Worst Fear Experienced Abroad...

So, Mere and I went to Iceland. It was pretty freaking awesome. I fully intend on writing a detailed account of it over at my other blog, but in the meantime, I'd like to share a gripe. Actually, it's less of a gripe and more of a horror story.

That's right. My worst nightmare, lurking right under the surface: hair. in. my. food.

Shown above is a serving of Puffin from a tapas bar in Iceland. Upon stepping foot in Iceland I had one goal--eat a puffin (and maybe a whale). Despite being a cute and cuddly poor man's penguin, puffins are a staple food in Iceland. While it's not totally Andrew Zimmern-worthy, it seemed a safer bet than Hákarl, though I fully intended on sampling that as well.

Sadly, puffin was not featured on the tasting menu I had ordered, so I decided to get it in addition--making my bill go from expensive to astronomical but it was our last night, and I didn't totally care since I pretend I'm a foodie or something. Tapas are small portions, I wanted to try a lot of stuff. After eating a nibble or two of Puffin, which tastes kind of like wet beef jerky mixed with odor de catfood, if you were curious (whale is fantastic though, I had no complaints on that one), I dug into the salad. In retrospect, perhaps it was a garnish and not a salad, but as the waitress walked by I pulled a long thick black strand of hair from my mouth with a leaf of lettuce dangling below it.

I immediately began to gag as the waitress looked on in horror. Thankfully, the puffin chunks stayed down.

She took the hair from my hand and told me she'd be right back. When she returned she asked if I was okay, and apologized but kind of was like "these things happen..." so I assumed I was SOL. However, she then proceeded to tell me that not only was my $15 Puffin removed from my bill, but my tasting menu had been upgraded, and I was getting a "surprise" for dessert.

I went from tiny bites like this:

3"x3" squares of tiny food

To full side dishes, like this:

5"x9" plates of food plus sides!

When dessert came, I assumed I'd get another full sized portion. I got this:

FIVE FREAKING DESSERTS. Each one more delicious than the last. SO MUCH WIN. And the waitress apologized each and every time she stopped by the table. I wish it was customary to tip there, because I would have given her a huge one--I probably would have anyway, if her shift hadn't ended before we were done eating!

While this was the best customer service I've probably ever experienced, it was just a big example of how NICE people in Iceland are. Could you imagine what would have happened in America? At the least you'd get a free app or dessert--something you probably didn't want anyway--at best maybe the meal would be comped. In Iceland, you get your meal upgraded, your ruined food comped, plus FIVE DESSERTS. Seriously, everyone was so friendly and willing to help. Cars would even stop in the middle of the street to let us take stupid pictures like this:

 Yeah, we're all in traditional Icelandic sweaters, looking like silly touristy fools here.

Anyways, Iceland was amazing. It was one of those places I never had the real urge to visit until someone offered me the opportunity to go, and now it's a place I want to return to as soon as possible. The landscape was so gorgeous it was hard to believe it was on Earth. The food was exotic and wonderful, and as I said, the people were amazing.