Iceland will soon lose McDonald's after the island's only franchisee decided to shutter the three fast-food restaurants he owns in Reykjavik.

Lyst Hr., Iceland's only McDonald's franchise holder, decided to close its restaurants next weekend because of the falling price of Iceland's currency, the Associated Press reports.

"The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us," Magnus Ogmundsson, the managing director the company told the AP. The restaurants will reopen under a new name, Metro, serving locally produced foods.

Iceland is the ninth country to lose all its McDonald's restaurants. The chain pulled out of seven countries in 2002, and in 1996, Barbados lost its only McDonald's due to slow sales, the AP said.

[Via Associated Press]

One of the great things about delicacies is that, while they may be rare, they are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. For example, sturgeon eggs may be a taste treat, but if nobody is willing to fork over the a small fortune, then they are, essentially, just bait. Recently, this simple fact has become quite important as lobster, which was once priced well out of the range of the average person has started to come within reach. The freakish crustaceans are now going for about $2.50 per pound wholesale, down from a high of about $10 per pound in spring 2007. In terms of retail price, this translates into a drop of at least $4 per pound. In some Boston-area seafood markets, the price hovered in the $7 range earlier this year; depending upon one's location, it has subsequently dipped well below that.

There are two big reasons for the great lobster drop. One is the fact that many high-end consumers, the kinds of people who could afford to eat lobster regularly, were hit particularly hard by 2008's financial meltdown. The second reason lies in the collapse of Iceland's economy: seafood producers in Canada that used Icelandic banks have not been able to get the credit they need to buy large amounts of lobster.

Personally, I'm going to be taking advantage of this sudden piece of good news. While I'm not a big fan of shelled lobster - to be honest, the huge crustaceans remind me of aquatic cockroaches and the whole lobster dining experience is disturbingly like an alien autopsy - lobster tails and lobster bisque are among my favorites. What's more, with lobster going for a fraction of its former price, this might be the perfect time for a Monty Python recipe that I've always wanted to try: Lobster Thermidor Aux Crevettes with Mornay Sauce, Truffle Pate, Brandy, Fried Egg and Spam. While I'm at it, I'm also keeping an eye on other delicacies; after all, who knows what will drop next?

• A look at the cuisine of Iceland.
• How to make a meal out of what you can buy at your small local grocer.
• Can hard cider make a comeback?
• It's holiday party season, and how about trying a crudites platter?
• Here's a gift idea for the cook/sports fan in your family.
• This week's recipes: Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing, Mango-Red Pepper Salsa, Roasted Chicken Parts, and Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake.

I feel like I need to apologize in advance for this because the kind people over at Reyka vodka were nice enough to send a bottle of their new vodka to me to try, and presumably, it flew all the way over here from Iceland! However, I can't promise that I have the nicest things to say about Reyka Vodka.

Reyka Vodka's bottle design is what struck me first -- there is absolutely nothing sexy about the packaging at all. Unlike so many of the new vodkas that are being marketed these days that are tall, sleek, and smooth, sometimes opaque to hide the elixir inside, Reyka is a rather short, squat bottle that has a slight bluish cast, like a soda bottle. The label is plain white paper that almost looks like stationary, with simple black block lettering. I suppose, in a way, it's a little bit refreshing to come across something so straightforward.

Skyr isn't carried in too many American stores, but the Icelandic yogurt definitely has its fans. It is thicker than conventional yogurt, largely because it is strained, much like Greek yogurt. You are most likely to be familiar with the yogurt if it is carried at your local Whole Foods, where it is packaged into small containers and flavored like conventional yogurts, with berries, vanilla, etc. Despite the generally positive reaction from consumers, Whole Foods no longer promotes the fact that they carry Skyr, or any other Icelandic products, because of the company's offical policy of dissapproval for Iceland resuming commercial whaling last year.

The average consumer, perhaps the average Skyr fan, in the US isn't aware of the whaling issue and because Whole Foods hasn't promoted it, they're not likely to - especially because Whole Foods is planning to stock more Icelandic products this spring. Whole Foods will be carrying Nói Síríus chocolate easter eggs in approximately 70 stores. To entice WF to stock the eggs, Nói Síríus seems to have offered them at almost no cost, as the marketing director of the chocolate company said "There are no profits involved, this is first and foremost a sales experiment." More will be imported next year if they prove popular. Whether Whole Foods will be promoting them now, or in future, is still unknown, though it certainly seems like it would be a good business strategy to promote the products you carry if you're going to carry them at all.

Martin Miller's Reformed London Dry Gin is 40%abv/80proof. It comes in a unusual six sided bottle with a curved back which has a map of the North Atlantic on it. I don't know what they mean by "Reformed" so I went to their website to find out, but it is down until 12/06/2006. Maybe we can find out then. The gin is distilled in a old copper pot still that has been in use for well over a century, making Miller's a single batch at a time. The botanicals are juniper, cinnamon, cassia, iris, licorice, orange peel, coriander seed, angelica seed, and nutmeg among others including one special secret ingredient that supposedly isn't even known by the master distiller. More on the secret ingredient later. The 92% alcohol gin is then shipped off to Iceland where it is cut with pure glacier fed spring water down to either 40%abd/80proof or a higher octane version called Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength Gin at 45.2%abv/90.4proof. I only tried the 80proof version.

The aroma is soft and creamy, hints of juniper, spice, and cucumber. The taste is extremely soft, smooth, and creamy with an elegant and surprising taste. Besides the normal notes of juniper, herbs and spices, and floral notes there was a strong presence of cucumber. So much so that I felt like I was lying in a cucumber patch in the summer sun and noshing on fresh picked cukes while sipping the gin. I have to think that cucumber must be the secret ingredient since I have never tasted such a strong essence of cucumber before.