also has something to do with the fact that the McDonalds in Iceland was in an obscure suburban location out of reach of homesick North American tourists or poor (and possibly drunk) college students…the two market segments that these fast food chains frequently exploit.
The changing of three restaurants from one franchise name to another, with basically the same menu, is certainly not going to save any children or change anyone’s culinary habits.
Iceland is hardly more of a country of singed sheep’s heads and pickled ram’s testicles than it is of deep-fried chicken, greasy burgers smeared in mayonnaise and ketchup, and greasy fries smeared in the same. The food at McDonald’s was not any worse than at any number of little shops scattered all over this country, including the main rest stops out in the countryside, or at many of the bigger restaurants such as American Style, and in some cases was probably better, since McDonald’s does at least claim to adhere to strict quality control (granted, I’m no big fan of McDonald’s, have only been there twice I think in as many years). A friend reported getting two burgers from two different shops in Reykjavik this weekend, and both of them were half-raw. I’ve had to toss a Subway sub here because something in it was clearly foul, and the last time I made the mistake of visiting Ruby Tuesday, we were served the most laughable, disgusting “meals” I’ve ever seen here.
Icelanders love their fast food, both the food itself and the convenience of it. There is a long way to go before those petrol stations/ greasy burger joints out in the countryside get changed into decently-priced cozy family restaurants serving high quality kjotsupa or fiskisupa, especially because no one seems to be really clamoring for culinary change here. And just look at how much gets sold of hangikjotsalat, raekjusalat, laxasalat, kartoflusalat, hrasalat, etc., and some of those things are up to 60% mayonnaise. Mayonnaise mayonnaise mayonnaise. And look at the huge “sauce” shelves in Hagkaup and Noatun. More mayonnaise. Food in Iceland is a very funny thing, both “traditional” and “modern”. But, back to the first point, it’s all a matter of personal choice. We can be surrounded by dozens of fast-food restaurants (and in Iceland we certainly are) and still go buy the ingredients for the making of a nice healthy salad. But it’s apparent that the choices being made overall are the ones that keep the little plastic containers of mostly mayonnaise salads on all of the shelves of all of the shops here.
To me, McDonald’s tucked away in a corner of Skeifan or Kringlan was less of an irritant than that ugly pink Bonus pig logo! Glaciers and green valleys on the one hand, cheap and ugly marketing on the other. Another odd combination in a country of oddities.
And I think that it still must be very difficult for tourists in downtown Reykjavik to get a decently-priced, easy meal downtown. Sometimes when travelling one does not have the money, the time, or the inclination to suffer hunting for someplace new and affordable. Sometimes familiar fast-food places make things easier for people (not to mention provide teenagers and plenty of other age groups with work). Oh well, there’s still those culinary gems Subway and Pizza Pronto…
)
One good thing about Metro taking over from McDonald’s is the claim that they will use only locally produced ingredients. That is very good news.
OK that does it, I am canceling my tourist plans for Iceland, rescinding my subscription to Iceland Review and requesting that the Irish Government sever diplomatic ties with Iceland.
Its a national tragedy what are you going to survive on now, There can be only so many singed sheep heads to go round and I for one do not relish the prospect of living off that for the duration of my stay,I could survive on litres of Skyr I suppose, so pleeease reinstate MacDonalds the Hallmark of Civilization. In fact build thosands of them,then all the unemployed Icelanders because of the Kreppa would at least have McJobs to go to. ha ha
Word on the street has it that the outfit that is actually taking over the McDonald´s locations will be serving hamburger with real ham not all that unhealthy red meat crap. In addition the fries will be made using real Icelandic potatoes not those that come frozen. We will just have to get used to fries that are shorter than you normally get at McDonalds but just as tasty. The salt they will use comes that great salt mining town Skagaströnd located in the northern part of the country. It is reddish in color and has a very distinctive taste that really goes well with the fries.
weather right now
Won’t be missed – and we do have some excellent burger places, Grillhúsið and Vitabar serving the best ones imho.
Alda, you simply MUST show the Darth Vader invasion
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-345647
>will be serving hamburger with real ham not all that unhealthy red meat crap.
Even assuming that this isn’t just based on a misunderstanding of the origins of the word “hamburger”, there’s no way a burger made with ham would be healthier. Fat sells, so even if the meat itself was leaner, there would just be more cheese, sauce, etc. And of course the salt content would be high.
That really sucks!
