Good Eats in Amsterdam

[markemorse]

In the interest of dividing and conquering, here's my wishlist of sit-down dinner places to try or hear about:

1) Greetje

2) Marius

3) Klein Jansen

4) Blue Pepper

5) En Route

6) Lof

7) Beddington's (more curiosity than anything)

This is pretty sad, actually. No wonder my normal dining is done standing up. Will Amsterdam ever have a Gramercy Tavern? Somewhere low-key, with great affordable wine and exciting but not overfussy food that you can eat at the bar if you like (say yes)?

mem

Edited August 2, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[Chufi]

Wishlist:

Classics:

Bordewijk

Yamazoto

Ron Blaauw (in Ouderkerk a/d Amstel, just outside Amsterdam)

Beddington's (recently re-opened but still a classic)

Marius

Mario in Neck (category 'beyond', but still close enough to Amsterdam)

Visaandeschelde (I had dinner there once a couple of years ago and wasn't overwhelmed, but I have heard great things about them recently from people I trust)

new additions:

Greetje

In De Keuken

The French Cafe

I know there are more but I can't think of them right now which is probably a good thing or I would feel pretty sorry for myself...

Edited August 1, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[FoodMuse]

Great timing for this post.

I'm considering swapping my NY apartment for an apartment in Amsterdam I'm told it's near PRINSENGRACHT 653 at MOLENPAD.

Would I be near good eats, breakfast, lunch, dinner spots? It is an apartment so probably breakfasts would be eaten in to save up $ for dinners.

Also, I've never been to Amsterdam. Is this a safe area? Keep in mind I live in New York's Hell's Kitchen, so I suppose safety is all relative and staying aware of one's surroundings is always important. I guess I'd like to know if anyone could give me a general impression of the area. Maybe it's near a tasty market.. ... she asked hopefully?

Grace

[Chufi]

Great timing for this post.

I'm considering swapping my NY apartment for an apartment in Amsterdam I'm told it's near PRINSENGRACHT 653 at MOLENPAD.

Would I be near good eats, breakfast, lunch, dinner spots? It is an apartment so probably breakfasts would be eaten in to save up $ for dinners.

Also, I've never been to Amsterdam. Is this a safe area? Keep in mind I live in New York's Hell's Kitchen, so I suppose safety is all relative and staying aware of one's surroundings is always important. I guess I'd like to know if anyone could give me a general impression of the area. Maybe it's near a tasty market.. ... she asked hopefully?

Grace

←

Hi Grace,

that location is perfect. Well, it's good! It's right in the middle of the historic center, on one of the canals. Which means it's pretty, but can also be a bit busy with tourists. We used to live on one of the canals and loved it most of the time, but eventually moved to a quieter part of the city. But, it's a great location for immersing yourself in Amsterdam atmosphere!

And yes, I would say that's a very safe area. No need to worry about that.

Amsterdam is really a small city. Get yourself a bike and most of the restaurants and markets mentioned in the other thread, The foodlovers guide to Amsterdam, are within easy reach. You won't be far from the weekly farmer's market at Noordermarkt (featured in my first eG blog, see link in my signature).

You are also near the 9 straatjes, a shopping area of 9 little connecting streets, full of boutiques, cafe's, lunchrooms, deli's etc.

And right at your doorstep is a very nice bar, cafe Het Molenpad, a typical laid-back Amsterdam cafe. I sometimes go there for coffee and to read the paper, and it has a very nice terrace on the waterfron (again, if your apartment is right above that, you would have some noise from the terrace in the summertime. Best way to solve that would be to sit on the cafe terrace yourself )

Let me know if your plans become definite, and feel free to PM me about anything not foodrelated that you'd like advice about.

Edited August 1, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[markemorse]

hi grace,

i think i'm an even bigger fan of the Molenpad cafe...i have some great half-memories there from summers past. food's not bad either.

and that area is totally safe...not a thing to worry about (he says without jinxing her at all ). biggest danger will be running into a tourist who's standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking at their map.

and i'll also extend the PM offer...my superpowers are limited mostly to questions about local music scene, squat life, immigration from the US, cheap street food, and how to cook Mexican grub in Europe.

as Klary said, let us know when your plans are definite, i'll hook you up with some good Amsterdam blog fodder...

mark

AND: i really enjoyed your squid video....as much as I love to eat them, i've never de-beaked anything and i'd like to be able to keep saying that.

