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 | Amsterdam's Restaurant Scene |
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Dining in Amsterdam can range from fast food
to world class cuisine. Dutch food tends to be very hardy but heavy and
unimaginitive, relying upon meats, fish, foul and starches for main courses.
Ethnic cuisine is much more varied, and centuries of immigrants have added
their flavors to the available palate. Foremost among these is Indonesian
Food, with the rice table a most elegant affair (photo).
 There
are countless Indonesian restaurants in town serving up Gado Gado, satay,
spicy sambals, crispy krupek, nasi goreng, etc. This is a real treat
since only Indonesia has more authentic restaurants. You'll find
lots of Chinese restaurants in town, but be wary. If you're used
to real Chinese food or even Americanized Chinese, you might be disappointed
because this is Chinese food, Indonesian style. Many people of Chinese
decent have emigrated from Indonesia to Holland bringing their style of
cooking. Fortunately there are a few real Chinese restaurants in
Amsterdam. These are clustered in the Red Light District in Amsterdam's
Chinatown. You can spot these restaurants since they have cooked
ducks hanging in the windows. Our favorite Chinese/Indonesian restaurant
is the Oriental City (see photo), a two story restaurant with good views
on the Oudezijdsvoorburgwal.
Other European, South American, and Asian cuisine
are well represented in Holland. Most popular of course is Italian
food. Thanks to the Dutch fondness for cheese, Italian food is extra
tasty in Holland. Rich lasagna, a endless variety of pizzas, and
all the other specialties are available and relatively inexpensive compared
with other cuisines in Holland.
There are some very good Thai restaurants in Amsterdam.
We found one excellent one in the Jordaan which serves very authentic Thai
dishes for very reasonable prices. It's Pathum Thai
at Willemstraat 16. Other Thai restaurants
seem more expensive. Another very interesting Thai restaurant in
the Red Light District is the Bangkok just off the Damstraat at Oudezijdesacherburghwal,
which has good food (see photo), and a very lively bar scene. The
waitresses and bartenders are all Thai men in drag! 
You'll also see a lot of Argentinean, Greek, Indian,
Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and Moroccan restaurants. The quality
of these establishments vary, and it's good to ask around to find the better
ones.
A good place to sample some creative French/European
cuisine at a reasonable price is the Cafe Roux on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal.
They offer a three course menu that's a good value. Reserve in advance
as the Dutch have already discovered this gem.
There is a renaissance of sorts brewing as young
Dutch chefs explore a range of new tastes as trendy restaurants sprout
up in Amsterdam. These restaurants often have some cute or funny
name in Dutch, and the chefs try to expand the range of the relatively
bland food that has been associated with Dutch cuisine. The best
way to find out about these places is to ask around, as we have yet to
find a thorough, quality dining guide to Amsterdam (in English, anyway).
 If
you're an American and you find yourself in Amsterdam for Thanksgiving
(which the Dutch don't celebrate, of course), you can find Turkey and all
the other great holiday food at the American Hotel (where else?).
This hotel has a splendid Art Deco restaurant (photo) that serves up tasty
American style fare all year round. It's worth a visit just to view
the interior. It's not cheap, but the quality is very good and the
ambiance is tops. Just remember to make reservations way in advance
for a holiday meal!
Lastly, after a good meal don't forget to tell
your hosts that you thought it was lekker! (tasty)
Note: Amsterdam is a gourmet's delight where you can enjoy specialties from six continents. Some good suggestions for further exploration.
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Posted by Skip on Friday, June 15 @ 10:13:29 CEST (61007 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
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| Dutch Cheese |
 The dutch have a great fondness for cheese and milk products. Perhaps this is due
to the fact that Holland is the world's largest exporter of dairy products!
Every shopping street in Amsterdam has one or more cheese shops where you
can sample the wares of this industry. Huge wheels of Gouda line
shelves in the store. Pieces large and small are cut on demand, and
free tastes are always given (how unusual for the Dutch to give something
away!). Other dairy products like fresh yogurt and quark (sour cream)
are excellent.
