The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam

[Chufi]

And for my next question....

Is it possible to find cider (sweet, that is to say non-alcoholic) in Amsterdam? It's just not fall w/out some nice, fresh cider...

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Oh, and please all join me for a moment of silence. Last Sunday was the final Gelato day in Utrecht. All the good stands are closed for the winter.

Farewell Roberto, until April/May...

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IlCuoco,

I've no idea!! I don't think the Dutch know much about cider! maybe you could try one of the health food stores (natuurwinkels?)

or one of the expat stores, Eichholz in Leidsestraat or the one on Sarphatipark 114.

Good luck!

[markemorse]

And for my next question....

Is it possible to find cider (sweet, that is to say non-alcoholic) in Amsterdam? It's just not fall w/out some nice, fresh cider...

-------------------------

Oh, and please all join me for a moment of silence. Last Sunday was the final Gelato day in Utrecht. All the good stands are closed for the winter.

Farewell Roberto, until April/May...

←

IlCuoco,

I've no idea!! I don't think the Dutch know much about cider! maybe you could try one of the health food stores (natuurwinkels?)

or one of the expat stores, Eichholz in Leidsestraat or the one on Sarphatipark 114.

Good luck!

←

Mr. Cuoco, hi there....

The Natuurwinkel/Demeter/BioMarkt chain in Amsterdam has at least one apple beverage that I think could be called cider, but there's nothing that's exactly like American cider....these are lighter in color, and seem to taste a bit more like fresh apples to me. our Avondmarkt also sells a couple of German ciders, both rather light in color.

good luck!

mark

Edited October 17, 2007 by markemorse (log)

[Betamax]

Since this is the spot for food in Amsterdam, a question: anyone been to Burgermeester on the Albert Cuypstraat? Been dying to go and try their burgers for some time, but there always seems to be something coming up and I don't go. The reviews at Iens are pretty good. Opinions from fellow Amsterdammers?

[markemorse]

Since this is the spot for food in Amsterdam, a question: anyone been to Burgermeester on the Albert Cuypstraat? Been dying to go and try their burgers for some time, but there always seems to be something coming up and I don't go. The reviews at Iens are pretty good. Opinions from fellow Amsterdammers?

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Hi Betamax! Klary went to Burgermeester a while back, and wrote about it upthread.

[Betamax]

Ah, totally missed it. Cheers, Mark.

[Chufi]

Welcome, Betamax! I hope you'll share some of your amsterdam recommendations with us!

[Betamax]

I've been to Café Potgieter, at the Potgieterstraat in Oud-West, a couple of times lately. Really nice bistro food in a brown pub ambiance. Good produce, nice prices. Don't expect haute cuisine, but good comfort grub. The chef comes to your table and tells about the specials. Excellent for a no-nonsense meal.

[IlCuoco]

Another Utrecht update....

Amberes on the Burgermeester Reigerstraat.

I had the opportunity to eat there a few weeks back with some friends. A great meal. The menu trended towards light meats (rabbit, pork) and fish and everything was both fresh and very tasty.

Decor is clean and modern, ambient noise is quite reasonable (soft jazz on the stereo, walls are warm enough to soak up the sound of other diners). Their cheese selection is amazing (they get it from Hoofdt across the street, those guys know their cheese). All in all, a very good meal and well worth a trip out.

Also, any place where the chef where's a Velvet Underground shirt is ok with me.

[Lonja]

Mouthwatering, all of this blog. Wish we didn't live so far away (Australia). Love it when people write to say they'll pop over for the weekend!

[markemorse]

Another Utrecht update....

Amberes on the Burgermeester Reigerstraat.

I had the opportunity to eat there a few weeks back with some friends. A great meal. The menu trended towards light meats (rabbit, pork) and fish and everything was both fresh and very tasty.

Decor is clean and modern, ambient noise is quite reasonable (soft jazz on the stereo, walls are warm enough to soak up the sound of other diners). Their cheese selection is amazing (they get it from Hoofdt across the street, those guys know their cheese). All in all, a very good meal and well worth a trip out.

