ruudmaaz.nl – The Online Grocery Store for Foodies

We have complained many times about the poor state of food stores in Amsterdam, dominated by dreaded Albert Heijn supermarkets. With the online options even more limited we often ended up zigzagging all across town to get the ingredients we wanted in many small specialty stores.

A few weeks ago we discovered online grocery store ruudmaaz.nl which quickly has changed all that!

ruudmaaz.nl is a small operation with a big dream. The name is a play on “duurzaam”, Dutch for sustainable, as Ruud Maaz is set on providing Amsterdammers with an easy way to order the tastiest foods from local producers and entirely without plastic packaging.

The basics seemed well covered. Delivery is next day during a two hour time window in the evening. The selection is great and we quickly managed to put the minimum of € 50,= worth of groceries into our shopping cart and place our first order.

The arrival of our food certainly was a happy moment. Being used to delivery by a grumpy and sweaty Albert Heijn kid, the tone was set when the delivery team rang the door bell with a big smile. It was obvious that they were completely sold on the sustainable idea and proud of the tasty groceries they had in their bag. Everything was delivered right into the kitchen which looked like we had just gotten back from the farmer’s market.

There was milk and yogurt in glass bottles from local dairy producer Weerribben Zuivel, fresh fish from Fishes who also have a store in Amsterdam, smoked salmon from our favorite Frank’s Smokehouse, individually packaged sausages and organic chicken from Amsterdam based butcher De Wit, a whole week’s supply of seasonal local fruit and much more. Basically it was like all of our favorite shops had huddled together and sent us a great package of their best foods!

We’ve quickly adopted placing orders regularly and hope that ruudmaaz.nl continues to expand while maintaining the small scale spirit!

Best Amsterdam Restaurant List Updated

Three years ago, back in January 2009, we published our first Best Amsterdam Restaurants list. It’s been a great success with more than one hundred comments and many people reporting back having had a great dinner.

The list also has stood the test of time. Surely the best restaurants in town can be expected to consistently serve great food for many years. And indeed all four restaurants on the list are still thriving.

Still, three years later it was high time for an update. Three restaurants from the original list are still featured: Balthazar’s Keuken, Marius and De Witte Uyl. Still being a fantastic location but having underperformed food wise one too many times, De Kas had to make room for two newcomers: Blauw aan de Wal and Madelief.

The new list also has pictures and full information on opening times and public transport direction. We hope you like it as much as the previous one and look forward to many comments!

Best Amsterdam Restaurants by dutchgrub.

Yet More Michelin Stars for Amsterdam

As in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the number of Amsterdam restaurants having been awarded a Michelin star has increased in 2012. And yet again, no restaurant has gone from two to three or even from one to two, but a newcomer has received a first star.

This year it was Restaurant Lastage, located in a marvelous canal house near Nieuwmarkt, that was awarded the much coveted star.

With most Michelin stars in Amsterdam still associated with hotel restaurants, it’s nice to see another independent and less formal restaurant on the list, similarly to Le Restaurant in 2010.

There is now a total of 11 stars in Amsterdam: Ciel Bleu and Ron Blaauw with two each and Aan de Poel, La Rive, Yamazato, Le Restaurant (2010), Vinkeles (2010), Vermeer (2011) and Lastage (2012) with one.

Duikelman – Kitchen Supplies Galore!

We mostly write about restaurants and food, but we’re sure all foodies will appreciate this gem in the heart of De Pijp, near the Albert Cuyp Market.

Duikelman is somewhat of a kitchen supply institution in Amsterdam, sporting an enormous collection of anything a chef would need in a charmingly packed store.

Duikelman has an amazing selection of kitchen supplies. In the main store, you will find anything from pots and pans, knives, books, food processors, espresso makers, ovenware, cutting boards to anything else required for your next cooking adventure. In each category, Duikelman has a great range of options from simple to professional, along with knowledgeable staff to help you make a choice. In a more recently opened second store across the street, Duikelman also has a great range of kitchen appliances with a focus on fancy professional equipment.

It’s quite amazing how much supply they manage to stock in their rather small store. You will understand how they do it as soon as you enter. The aisles are narrow and the shelves filled with supplies from floor to ceiling. The shop kind of meanders on, occupying additional space in the neighboring buildings and continuing much further towards the back than you would imagine.