Most of these
shops also sell breads and make sandwiches for lunch. Some of the
more popular cheeses are Boerenkaas (farmer's cheese) which is classified
according to it's age, young, medium, ripe (belegen), extra ripe (aged).
Variations include herbs or cumin seeds scattered in the cheese.
We really enjoyed the Geitenkaas (goat cheese), which is white and flavorful.
Aged cheese like Oude Amsterdam (black wheel) is exceptional! Cheese
is usually consumed with bread in sandwiches (broodjes), or with the light
crispy Dutch crackers. Like most European countries, the Dutch are
very proud of their cheese industry, and no visit would be complete without
a visit to a cheese store to sample the wares.
There are picturesque cheese markets in Alkmaar and Purmerend for the tourists and some towns like Gouda still have a real cheese market. Alkmaar also has a Cheese museum.
Note: If you like cheese, Holland is the closest thing to curd heaven as ever you'll find...
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Posted by skip on Wednesday, June 13 @ 05:53:25 CEST (17812 reads)
(Read More... | 1 comment | Score: 0)
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| Dutch Chocolate |
 The Dutch are famous for their chocolate, but are often overshadowed by their Belgian neighbors. The Spanish discovered this ancient Aztec & Mayan treat in the 16th century. But the Dutch figured a way to make a milder tasting powder, with a lower fat content, that disolves in water and could be used to make solid chocolate. This Dutch processed cocoa is what we use today for hot chocolate, a delicious treat available in almost every Dutch cafe, restaurant or coffeeshop.
Tip!
Don't miss an opportunity to try Dutch Cocoa, "met slagroom" - with whipped cream!
What makes Dutch, Belgian and Swiss chocolate so good is that they only use real cocoa butter as the fat in their chocolates while other countries can use all sorts of oils like palm, coconut, whatever. Cocoa butter doesn't detract from the chocolate taste and adds a silky creaminess and that is what makes the really good chocolates melt so wonderfully in your mouth. So when you buy Dutch chocolate, you're buying pure chocolate with whatever flavorings the chocolatier chooses to add.
The best Dutch chocolate, is made very fresh, and has a limited shelf life of a week or two unless refrigerated. Thereafter it loses it's fresh flavor.
All over Amsterdam and Holland there are stores that specialize in bonbons, some are actually from Belgium like Leonidas, but others are homegrown like Puccini. Some shops are strict chocolatiers others are bakeries like Rene's that also happen to sell chocolate delicacies.
Tip!
We highly recommend Puccini as the best chocolatier in town. For excellent chocolate, at an excellent price, visit any Albert Hein supermarket, and check out their "AH" brand chocolate. They have all sorts of bars, bonbons, truffles, even organic chocolate. Not only is it some of the best chocolate anywhere, (Albert Hein's been making their own chocolate treats since 1895), but it's REAL cheap!
You can even get chocolate bonbons laced with THC! Chocolata on the Spuistraat is the best known place with a nice selection of chocolate candies with hashish or marijuana added for that extra effect.
On the right is a German-made hemp chocolate bar that I found in Amsterdam. It's made with roasted hemp seeds and cornflakes, and boy is it yummy! It's crispy like a Nestle crunch bar, but it won't get you high, other than the caffeine from both the chocolate and the coffee flavor.
Tip!
When you have space cake (or cannabis candy), it is difficult to know how much cannabis you are eating. It always tastes so good you want to eat more! Before you know it, you will have consumed too much. So start with a small piece. It can take anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour and a half before you feel anything. Wait for it to take effect before you have another piece, otherwise you are sure to overdo it. This is very important, as an overdose will leave you nearly unconscious for 24 hours or more.