Also, any place where the chef where's a Velvet Underground shirt is ok with me.

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Wow, this is exactly the kind of restaurant i've been looking for this week in Amsterdam....their menu looks really interesting. i assume they're dinner only?

And has anyone been to Bis in Utrecht? Got in-laws in town and need to find an Utrecht lunch spot with a low-key vibe and something a little beyond the typical lunch sandwich options....

mem

Edited December 21, 2007 by markemorse (log)

[Chufi]

Had a lovely lunch at Gartine today, a little lunch/tearoom in the city center (it's in a little alley off Kalverstraat).

They have delicious sandwiches, cakes, salads and some hot dishes like soup, quiche etc. Lovely decor and great service, friendly but restrained if that makes any sense.

They have their own vegetable garden outside Amsterdam and in spring and summer most of their fresh produce comes from that garden, ofcourse in the middle of winter, not so much (although the jams etc they serve are homemade from their own fruits).

It's tiny and always busy, so reservations are recommended although we did see a couple of walkins who got a table anyway.

Some of their ingredients are Slow Food foods (a special kind of sausage, farmers cheese etc).

I had a sandwich with a special kind of Dutch bacon (katenspek) and a picallili cream sauce, my friend had a sandwich with farmers brie, pruneaux d'Agen and walnuts.

They're open for breakfast too and I have to say, chocolate brioche with lemoncurd sounds very good....

Edited January 5, 2008 by Chufi (log)

[miladyinsanity]

I'm going to be in Amsterdam for a weekend starting the 31st of this month--it's all rush-rush, because I wasn't planning to go, originally.

I don't know where I'm going to be staying yet, but I do know what I want to do:

1. A good rijstaffel

2. Home-style Dutch meal

3. Good patisserie

4. I need to buy stroopwaffels. They should be fine if I send them through the post, right? And which ones should I get?

For the first three, I'm just going to run through what's already in the pages here (thanks to everybody who's contributed so much!), but I could use some specific help regarding the last one.

Thanks!

[markemorse]

hi miladyinsanity,

nice one. i do think we can probably still help you with the first three things on your list once we know what 'hood you'll be in....

as for stroopwafels, I imagine Chufi should have the definitive word on this since I'm no expert...but if I were buying stroopwafels here, I'd:

1) get one pack of "textbook" stroopwafels, the ones you see everywhere. I enjoy Albert Heijn's just fine (they're the ubiquitous grocery chain in town).

2) go to a bakery like Lanskroon and buy some "homemade" ones.

3) go to the Albert Cuypmarkt and get a fresh hot one from the stroopwafel guy.

all but the last should ship fine I think.

BTW, i just checked out your blog(s), good reading there...

Edited January 9, 2008 by markemorse (log)

[etalanian]

You should contact Chufi - she does these amazing tours of the food places, and she took us to some wonderful bakeries and pastry shops.

Eileen

[MelissaH]

You should contact Chufi - she does these amazing tours of the food places, and she took us to some wonderful bakeries and pastry shops.

Eileen

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Definitely contact Chufi. We did a market tour with her, and it was the best day we spent in Amsterdam. She knows everything there is to know about marketing there!

MelissaH

[Chufi]

as for stroopwafels, I imagine Chufi should have the definitive word on this since I'm no expert...but if I were buying stroopwafels here, I'd:

1) get one pack of "textbook" stroopwafels, the ones you see everywhere. I enjoy Albert Heijn's just fine (they're the ubiquitous grocery chain in town).

2) go to a bakery like Lanskroon and buy some "homemade" ones.

3) go to the Albert Cuypmarkt and get a fresh hot one from the stroopwafel guy.

←

well, yeah, what he said!

[IlCuoco]

Consider this an "Around Amsterdam" update....