It might take some patience and high tolerance for crowds, but Duikelman Amsterdam certainly is great fun to explore!

www.duikelman.nl
Ferdinand Bolstraat 68- 68A
1072 LM Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 (0)20 6712230
Public Transport: Trams 16 or 24 to Albert Cuyp
Merchandise: Kitchen supplies
Neighborhood: De Pijp
Vibe: Packed

Restaurante Madrid Amsterdam

We have always missed a good tapas restaurant in Amsterdam. Until we heard of Restaurante Madrid in Amsterdam West. Located on the corner of Bellamystraat and Ten Katestraat, not exactly one of the foodie neighborhoods of town, Madrid delivers: A typical Spanish interior with wooden furniture, lots of wine and ham on display and colorful artwork. A friendly Spanish waiting staff that knows and loves Spanish cuisine. A menu that has all the tapas classics as well as some lesser known specialties. And last but not least well executed dishes across the board.

On one of the few pleasant evenings of this summer, we sat outside and eagerly poured over the menu. Making decisions wasn’t easy with too many of the tapas and pinchos sounding appealing. Luckily the waitress was more than happy to help out with recommendations and while doing so also set us up with an incredibly fruity Priorat wine that wasn’t on the wine list. We love restaurants that go the extra mile to make their guests happy and Restaurante Madrid certainly came through!

As for the tapas, we went with a large selection to share and let us sample as many as possible. We especially liked the classics. The Iberico ham was very smooth, the bacalao had great flavor and the patatas bravas a perfect sauce. Of the specials, the marinated pork with white beans and the chorizo in dough hit the spot.

Over a second bottle of the Priorat we started chatting with the next table, a group of Spaniards living in the neighborhood that had discovered Restaurante Madrid recently and quickly became regulars. When leaving, they asked us to keep the secret about this great restaurant as to not spoil a good thing.

www.restaurantemadrid.nl
Bellamystraat 11
1053BM Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 (0)20 4899375
Public Transport: Trams 7 or 17 to Ten Katestraat
Cuisine: Tapas
Neighborhood: West
Vibe: Tasteful
Price: €50 per person

The Lovefood Brunch Juggernaut

What started out of love for sausage and traditional brunch dishes, mixed with a complete lack thereof in Amsterdam, has turned into one of the hottest food tickets in town. Reservations for the monthly Lovefood brunches now sell out in minutes. And there is a buzz of excitement amongst the lucky few while they wait outside for their table on the day of the event.

Creative brain and part-time chef Jason Hartley started Lovefood in 2009. Then held at Café Finch and later at Café Bax, the first brunches drew a crowd of expats and their friends, looking to trade Dutch pancakes and hagelslag for sausage and beans for one lazy Sunday morning. Over here at dutchgrub we loved the idea immediately and quickly included Lovefood on our list of best Amsterdam brunches.

A lot has happened since and we were delighted when Jason reached out to invite us over for brunch so that we could try out the new and improved Lovefood and share our thoughts on the dutchgrub blog.

And Lovefood has come a long way. The monthly brunches now take place at Brasserie Vlaming, a larger space with open kitchen on Prinsengracht. There is a professional website and very active Facebook page. The menu has a lot more options. And most importantly the cooking and waiting staff have improved a lot, running a smooth operation while cranking out some 130 brunches in 3 staggered shifts.

The menu has all the brunch classics: pancakes, eggs of all shapes and sizes, French toast, burritos and two full breakfasts called “The Beast” and “The Full Mikey”. Just like two years ago, we loved our Beast, which hit the spot with sausage, beans, pudding and tomato. The self-proclaimed “most American of the table” was happy to report the same about the Full Mikey with bacon, pancakes, scrambled eggs and hash browns. It’s obvious that Jason loves food and puts incredible effort into finding the best ingredients needed to turn these simple, timeless dishes into everybody’s favorite meal!

Jason has big plans and wants to expand Lovefood in multiple directions, possibly including selling artisanal food products and extending the brunches to a daily format. It will be great to see where Lovefood is headed and we would love to see it open every day of the month. We hope that when expanding, Lovefood will stay true to its roots. My beast started showing a few signs of turning into a beauty, of which there already are too many in Amsterdam…

For now, keep an eye on the website or Facebook page for the next Lovefood date. And make sure you get your reservation early as tables will go within minutes.

www.jasonslovefood.com
Currently taking place at Brasserie Vlaming, Prinsengracht 193 1015 DS Amsterdam
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Jason.Hartleys.lovefood
Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/lovefood_jason
Public Transport: Trams 1, 2, 5, 13, or 17 to Nieuwezijds Kolk, or trams 3 or 10 to Marnixplein
Cuisine: Brunch
Neighbourhood: Canals
Vibe: Trendy
Price: €25 per person