food Archives - Page 4 of 13

Oliebollen – A Dutch New Year’s Treat

New Year’s Eve is approaching fast and the oliebollen street vendors have returned to the popular corners of Amsterdam to sell their greasy winter treats.

oliebollen - street vendor

The Dutch love their oliebollen, which translates to oil balls. And for good reason. The balls are deep fried by the street vendors in their stalls and you will be sucked in by the sweet and greasy smell from far away. The dough is made mostly of eggs and flour, with some yeast, milk and baking powder to give the balls a fairly puffy texture. They are then deep fried golden brown and served warm. The plain variety is most common and usually garnished with vast amounts of powdered sugar that will be all over you when you take a good bite out of your oily goodness. Olibollen with raisins are also popular.

Today, oliebollen are available throughout the winter. But traditionally they were had on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the new year with a glass of champagne. And to this day, December 31st appears to be some sort of frying contest. Besides the street vendors, all bakeries will bring large fryers out onto the sidewalk in front of their stores and hire extra staff to fry and sell massive amounts of oliebollen to people lining up. You usually get a discount for buying a dozen of balls and most New Year’s parties will be severely overstocked…

oliebollen - display oliebollen - with powdered sugar

Winter Parade Amsterdam

De Parade is a popular yearly theater festival with focus on food and drinks. The shows take place in tents, built around a central market square of bars and restaurants.

The main event takes place in the summer in Martin Luther King park. Since it’s so popular, the organizers have added a winter edition. Winter Parade will be held in the Westergasfabriek from December 16 to 26.

The format is slightly different in the winter due to the restricted space indoors. Instead of being able to choose your shows, you will buy one ticket for general admission and all shows of the evening. Food and drink is extra and like in the summer, there is an interesting kitchen lineup including an oyster bar, a stamppot kitchen and a slow food central.

winter parade amsterdam

Vleminckx – The Best French Fries in Amsterdam

Named after the French and invented by the Belgians, the Dutch certainly love their fries no less than these nations and make and consume them in masses. Many restaurants serve them as a side dish and there is a snack bar with French Fries on just about every corner.

But where can you find the best French Fries in Amsterdam? Somewhat surprisingly, but undisputedly, hole-in-the-wall Vleminckx on Voetboogstraat makes the most delicious fries in my city, and possibly in the whole world.

Vleminckx is amazing and certainly deserves its spot on dutchgrub’s best authentic Dutch restaurants in Amsterdam list. It’s basically a small kitchen with a window through which the fries are sold. The first thing you will see, is a long line of people waiting for their fries. The wait is never short and always worth it. And the kitchen is buzzing with washing, peeling, cutting, frying and double frying of the French Fries, which is kind of fun to watch while lining up.

vleminckx french fries amsterdam - hole-in-the-wall

The fires are large, golden and crispy on the outside and hot and steamy on the inside. They are served in a paper cone with a large selection of sauces including tomato ketchup, curry and mayonnaise, as well as adventurous concoctions such as a mixture of raw onions and peanut sauce called “oorlog”, Dutch for war.

Vleminckx is open until 6pm daily. So if you’re in town shopping, drop by and get in line for a real Dutch treat of delicious home made fries!

vleminckx french fries amsterdam - cone of fries

Impressions of Pure Markt Amsterdam

Pure Markt in Park Frankendael is one the most fun markets in Amsterdam. Every last Sunday of the month it brings together a wide variety of local artisanal food producers to sell their produce amongst much sampling and expert talk.

Unfortunately, the Pure Markt goes into hibernation in November and you’ll have to wait until March 2010 for the next edition. Here are a few pictures from the last edition in October to keep you interested until next year.

The Glühbier caught my eye because it was so random, but I refrained from it since lots of Glühwein will be coming my way in December.

Pure Markt Amsterdam 2009 - Glühbier

The pork cut chart is by the Berkshire Butcher who makes amazing sausages.

Pure Markt Amsterdam 2009 - Berkshire Butcher

And I had tried and liked the crêpes and galettes from a real French chef and his Crêpes-Mobiel before and had to go for a galette with truffles, walnuts and gruyère.

Pure Markt Amsterdam 2009 - Galettes

Taste of Okura – Culinary Workshops

TheAmsterdam Okura hotel, home of Michelin star restaurants Ciel Bleu and Yamazota is launching an exciting new concept for foodies. “Taste of Okura” is a series of workshops in Japanese, French and International cooking. The workshops will be held in a brand new kitchen and wine room.

The workshops take place in the evening or on the weekend. Price varies according to theme, from € 45 for a wine or sake tasting to € 130 for a Ciel Bleu inspired Michelin style cook off.

Amsterdam Chocolate Festival

amsterdam chocolate festival 2009 Saturday 7 November will see the opening of the 2nd edition of CHOCA, a festival organized by the chocolate industry to “inspire and innovate”…

I’m not so sure about the whole inspiration mission, but there sure are a lot of chocolate themed events. For two weeks, from November 7 to 22 there will be chocolate parties, bike tours to chocolate destinations, workshop, parades and much more.

Many restaurants and bars also participate with special chocolate themed menus. For example, friendly restaurant Bloesem in the Jordaan has a four course menu that pairs scallops with a white chocolate reduction and deer with chocolate sauce. And new top restaurant Neva in the Hermitage museum has an equally ambitious menu with chocolate jelly risotto and their own version of chocolate covered deer. Not up for chocolate menus? Then why not try a chocolate liqueur at legendary distillery Wynand Fockink?