I recently relocated to Haarlem (from Utrecht) and while I've not really been hitting the restaurants much, I have been cooking a ton and thought I'd give a bit of an overview. As always, my personal opinion, take it for what it's worth, your mileage may vary, etc.

The Good:

-Fish - some lovely stalls on market day featuring fresh fish. The best is found on the botermarkt near my favorite ME/North African grocery. Great fresh fish, they'll trim it to order if you like and generally stay away from pre-sliced or -filleted portions. Not a bad selection of shellfish either (even clams some weeks). Prices are nice and the folks selling really seem to want to be helpful.

-Produce - from the ME markets to the stalls on Saturday, there is a ton of lovely, fresh produce. Some places even bring in some interesting stuff (found both blood oranges and meyer lemons the other day, been using them to sauce all that lovely, fresh fish).

-French wine - I'll list a couple of spots below but I've found several wine shops in the center that all have both good selection and very knowledgeable staff. They all deliver, which is nice and they generally have a bottle open on any given day for sampling. If I have a general complaint, it's that special orders are...um...not welcome (I know, I know, welcome to Holland. Still I was spoiled by the service in Utrecht).

The "neit so lekker":

-Italian groceries and wine - Apart from one ME Grocery store and a VERY expensive stall on Saturdays, it's pretty hard to find nice canned tomatoes, Italian dried pasta, polenta, etc. on a regular basis. As for Italian wines...good luck. This place is French central as far as grapey goodness goes (onomatopoeia. I love it).

-Chocolate, baking stuff - can't find good chocolate (in a form for use) anywhere in town. It's sad, really. Also, not much available in the way of good vanilla extracts, etc.

Some spots I've found, should you find yourself here..

Wine

-Okhuysen (Gierstraat) - Outstanding selection of French wine from all over with a staff that, for the most part, knows their business. I particularly like the fact that they'll make good selections based on your budget (unlike some places that either always try to upsell or constantly assume you want the least expensive wine possible). They specialize in Bordeaux and their selection is formidable.

-Wijnkelder de Bergplaats (Koningstraat) - This place is really fun. A small cellar shop that specialized in Burgundy (indeed, my very unscientific review of the place puts a good 75% of the total stock being strictly Burgundy with the rest either Loire or Alsace). It's clearly a labor of love as the owner (one Mr Frans Tegel) is more than happy to reminisce about where he found a given bottle and is enthusiastic in his recommendations. It's also the kind of place where he'll open a bottle or two just to let you try out something interesting (he opened up a Grand Cru Pommard just because I was curious and was not at all put out when I didn't buy it). It's a sideline business (upstairs he and his wife run a shop selling vintage glassware) and it's a lot of fun. I buy all my burgundy there now and always enjoy it. They also sell a couple of Marks and a nice Creme de Cassis if that's your thing

-There's a lovely place for beer and whiskey right by the Botermarkt but the name is lost to me right now. I'll update later. Suffice to say that it's selection is both vast and wonderful (although no match for Bert's Bierhuis, the best beer shop I've been in on this side of the Atlantic Ocean).

Meat

-Broekhof (Kruisstraat) - Small, family owned, incredibly expensive. This is considered the best butcher in town with good reason. You order it, they cut it. They can give you the history of any piece of product they sell. Also, they sell home-made stock and demi (frozen) and will custom order specialty items. The downside (apart from the prices) is that things like flank streak are considered custom cuts. All things being equal, I suspect I'll be heading back to my butcher in Utrecht once I get may car sorted...

-Mabrouk (Botermarkt) - ...except when I go here. This is a small middle eastern grocery which features an in-house halaal butcher. They are VERY proud of their meat (when I first went in and asked if they provided meat, the man at the till placed my purchases to the side and walked me over for a tour). Good beef, lamb and veal, nice chicken and lovely rabbit. Also, as a bonus, really nice produce and a fair selection of Mediterranean dry goods. One of my favorite all-purpose grocery stores in town.

