Month: February 2010

Why Amsterdam Expats Hate Albert Heijn

Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands and very much dominates the grocery business in Amsterdam. While most Dutch people happily do their groceries at AH, which is considered the upscale food source in the Netherlands, many expats develop a deep hate of their omnipresent stores.

So when I recently discovered the “I hate Albert Heijn” blog I thought I should share it with you. It might sound crazy that – as the blog states – stores are filthy, day-to-day items are frequently out of stock or that AH forces you to buy their own label and keeps phasing out your trusted brands. Unfortunately it’s true and I have even seen the pigeons in the store as depicted last week’s post.

i hate albert heijn blog

Valentine's Day in Amsterdam

valentine's day cookiesI think Amsterdam is a great destination for Valentine’s Day with its pretty canals, little bridges and picturesque old houses. Not surprisingly, the tourist industry is doing its best to promote the event pitching visits to the flower market, horse carriage rides, dinner cruises on the canals and diamond factory visits. And also not surprisingly, these are rather fake than romantic.

Since I got several questions and also a comment about my Valentine’s day recommendations for Amsterdam, I decided to post a few more genuine and naturally food oriented suggestions for some romance in the Dam.

As always, my list of best Amsterdam restaurants is a great starting point. While De Kas is big and classy and Balthazar’s Keuken buzzing and packed, both De Witte Uyl and Marius are small, personal and intimate and hence good options for a great and romantic Valentine’s day dinner. Marius has a cute enclosed patio in the back. You might want to get a table there. And De Witte Uyl might be able to put together a special menu with inspiring champagne and wine suggestions.

A classier but nonetheless heavenly option would be restaurant Ciel Bleu, decorated with two Michelin stars and located on the 23rd floor of the Okura hotel. The vibe is a typically French and formal Michelin star experience, but the evening view of the city’s lights from high above is amazing. If you want the altitude but not the restaurant bill, you may want to consider a glass of champagne in the adjacent Twenty Third Bar.

Another possibility that meets all the criteria for Valentine’s is Koevoet. It’s located in a typical old Dutch house and very cozy. It’s small and intimate. And it’s Italian. What more can you ask for? Well, most importantly the food is very good! And since I wanted to include at least one restaurant located on a boat, I will suggest De Odessa. De Odessa is docked east of central station opposite of Java island. It’s slightly bigger than the other suggestions, but seated in the body of the ship, just above the water, you will enjoy a nice view of the IJ and the boats passing behind central station.

Since February 14th happens to be a Sunday, Lovefood Amsterdam must be on my list. Lovefood is a weekly brunch that serves the ultimate comfort food on Sunday from 11am until 3pm in Cafe Bax, Ten Katestraat. There are plenty of varieties of eggs on the menu, culminating in THE BEAST, the “ultimate breakfast taking inspiration from the Irish Ulster Fry and the English Full Monty”.

Finally, head over to Puccini Bomboni on Singel and get your sweetheart a large bag of Amsterdam’s loveliest chocolates!

Valentine’s Day in Amsterdam

valentine's day cookiesI think Amsterdam is a great destination for Valentine’s Day with its pretty canals, little bridges and picturesque old houses. Not surprisingly, the tourist industry is doing its best to promote the event pitching visits to the flower market, horse carriage rides, dinner cruises on the canals and diamond factory visits. And also not surprisingly, these are rather fake than romantic.

Since I got several questions and also a comment about my Valentine’s day recommendations for Amsterdam, I decided to post a few more genuine and naturally food oriented suggestions for some romance in the Dam.

As always, my list of best Amsterdam restaurants is a great starting point. While De Kas is big and classy and Balthazar’s Keuken buzzing and packed, both De Witte Uyl and Marius are small, personal and intimate and hence good options for a great and romantic Valentine’s day dinner. Marius has a cute enclosed patio in the back. You might want to get a table there. And De Witte Uyl might be able to put together a special menu with inspiring champagne and wine suggestions.

A classier but nonetheless heavenly option would be restaurant Ciel Bleu, decorated with two Michelin stars and located on the 23rd floor of the Okura hotel. The vibe is a typically French and formal Michelin star experience, but the evening view of the city’s lights from high above is amazing. If you want the altitude but not the restaurant bill, you may want to consider a glass of champagne in the adjacent Twenty Third Bar.

Another possibility that meets all the criteria for Valentine’s is Koevoet. It’s located in a typical old Dutch house and very cozy. It’s small and intimate. And it’s Italian. What more can you ask for? Well, most importantly the food is very good! And since I wanted to include at least one restaurant located on a boat, I will suggest De Odessa. De Odessa is docked east of central station opposite of Java island. It’s slightly bigger than the other suggestions, but seated in the body of the ship, just above the water, you will enjoy a nice view of the IJ and the boats passing behind central station.

Since February 14th happens to be a Sunday, Lovefood Amsterdam must be on my list. Lovefood is a weekly brunch that serves the ultimate comfort food on Sunday from 11am until 3pm in Cafe Bax, Ten Katestraat. There are plenty of varieties of eggs on the menu, culminating in THE BEAST, the “ultimate breakfast taking inspiration from the Irish Ulster Fry and the English Full Monty”.

Finally, head over to Puccini Bomboni on Singel and get your sweetheart a large bag of Amsterdam’s loveliest chocolates!

Restaurant Week Amsterdam Still Closed to Public

I have complained about restaurant week Amsterdam several times already, so dutchgrub readers will not be surprised to hear that the spring 2010 edition is again essentially closed to the public.

The problem is that very few top notch restaurants participate. And for the vast majority of restaurants that do offer a restaurant week menu for € 25,=, it’s just not such a great deal. Furthermore, the few available tables of interest seem to be booked long before the public has access to the booking site.

restaurant week amsterdam amercian express

Initially I thought that the solution was to join DiningCity, the organizer of restaurant week. Members get access to the booking site two days in advance. I tried but only found out that all good tables were already taken. Some dutchgrub readers commented about the possibility to have even earlier access through one of the sponsors. And indeed there are special booking page for American Express and also Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. Booking through sponsors is possible a week in advance.

A friend tried to get a table through the American Express booking page. But even then the top choices of Michelin star Ron Blaauw and De Kas, one of dutchgrub’s best Amsterdam restaurants, were already fully booked.

Seems like the best option is to skip restaurant week.

No More Kroket in NYC

The Dutch kroket is like Pernod in the south of France or Turrón in Alicante. A local food you discover and fall in love with while traveling but that seems to have lost all of its magic when you have it back home.

So it’s not all too surprising, but nonetheless sad, that Dutch kroket chain Danku had to close doors of its NYC location. Danku had been promoting Dutch krokets and other fried food for the last few years. They ran a cool campaign with a very Dutch cow in Central Park against a NYC skyline. And were offering Dutch staples such as the famous “Broodje Kroket” as part of their quick lunch menu.

kroket nyc danku

Now both US review site Yelp as well Dutch restaurant news source Misset Horeca have reported that Danku is closed due to financial difficulties. There also are reports that Danku will re-open in another location, so some hope remains to relive those Amsterdam moments back in NYC.