markemorse

Hmmm, maybe it's just wishful thinking because I'm headed out there in a couple weeks, but this is looking like Arizona to me. I'm guessing molto e?

The problem with bland, mediocre chains like PF Changs, Olive garden or any other one care's to mention is that they tend to celebrate their very mediocrity. People, especially visitors, tend to choose the known mediocrity over the unknown, thereby eventually putting the unknown (good, bad or indifferent) out of business. Chains like this tend to perpetuate soul-less homogeneity and reduce the chances of finding a meal with character and substance from coast to coast, so even though locals may benefit economically just as much as with a non-chain restaurant, they lose so much more in terms of local character. ← thank you, docsconz...well said.

Wow, super jealous. Great photos as usual! Thanks for the report...

I know this is late, but Chufi I might try port salut in the future as a sub for Monterey Jack...it melts similarly and has a similarly mild/neutral flavor....

...no reason to get rid of the mint, I say: shrimp, mint, tomatillo, and chipotle are very kind to each other. just scatter a touch of mint over top before serving maybe?

Oh goodness, am I missing Siena. We lived in an amazing apt on Il Campo for several months while we were learning Italian... Hope you got to taste some ricciarelli while you were there...one of the things I miss most. That and the rosticceria where we used to pick up arancini and fried polenta after school.... Thanks for the great trip report! mark

We have food shops in Amsterdam that aren't nearly as well-stocked as your kitchen. Incredible!

all of this unpleasantness has convinced me to go downstairs to the grocery store and pick up some of this week's special: Fourmette Croix de Chazelles: raw cow milk blue cheese from Auvergne...and enjoy the danger while I still can.

all in a day's work, my friend...

Hey Christopher.... That's a pretty tough one...it's not really an ideal time slot, is it...basically you need to be sitting down and eating between 3 and 6...leaving enough time for someone on crutches to get to and from Schiphol (at rush hour). So this kind of eliminates anywhere "nice" for dinner, most places open at 6pm. And the Central Station area (as in most large cities) is not known for its casual-but-sophisticated eateries. It is pretty easy to hop on a tram or bus at CS and get anywhere in the city relatively quickly...but I'm not going to be the one responsible for sending someone on crutches all over town if it were me I'd try and keep it laid back and on foot anyway. I think I would stick to the Zeedijk/Chinatown/Nieuwmarkt area. Most of the eateries are open all afternoon, and if you find you have some extra time to kill there are some great bars intermingled with the eatin'. Here are my recommendations: sit-down eating A*Fusion Kind of a pan-Asian place that does a lot of things pretty well. I used to eat here quite a bit but it's been two years or so. New King. Good Cantonese...great oysters with black bean sauce (pictured upthread). Bird. better than average Thai food, you've got the option of a very crowded snackbar or not-so crowded restaurant (same name) across the street. Nam Kee. The most famous restaurant in Chinatown...still affordable, ugly, and indifferent, but good food. I prefer New King by a nose or two. Wing Kee. Another good Chinese, not much to look at, but none of the Zeedijk Chinese are. Sukasari. This is the closest reputable Indonesian to CS I believe, and is located in the center of a hellish tourist street (which I used to live on). If you're looking for a rijsttafel I think this is your best bet, though it's just about at the outer limit of walking-on-crutches distance. Bunga Mawar. Another Indonesian, much closer than Sukasari but I've never eaten there because I've never seen anyone else eating there. But it does get decent reviews, and is very affordable. Aneka Rasa. Another Indonesian possibility, again I haven't tried it but reviews are consistently above average. Note that they don't open til 5pm. takeaway Nyonya Malaysia Express. Get a roti canai here and eat it anywhere else but here. This would be the first thing I'd do in the neighborhood, as I've probably already said too many times. Toko Joyce. Takeaway Dutch-Indonesian sandwiches and noodle dishes. Chang Express. Takeway Surinamese food, a broodje pom or roti lams would be good interesting options. Also: there's a haring stand on the Nieuwmarkt square, decent place for a haring or some kibbeling (fried cod or pollock). drinking 't Loosje, Nieuwmarkt 32- 34 (good terrace, good place to find local microbrewery IJ beers on tap) De Engelbewaarder, Kloveniersburgwal 59 (also a good terrace, my first amsterdam local, just a good place to hang) Cafe Fonteyn, Nieuwmarkt 13-15 (better on sunny days, but inside is ok too) Cafe Stevens, Geldersekade 123 (When picturing this bar I always confuse it with Cafe Fonteyn but they're both pleasant...i think i prefer the interior of Stevens) In 't Aepjen, Zeedijk 1 (no music, good for reading and drinking jenever). and several more good bars on the northern end of the Zeedijk itself whose names escape me at the moment.