Cooking Gear

-Huismuis - expensive, staffed with folks who, for the most part, consider customer service to be on par with cancer (i've never gotten an answer to any request beyond "this is what we have" it's almost Soviet) but pretty well stocked (missing some obvious stuff). I personally don't like the place and, for the prices they charge you could probably simply pay to have your own pots and pans custom crafted. Avoid.

-Koekstyl (Zijlweg) - Small and cramped and run by a friendly couple. Not the greatest selection but they have all the basics and will happily point you towards places in town that have what you need (it is thanks to them that I found both the good fish place and a couple of tokos), it's not bad and it's probably the best in town but, honestly, either head to Amsterdam or to Betsie's in Utrecht if you need serious gear. Still, this place will do for most of your basics.

Coffee while you shop

-I'm sure it's a chain but Anne and Max's makes a great coffee, lovely sandwiches and some pretty fair cake. The crowds attest to it's quality but the wait is worth it.

Anyway, I'll share more as I learn.

[markemorse]

The "neit so lekker":

-Italian groceries and wine - Apart from one ME Grocery store and a VERY expensive stall on Saturdays, it's pretty hard to find nice canned tomatoes, Italian dried pasta, polenta, etc. on a regular basis. As for Italian wines...good luck. This place is French central as far as grapey goodness goes (onomatopoeia. I love it).

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Thanks for the update....as for Italian stuff, keep checking the little Turkish/Moroccan places you come across, I've been surprised by how many of them here in town carry good Italian canned tomatoes and interesting pasta varieties...

mark

[IlCuoco]

and Arm and Hammer baking powder for whatever reason....face it, between the ME shops and the Toko's, you can get almost anything...

[Brian B]

I have just started to sell organic olives and delicatessa on the buttermarkt on fridays,but also stock rustichella pasta,and really good italian jarred tomato sauces,if your around call down to the stall. Was there on good friday and it snowed on and off all morning,was so cold the oil in the marinades for the olives set hard. Have not had time to look around but will try to follow up some of your suggestions,good coffee is always worth seeking in Holland.

[zora]

I just fell down the rabbit hole reading this entire thread--fabulous recommendations of exactly the kind of food I want to know more about in Amsterdam (sweets and Indonesian takeaway!). I will start eating first thing tomorrow morning!

[Chufi]

Hi Zora,

thanks for waking me (and this thread) up.

Looking at the thread one would think I didn't eat or buy any food in Amsterdam for months.. but I did, I've just been really lazy with the updates.

I'm going to flip through my calendar, dig up some notes, and add some posts...

[Chufi]

Good news: one of my favorite places for inexpensive, delicious Turkish food Orontes (Albert Cuypstraat 40) has opened a second restaurant on the Hugo de Grootplein. So far their webiste does not list the address or opening hours, but it's hard to miss on the roundabout which is de Hugo de Groot PLein (west of the Jordaan area, and you can reach it with tram 3). It's a bit rooomier than the Albert Cuyp one, with a very nice terrace outside for summer eating. The menu is exactly the same: great mezze (don't miss the octopus/dill salad) and beautiful grilled meats.

[Chufi]

I also think I forgot to mention my dinner at the French Cafe a couple of months ago.The French Cafe, just behind Albert Cuyp market.

Traditional French food (great steak tartare!) oysters, duck and foie gras. Nice atmosphere, great service and food that is reliable and good. A sure bet for a nice evening out.

[markemorse]

In less good news, Los Pilones (discussed upthread) has opened up a second location in the Jordaan, and it kind of forgets to include many of the things that were good about the original Los Pilones: dark but festive atmosphere, a usable bar at which one might spend an afternoon tequila-sampling....and most importantly, serious Mexican food. The chicken mole has changed quite dramatically, still vaguely mole-tasting, but a pale shadow of its former self.

Haven't been to the original location in years, but firsthand reports suggest that the same decline is afoot there. Bummer!

+++

Edited June 24, 2008 by markemorse (log)