There is nothing like “Big n’ Tasty” hamburger after few weeks in rural Iceland isolation.
That Darth Vader video was awesome!!
I always thought the Icelandic McDonald’s commercials were pretty funny — mainly just the way it was pronounced in them (MAC Dónalds!). Sounded more interesting than the American versions.
Dear Bromley86 ,
I am now able to speak more clearly now that I have wrestled my tongue out of my cheek. Perhaps you haven´t heard of ” The other white meat”, of course not picking up on the salt mining town in the north of the country should have given me all the ammo necessary to be able to say ………………..”Smile, you’re on Candid Camera”.. Get a grip, life is short and sometimes you’re the bug and occasionally the windshield. Peace…
As others have noted, there are still plenty of options to get a hamburger locally, and Icelanders certainly love their hamburgers. I wouldn’t therefore declare this any sort of victory for population health.
Additionally, I have concerns on the overall effect from the kreppa on health. In the past year, people have increasingly turned to more traditional food and food-preparation methods, which tend to have higher levels of salt and fat. Therefore, while the general level of heart disease in Iceland has been decreasing over the past several decades, it would not surprise me at all to see a spike in heart disease rates.
I am surprised to find, that this important piece of news has even made it into the German online press (spiegel.de). Obviously, this is seen as a manifestation of the hardship, Iceland has to endure during the crisis.
According to this article, the very first burger at the opening ceremony of McD back in 1993 had been eaten by – Doddsson. Maybe, somebody should save him the very last one – perhaps in a meal combo with fries, according to custom fried in several days old fat – just to give this era a proper symbolic ending.
Gary – Still , I’m afraid
. What’s the salt joke?
I´m lovin it… being a person of the country, not the city, I will not miss the big M. Problem is I think that this might just be a kennitala swop happening…. tell me – is Metro not changing its kennitala… are there debts with the old big M??? how much do they owe in customs duties and other taxes??’ Or am I just jaded?
Who needs McDonalds anyway. I had svid (singed sheep’s head) for lunch. I’m lovin it… works for lunch, dinner and then it’s the perfect snack when you go camping. At least I know exactly what I was eating, could look my lunch straight in the eye, so to speak. Never did feal quite sure about the hamburgers, who knows what they put in them.
Last time I checked McDonald’s was more concerned with profit than nutrition. It cannot be an entirely good sign that neither a franchisee of long standing, or apparently the parent corporation, feel the Icelandic market warrants their presence any longer.
Also, they could send Doddson off to some remote part of Kansas and make him work as a burger flipper in a McDonald’s there…
@James
OTOH, if a Big Mac carry trade is what makes the world go round, is there any hope for this system?
@Jessica
When I lived in Europe, I would go to Micky D’s just for the novelty of ordering beer. Can’t do that here in the states.
@Gary Gerdeaux
As a member of a family that has been running an Iowa hog farm for well over a century, I can tell you that “other white meat” stuff is a load of Madison Avenue hooey. It’s leaner than beef, but it still ain’t white meat. But if the new franchise wants to do something original, it can make breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches like they do in Iowa.
Delicious Mc D’s burger patties? Surely, you are joking ALDA.
Being one of those relics from the relic NATO base..(1977-1979) that “Great Eastern” is slamming…I can give in few words my feelings about Mc D’s food.
Can you say “NASTY and OMG!!! NASTY.
Give me a Icelandic Hotdog any day..
Burgers made with a mix of lamb meat is far better.
O yeah
Hey Great Eastern Bro! ..Stop the hating.
What is up with that?
Has Doddsson written anything about this!?
Hi Bromley86,
I think Gary is probably referring to the flavored salt found in most eating places where french fries are found. This salt is a man-made concoction and is not mined in the north of the country.
HA! Great response to this story. Thanks all.
TMCD – yes of course I am joking.
Idunn – as I said in the post, it’s not McDonald’s that is leaving. It’s the Icelandic owners who are dropping the franchise. They will no longer have to pay fees to use the McDonald’s name and won’t have to import ingredients any more. Instead they plan to continue with the same business in the same place under a different name – using domestic ingredients. So it’s all good.
Oh, and incidentally, it was Doddsson who ceremoniously ate the first ever McDonald’s hamburger in Iceland. So as Joerg suggests upthread, he should probably be given the last one, as a symbolic ending to the era.
And I have no idea if he’s written about this or if Morgunblaðið has published the photo of him downing that burger. I no longer read Mbl.