Edited August 2, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[paulbrussel]

Wishlist:

Classics:

Bordewijk

Yamazoto

Ron Blaauw (in Ouderkerk a/d Amstel, just outside Amsterdam)

Beddington's (recently re-opened but still a classic)

Marius

Mario in Neck (category 'beyond', but still close enough to Amsterdam)

Visaandeschelde

Well - there are the high end restaurants on the wishlist! :-)

I would be very interested in Ron Blaauw als well as Beddington's. But the first is not very easy to reach by public transport as far as I have understood.

The new Beddingston's must be good, as I heard.

Visaandeschelde disappointed me quite much years ago, but do I understand well that is has gone up? New chef de cuisine?

[Why aren't La Rive and Vermeer on your list?]

[paulbrussel]

7) Beddington's (more curiosity than anything)

Why more curiosity? It seems to be quite good now, as it was in the past.

[markemorse]

Well, that was a totally unresearched assumption of mine...I'd heard from a couple of people that Beddington's was kind of "stuffy", and because I'd had my fill of that during my expense account years (just a personal preference, and probably the reason La Rive and Vermeer aren't on my wishlist), I'd not thought about Beddington's much. And then someone mentioned it the other day so I became curious again and added it to the wishlist...and since I posted my wishlist, I've done a little more reading about it and the atmosphere and look of the room aren't at all what I imagined. so...now i'm just plain old interested.

Edited August 2, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[paulbrussel]

You have quite clearly explained your rebirth from curious to interested... about Beddington's I mean :-)

[litho7]

Hi all,

First post. Very happy to see some food guidance. I thought this town was tiny until I see that folks are recommending great places I never heard of blocks from my front door. Hooray!

My new husband and I are putting our old dating anniversary to rest with one final fancy-pants meal so I'm grateful for the wish lists. I'm also curious but squeamish about Blue Pepper as I hear such inconsistent and mixed reviews.

I have, however, been to De Kas which we absolutely loved. It was last year's anni dinner so the details are hazy but I remember some really inventive tomatoe cumin butter starter paired with scallops as one of many crostini. Best foodie feature though was the tour of the greenhouses with one of the chefs. He saw me peeking around and offered to walk me through. I learned the Dutch names for a lot of fresh herbs and got to taste a pluck of everything we passed. The place just glows at night (it's in a greenhouse in the middle of a park) and rates very high on the gezellig list. I was not too impressed with the very limited wine list since it is a fixed menu and yet the wine pairing didn't always work. But the prep and service were really warm and pro and the food and atmosphere were great enough that Jas and I were actually willing to commit to a return visit on the spot. (We usually always want to try something new so we rarely back track).

I agree with Markemorse's chinatown synopsis. The key is really what you are craving. We are old Chicagoans and miss the spicy Szechaun. Amsterdam is a Cantonese neighborhood (even the Mandarin names I know for my fav dim sums don't help me order around here.) But if you want roast duck, homemade egg noodles, or fried tofu in a good oily brown sauce New King is the place. And Nam Kee next door has homemade shrimp dumplings (fried or in broth), and great stuffed eggplant (aubergine) and tofu. But if you miss the burning hot food of American China towns, go to one of the markets in the Nieuwemarkt and buy yourself some fresh Cilantro and some Moeder's brand "fried crisp chili oil" and stirfry up with onion, ginger, garlic and meat of choice.

Okay, I can see my novice posting ability is shining through in my extra long post. Plus now I'm craving shrimp dumplings so I'll need to stop typing and start boiling! (You can buy them in the narrow hallway store next to Lattei)

Look forward to reading more recs. Anybody have a favorite weeknight place in the Jordaan?

[markemorse]

hey litho7, don't know how i missed your post...but chufi missed it too so something weird must've transpired... sorry, hoor! welcome nonetheless...

i should have a favorite weeknight spot in the jordaan, but i don't.

I do, however, have a rather selfish and endless list of places I wonder about, but I'm not sure any of them would become "regulars"....

I won't subject you to that, but here's a couple....

I've been hearing good things about Burger's Patio for a few years now, but I've never been. I seem to be on restaurant hiatus and I've got not one idea why.

I've read a couple of good things about Uyt, too...

I wonder about Lof on the Haarlemmerstraat.

Roserijn is a nice little eetcafe on the Haarlemmerstraat...nothing at all fancy but friendly and good atmosphere.

And have you been to Yam Yam yet?

Are you looking for a slightly cool place with a nice big bar to hang out at before you eat? Or maybe you can even choose to eat at the bar? Me too. We do that at Van Kerkwijk (see this thread), but it's totally not the same thing.

Anyway, this is so much more Chufi's department than mine. We'll see what she has to say.

mark

Edited August 15, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[FoodMuse]

Thanks for so many great replies. Thought I ought to check in with this thread. As it turns out I found an apartment to swap in Paris (also where I've never been) on Rue Plumet in the Pasteur area.