I've made both of these recipes from this website and I agree completely, they're good (although when cooking for European guests I find that their scotch bonnet quantities need to be dialed back a notch or two)....cute videos as well. mark

It looks like a bus station or post office....some kind of government building.

How much oil are you using so that you can have leftover oil? When I roast cauliflower...there is no oil left in the pan. I barely use 1-2tbl for a large head. ← Mmm, yes...that won't really generate leftovers. We probably use 1/4 cup for an average head and up to 1/2 cup for a big head. This sounds like a lot, but most of it stays in the roasting pan (thus the leftover oil discussion)...And I think I'd rather err on the side of too moist...nothing worse than having your darkest bits all dry and shriveled.

Thought I'd share something else we're doing with this dish....don't think it's been mentioned yet: We've been saving the leftover post-cooking olive/cauliflower oil, refrigerating it, and using it to dress pasta the next day for dinner or lunch. So, for example, we just eat the cauliflower itself as a side the night it's cooked, reserve the oil, and then for lunch the next day it's penne with tuna, roasted cauliflower oil, pine nuts and capers...good stuff! mark

Very excited about this blog, and learning about a country reasonably close by that I know absolutely nothing about, food-wise. And nami-nami looks great too... Blog on!

The bar is In de Wildeman (link). Great bar...I had my first Rodenbach Grand Cru here, a really unusual "sour ale" from Belgium that very few brewers make these days (apparently its subcategory is "Flanders Red Ale"). Hopefully this stop amply fortified you for further research.... ETA: I should mention that I'm answering for Klary b/c I think she left for her Italian vacation this morning, probably won't hear from her til she gets back... +++

Goodness, great photos of places I've only heard about! Well, one place. But that's a 50% unvisited place rate thus far....looking forward to more....

Oops, simultaneous posting. You were lucky to catch a glimpse of some blue sky......

Vondelpark? Blauwe Theehuis?

We have a winner. It was supposed to be red velvet cake, but it quickly became known as the "meat cake". Mara tried to surprise me for my first birthday in Amsterdam with a homemade red velvet cake, but we'd just moved here and didn't have anything in our apartment (no round cake pans) and couldn't find red food coloring anywhere. The internets told her that she could use beets or beet juice to achieve the desired redness. They neglected to mention that the beet juice would alter the texture of the cake in the direction of, say...a Jello/raw beef tenderloin hybrid, featuring a shiny and reflective surface and waxy interior not unlike a adzuki bean jelly. Which is fine...unless you're expecting red velvet cake. The only upside here was that we didn't actually bring this cake out in public and cut it in front of our new Dutch friends...thankfully we made the initial incision at home and then just shrieked in terror as it sat there exposed and oozing. It was hideous. The icing, on the other hand, was fan-fkn-tastic. +++ ETA: The details keep coming to us...we just remembered the incredible heaviness of this cake...lethally dense. Completely non-cake-like. Meaty. Utterly nightmarish.

This dish has become a bit of a legend in our house...I didn't think we had any pictures of it at all, so finding these incredibly crappy photos was actually a real coup. Any idea what this was supposed to be?

Yeah, I think this was the case when I was there too...quiet and kinda empty. But as Jason said, the service was perfect. And the food was sophisticated and well-executed. And I didn't mean to imply any sort of correlation between hipness and fun, or discomfort and reverence...I just didn't really like the feel of the place.

My least favorite thing about Lampreia was the room itself...not romantic or even especially inviting. There was an element of stuffiness, or boring reverence, or something that just wasn't fun. Fine food. Not sure I'd go back (on a date) given Seattle's other options. +++

Just stumbled across this thread while looking for tempeh recipes...and goodness, my pantry moths don't seem so bad all of the sudden. Best of luck to everyone who's unexpectedly found themselves in the tropics... Carry on...

Glad you guys have found a local Indonesian that sounds (and looks) like the real thing...congratulations! I'm curious, does anyone know where the owner is from? I ask because the sign out front identifies Hardena as a "warung/waroeng", which over here typically signifies that the food has a Javanese or Surinamese focus...