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Posted by Skip on Wednesday, November 07 @ 06:36:27 CET (17315 reads)
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| Dutch Specialties |
Besides the frites (french fried potatoes), there are other delicious foods the Dutch are famous for. These include the endless variety of cheeses. There's far more than plain Gouda and Edam (they come in dozens of flavors) and while you're in Holland you should sample as many as possible. Cheese stores are everywhere and you can taste anything you like. We love the Oude Amsterdam aged goat cheese. It's sorta like parmesan but with an even richer flavor.
Another tempting Dutch treat is chocolate. The Spanish introduced Europe to chocolate hundreds of years ago, but the Dutch developed the process to make it into a lowfat, less bitter, soluable powder. Dutch cocoa is still considered the best, and you can enjoy a hot chocolate drink with or without whipped cream in just about any bar or restaurant. There are also chocolate shops around town that rival the more famous Belgian chocolates (some of them are Belgian). Also tasty are the Dutch cookies which are an intimate part of Dutch culture. Dutch Apple Pie is also very traditional and delicious.
The most famous Dutch beverage is of course beer, with Heineken, Grolsh and Amstel being Amsterdam's most famous exports. There are many more local beers that deserve a try. You'll be amazed at how little beer you get in Holland. Six ounces is typical for €1.50 (about $1.35). Ask for a larger glass and you'll get almost a pint for $3.50! Just remember that in Holland and most of Europe you are paying a cover charge with your drink, whether it's a beer, coffee or a soda. This allows you to sit at your table indefinitely. You don't jump and run after you're done. For Americans this takes some getting used to. The pace of cafe life is slow and relaxing. For the tourist doing Europe in a week, this is a difficult thing to master. You can also sample some of the famous Belgian beers, as most bars carry some. The Dutch gin, jenever, is popular among locals, but it takes some getting used to.
Dutch coffee is made espresso style, strong, black and served in tiny cups. They do not serve "regular" American coffee. The closest you can come is cafe verkeerd, which means coffee "wrong way", or with milk. If you like your coffee black but not so strong you'll have to explain your dilemma and hope they have a solution (like a larger cup and more hot water) or visit one of the several American style cafes that serves a good ol' cuppa. Gary's Muffins and the Coffee Connection are two that do.
Last but not least, the Dutch like their fish. Raw. It's not exactly sushi, but if you want to try some haring (herring) with onions, there are usually fish stalls around for those who just can't get enough.. Another Dutch favorite is eel. Yummy! Zalm, (salmon) is very tasty and comes in a variety of forms.
Note: Discover the joys of Dutch cuisine, including cheese, chocolate, beer and the wonders of raw herring.
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Posted by Skip on Friday, June 15 @ 10:03:54 CEST (11299 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
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| Fast Food |
 Just
like the old Horn and Hardart automats in New York, at the Febo,
food is placed in little self-serve compartments. Good for fresh patat
frites (french fries), but you're taking your chances with anything else.
Another popular fast food chain in Amsterdam is New York City Pizza.
With a variety of toppings they're OK for a fast snack, but be wary in
off hours, sometimes the pizza can sit around for hours, and they have
to reheat it which hardly adds to the flavor.
If you have the time,
it's far better to get a really good pizza at an Italian restaurant for
around $5-$7. The most popular fast food is pomme frites, or what
we call french fries. This is the cheapest, freshest, fast food around
and it's usually excellent. They offer a variety of sauces to put
on it, including mayonaise, curry and ketchup. However the best are
the Belgian type which are usually bigger with even more sauces available.
These shops are few and usually have long lines.
Another good inexpensive meal is at any of the
Sworma or Falafel places. Vegetarians can fill up on Falafel, salads,
hummous and more while the meat eaters pig out on lamb. The Dutch
will often snack on broodjes, sandwiches on rolls with cheese, meat, fish
or salad. They don't quite measure up to american sandwiches (we
put lots more stuff on ours), but they're good in a pinch.
Note: Hungry and in a hurry? Here's some suggestions of where you might find some choice edibles, and places to avoid!
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Posted by Skip on Friday, June 15 @ 10:08:22 CEST (15225 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
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