Grace

[markemorse]

Hey Grace, congrats, that should be nice too.

If you end up running out of things to do in Paris (ha), we're just a short train ride away.

mark

[markemorse]

Ate at Waldorf last night with 3 friends. Waldorf is a new bar/restaurant on the Elandsgracht that is run by the owner of Bep and features Lorenzo from the Yam Yam kitchen on the food side of things. The inside is an odd mix of Amsterdam/London hip (lighting, couches) and traditional Italian trattoria (lace and floral patterns)...it's so strange that it ended up feeling refreshingly interesting to me by the time I left.

It's a very small menu, 6-8 antipasti (artichokes, Tuscan fennel salami, fresh mozzarella, bruschette); 2 salades; 5 pasta choices around 10 euro each (arabbiata, amatriciana, vongole, lasagna with wild mushrooms and zucchini, and a meat ragu; a couple of contorni (Yam Yam's sauteed spinach + garlic, roasted potatoes), and 3 desserts (coffee granita, panna cotta with strawberries, chocolate torte).

I had a totally nice evening, the atmosphere and service were great, the music was just about the best I've ever experienced in an Amsterdam bar/restaurant (quietly interesting instrumental beats), and everything about the experience was efficient but laid-back. Prices were a little expensive for what you got (example: 5 euro for 8-10 small artichoke sections).

The food. I can't say anything bad about it: it reminded me very much of my next-door neighbor's cooking in every way. Basic, reliable, well-executed Tuscan/Roman staples that really hit the spot if you're in the mood for it. I wasn't, really, at Waldorf. But it was completely well-done...everyone's pasta was tasty and the desserts were good too. They're still very new, hopefully the menu will expand a little once they feel comfortable.

So: you could do much much worse if you're in the mood for pasta and a dessert in a cool space without attitude. It's small, maybe 8 tables, so I'm sure you have to book on a weekend. We showed up at 9:30 on a Monday night and there was only one table free.

mark

Edited August 22, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[markemorse]

I should probably mention that Chufi and I (along with, among others, eGulleter etalianan and her mate) finally made our way to Greetje...I should mention it if for no other reason than to talk about a restaurant on our wishlists that we finally actually made it to....

While I would still pretty heartily recommend it to someone who was unfamiliar with Dutch food, I'm not sure that I feel a magnetic desire to eat there again. If someone invited me I would certainly be happy to go and I would look forward to the meal: it's a cozy dining room, the service was pleasant if inexperienced, and their menu was creative, refined, and emphasized regional, traditional Dutch dishes that for the most part I had never tasted. And actually I've been putting off this post b/c I felt bad being negative about the place b/c I do think their heart is in the right place and I did have a very nice evening.

But...(and you knew there was one coming)...

Without being nitpicky, I think that what the restaurant is trying to do is elevate this kind of food beyond the homecooked meal or the eetcafe. Unfortunately, my first response to the meal was "I've eaten more satisfying versions of this in people's homes and in eetcafes". There was a bit too much restraint somewhere in the kitchen.

Still, you should go there if you are interested in Dutch cooking. Although there may well be somewhere comparable, I can't think of anywhere else where you could sample such a range of (updated) traditional Dutch dishes, prepared with and presented with (maybe a little too much) care.

mark

Edited November 16, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[ravelda]

I'm treating my good wife to a mini break to Amsterdam - the first visit for both of us. We would like to try and get in at least 2 high-end dinners, a couple of high-end lunches and tehn some not to be missed dniing on a more casual scale. So, my question to you good people is - where should we go - really appreciate your advice as I have seen so many conflicting recommendations!

Thanks,

David

[markemorse]

I'm treating my good wife to a mini break to Amsterdam - the first visit for both of us.  We would like to try and get in at least 2 high-end dinners, a couple of high-end lunches and tehn some not to be missed dniing on a more casual scale.  So, my question to you good people is - where should we go - really appreciate your advice as I have seen so many conflicting recommendations!

Thanks,

David

←

Hey David, sorry I missed this over the holidays....when are you coming, and do you know what part of town you're staying in?

[John Talbott]

Caren Osten Gerszberg in today's NYT had an article that discussed shopping and eating in the Nine Streets area that mentioned the: Spoiled Denim Bar, Bertram & Brood + Pompadour Chocolaterie for light snacks, etc., and What's cooking for "culinary kitch."

[John Talbott]

May’s Bon Appetit had an article on the “Hot 10/euro bargains” that mentioned Restaurant As.