Wheatgrass cocktails 31. maí 2006 00:01 Maður lifandi, Borgatún 24 You are what you eat. Capitalizing on this cliché is Maður Lifandi, a one-year old addition to the small collection of health food / vegetarian restaurants that dot Reykjavík. Maður Lifandi's point of differentiation is that it is not only a restaurant, but also a health food store and advice clinic. The concept is proving successful, and by the time you read this article, a new branch will have opened in Kópavogur. I tried out the food over lunch, when the suits from nearby KB Bank and KPMG filled the tables upstairs. (Actually, that's a good thing. The tables downstairs, adorned with candles, are smarter and create a restaurant ambiance much more effectively.) The food on offer here is not exclusively organic, but eschews additives, preservatives and other health-conscious no-no's. The special of the day is usually vegetarian, except on Wednesdays, when diners will find either a chicken or fish offering. On this occasion, satay chicken (with a slightly stingy helping of sauce) was served with brown rice and salad (1189 ISK). The salad bar (1189 ISK) displayed such gems as a deliciously crisp exotic fruit salad and a selection of beautifully toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, although I wish the plates were a little larger. I also tried a healthy drink: the carrot, ginger, and wheatgrass concoction (the "Maður Lifandi") didn't taste great, but it made me feel virtuous and I'm confident it made my innards sing. I felt that ordering a post-meal coffee wouldn't have been fitting in such a health conscious environment, although I think there was a cappuccino machine lurking in the corner somewhere for defiant patrons. The highlight was definitely the dessert: a blueberry crumble square with the wonderfully poetic name hjónabandsæla ("wedded bliss") and a moist carrot cake, sadly unnamed, with dates. The chaos of the lunch crowd made Maður Lifandi not feel so relaxing as a health food establishment ought to, but its success at the sometimes hard-to-find "good food at good value" combination makes this a place to try. You can stock up on soba noodles and Echinacea while you're at it. - Eliza Reid. Eating out News in English Mest lesið „Þetta mál hélt fyrir mér vöku í tvo mánuði“ Innlent Fangi lést á Litla-Hrauni Innlent Lentu í dularfullum símatruflunum í Bratislava fyrir fimm árum Innlent Kosningavaktin: Íslendingar ganga að kjörborðinu Innlent Fólk dvelji ekki í herbergjum með glugga í átt að Eyrarfjalli Innlent Þurftu að búa í næstu götu við morðingja bróður síns Innlent Dæmdur fyrir sérstaklega hættulega líkamsárás Innlent „Þetta er auðvitað grafalvarlegt mál“ Innlent Forsætisráðherra segir málið hugarburð, Píratar vilja rannsókn Innlent „Hefði verið ágætt að fresta þessu veðri fram yfir áramót“ Innlent
You are what you eat. Capitalizing on this cliché is Maður Lifandi, a one-year old addition to the small collection of health food / vegetarian restaurants that dot Reykjavík. Maður Lifandi's point of differentiation is that it is not only a restaurant, but also a health food store and advice clinic. The concept is proving successful, and by the time you read this article, a new branch will have opened in Kópavogur. I tried out the food over lunch, when the suits from nearby KB Bank and KPMG filled the tables upstairs. (Actually, that's a good thing. The tables downstairs, adorned with candles, are smarter and create a restaurant ambiance much more effectively.) The food on offer here is not exclusively organic, but eschews additives, preservatives and other health-conscious no-no's. The special of the day is usually vegetarian, except on Wednesdays, when diners will find either a chicken or fish offering. On this occasion, satay chicken (with a slightly stingy helping of sauce) was served with brown rice and salad (1189 ISK). The salad bar (1189 ISK) displayed such gems as a deliciously crisp exotic fruit salad and a selection of beautifully toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, although I wish the plates were a little larger. I also tried a healthy drink: the carrot, ginger, and wheatgrass concoction (the "Maður Lifandi") didn't taste great, but it made me feel virtuous and I'm confident it made my innards sing. I felt that ordering a post-meal coffee wouldn't have been fitting in such a health conscious environment, although I think there was a cappuccino machine lurking in the corner somewhere for defiant patrons. The highlight was definitely the dessert: a blueberry crumble square with the wonderfully poetic name hjónabandsæla ("wedded bliss") and a moist carrot cake, sadly unnamed, with dates. The chaos of the lunch crowd made Maður Lifandi not feel so relaxing as a health food establishment ought to, but its success at the sometimes hard-to-find "good food at good value" combination makes this a place to try. You can stock up on soba noodles and Echinacea while you're at it. - Eliza Reid.
Eating out News in English Mest lesið „Þetta mál hélt fyrir mér vöku í tvo mánuði“ Innlent Fangi lést á Litla-Hrauni Innlent Lentu í dularfullum símatruflunum í Bratislava fyrir fimm árum Innlent Kosningavaktin: Íslendingar ganga að kjörborðinu Innlent Fólk dvelji ekki í herbergjum með glugga í átt að Eyrarfjalli Innlent Þurftu að búa í næstu götu við morðingja bróður síns Innlent Dæmdur fyrir sérstaklega hættulega líkamsárás Innlent „Þetta er auðvitað grafalvarlegt mál“ Innlent Forsætisráðherra segir málið hugarburð, Píratar vilja rannsókn Innlent „Hefði verið ágætt að fresta þessu veðri fram yfir áramót“ Innlent