November 2009 - Page 2 of 3

Praise for Amsterdam Restaurants

The end of the year is award time, also in food circles. The “Lekker Top 500 Restaurants” of the Netherlands magazine hit the shelves earlier this week and the “Bib Gourmand Benelux (Dutch)” will be available as of tomorrow.

Lekker ranks Dutch restaurants from 1 to 500, declaring a winner and a top 10. Amsterdam is home to eleven of the top 100, including Michelin stars Aan de Poel, Ciel Bleu, La Rive, Ron Blaauw and Yamazato. Up and coming Le Restaurant in Latin Quarter De Pijp is at number 99.

The Bib Gourmand Benelux, Michelin’s price for value list and breeding ground for future Michelin stars, lists 93 restaurants in the Netherlands of which 10 in Amsterdam.

No Amsterdam restaurant made both lists, with obviously the Michelin stars not eligible for the Bib Gourmand list. Also none of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Restaurants made either list. They tend to be smaller and more personal with a less traditionally French menu that mixes different cuisines.

On November 23rd the Michelin stars for the Netherlands will be announced to round off the award period.

Poor Service in Amsterdam Restaurants

employees must wash hands The New York food scene is the best in the world, so this foodie likes to keep an eye on what’s cooking in the big apple. This weekend an article in the New York Times about “One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do” caught my eye.

Service in Amsterdam restaurants often is poor. And I am frequently struck by the rather pretentious behavior of many Amsterdam waiters that make you feel that you’re lucky being served at all, that your presence is causing them all sorts of unexpected troubles, and is terribly untimely and utterly inconvenient.

I guess the publication of this list means that not everything is perfect in New York. But at least people still complain and try to change the situation. In Amsterdam, people pretty much got used to poor service and just put up with it. Where, for example, rule number 3 of the New York Times article urges to “Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived”, Amsterdam has restaurants like L’Angoletto that make it a house rule. And you’re lucky if waiters fix your table upon request as opposed to the very reasonable rule number 5 that “Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated”.

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?

Best Authentic Dutch Restaurants in Amsterdam

My lists of “Best Amsterdam Restaurants”, “Best Amsterdam Pizza” and “Best Amsterdam Terraces” are very popular. And since people often ask me for recommendations of typical local cuisine, I put together a list of “Best Authentic Dutch Restaurants” in Amsterdam.

I was a little torn about this list since, frankly, I am unimpressed about Dutch cuisine and there are better, non local food options in Amsterdam. But of course there is good authentic Dutch food in Amsterdam and I want to help you find the best pancakes, rijsttafel or French fries.

The list is broad, ranging from French fries on the street to high-end dining and from regional farmer’s fare from North Holland to exotic rijsttafels from Indonesia. Please check out dutchgrub’s “Best Authentic Dutch Restaurants” in Amsterdam and tell us about your Dutch food experiences in the comments!

No Dining With the Stars…

Two weeks ago I wrote about “Dining With the Stars”, a restaurant week special for Michelin star restaurants only. As I suspected, getting a reservation is next to impossible. On 3 November, 1 day before the opening of reservations for the general public, all Amsterdam Michelin stars and all three star restaurants are fully booked.

This foodie did manage to get a table for lunch at La Rive and is super excited about it! How did I manage to get a reservation? Don’t ask…

Lekker Top Ten Dutch Restaurants

lekker top 500 dutch restaurants guide Lekker is a printed restaurant guide with an influential yearly top 500 restaurants of the Netherlands list. The 2010 edition will go on sale mid November, but apparently top 10 apparently has already leaked out (Dutch).

Long time favorites Oud Sluis in Sluis and De Librije in Zwolle are still numbers one and two.

And after not having been represented in the top 10 of the previous edition, Amsterdam is back. Michelin starred restaurant La Rive in the Amstelhotel has climbed 3 spots from number 11 to number 8!