Here in Florida USA we are waving goodbye to small independent restaurants, like Dave’s Diner and Pizza Italian and others.
MacDonalds places are safe from closing here.
This is a substantive issue because Dave’s Diner and Pizza Italian were really super places to eat in Jacksonville and were open for decades.
Iceland as a periphery to the MacDonald food empire is instructive.
The edges go first. Dave’s Diner and Pizza Italian in Florida were the edges of restaurants, so they went first. It is a bad sign in a way.
The general empire of modern capitalism is collapsing, I believe. A good restaurant is more substantial than an advertisement of a brand.
The Lasagna at Pizza Italian was a wonder, not to be missed. I cannot believe it, really. My daughter had her entire 14 year old life going to Pizza Italian and now only MacDonalds is left. Early times for her in a baby basket . I like the egg Mcmuffin at Macdonalds but it was in no way comparable to Pizza Italians Lasagna, salads or pizza.
Dave’s Diner had an omelet with Swiss and Mushrooms that was fluffy and came with great side items. MacDonalds give me a break!
We cannot say hurrah’s to these losses. Better that MacDonald restaurants were gone. Why not both still open? This is the signal that ordinary people have not a chance now. Without some big changes.
Iceland has had that unfortunate change. If MacDonalds places closed here in the USA it would be the Apocalypse.
That is silly but it’s in a way true.
This just gets better and better Iceland hits Global media again aka Sky News
here is a quote
“The move will lump Iceland in with Albania, Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina among the handful of European nations without a McDonald’s.
The withdrawal of the golden arches symbolises a sharp fall from economic grace for a nation which was among the world’s wealthiest on a per capita basis before the financial crisis struck.”
and here is the link
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Fast-Food-Giant-McDonalds-Shuts-Down-Iceland-Business-Because-Too-Expensive-To-Run/Article/200910415420002?lpos=Business_First_Buisness_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15420002_Fast_Food_Giant_McDonalds_Shuts_Down_Iceland_Business_Because_Too_Expensive_To_Run
Just love the fall from grace bit !!! Does this mean that Iceland is reverting back to AD 970 ha ha
Alda – I read it for you. No pic of Doddsson stuffing his face, but it did say, “First McDonalds place opened in 1993 and was then prime minister and current editor Morgunblaðsins, Davíð Oddsson, who ate the first citizens.”
Perhaps that Google translation isn’t as good as I thought? (Or perhaps Doddson is as evil as you think
).
Silvia – Thanks!
Bromley – HAHAHA!!! That is HILARIOUS! Thanks for the laugh. Up to update my Facebook status with this now – I know the Icelanders will keel over laughing.
No great loss for Iceland, but certainly some small gain, surely.
One article I read about this said that 10-15 new jobs will be created.
Icelandic products being used instead of imported ones too.
Better for the environment since they don’t have to be shipped half way across the globe.
Haven’t had McDonalds for years, never plan on having it again.
The only fast-food we indulge in these days is the occasional Taco Bell.
I would not miss Mickey-D’s one bit.
When in Iceland my goal is to consume as much lambakjöt as is humanly possible, can’t get enough of the stuff.
That and hangikjöt, for a bit of variety.
And I am quite partial to hangikjötsalat betwixt two slices of korn brauð.
Actually, that bread is so much better than the utter rubbish we get here in the States, that we have been known to eat it by the slice on its own.
So I’d like to see some lambakjöt based products replace the McRubbish, if at all possible.
Alda: “I no longer read Mbl” – did I miss something?
Annie – where have you been??
http://icelandweatherreport.com/2009/09/the-return-of-doddsson.html
It’s a start, now if the rest of europe would follow…
Emigrating to Iceland only became more tempting after this.
My favourite recollection of my one time at the Reykavik McD’s (we felt we had to go just for the tackiness of it) was that all of the items used Icelandic words but with a “Mc” stuck in front of it. A cascade of umlauts and those 10 extra letters in the Icelandic alphabet sullied by a phony Scottish prefix.
I still have a paper place mat from the joint in my files somewhere.
Bromley, rotfl
“Just love the fall from grace bit !!! Does this mean that Iceland is reverting back to AD 970 ha ha”
The good times! Plenty of fish, unpolluted fresh air and many neighbouring countries (Scotland, Ireland, Norway
available for quick loot&plunder operations 
yowsa
under a rock, evidently
Dodsson have to eat the last menu
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