dutchgrub, Author at dutchgrub

The Kroket – Holland’s Glory

dutchgrub’s been somewhat quiet recently – traveling and enjoying fabulous food in Hamburg, New York and Montreal. Will report later on the culinary part of those adventures.

Upon return I was greeted by my Dutch colleagues with the infamous kroket, a deep fried meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs and somewhat of a national passion. On the menu of the restaurant serving us kroketten it was ominously listed as “Holland’s Glory” – two croquettes served on bread with a sauce that is a mix of mustard and mayonnaise.

I thought I would share these pictures with you, knowing that dutchgrub’s readers are quite particular about their food choices. I hope they give you a good impression. Or should I say warning?

dutch kroket dish dutch kroket inside

Many lunch rooms and snack bars serve kroketten. They are filled with meat, cut or shredded into longish threads, in a brown, creamy, salty sauce. They are covered in a thick, crunchy breading. They are deep fried and quite likely to burn the top of your mouth if you’re not careful. They are usually served on white bread, often sliced or hamburger buns.

The Dutch collectively get very excited about kroketten, especially when served famous brands van van Dobben or Kwekkeboom. Be careful when you try them out!

Pure Markt Special 20 September

In late August, I finally made it to the Pure Markt Amsterdam in Park Fraenkendaal and had a great time. Tomorrow, there will be a special Pure Markt that brings many of the great food stalls of Pure Markt to Oosterpark for the opening of the Dutch Week of Taste.

That’s a great opportunity to try and buy the home-made sausages, Delft grapes or chocolate coated cranberries that I loved at the last Pure Markt!

Pure Market Amsterdam

Dutch Week of Taste

The national Week of Taste (Dutch) will start on Sunday 20 September. For one week, until 27 September, many restaurants, shops, producers, and others will organize food related activities all over the Netherlands.

Amsterdam is calling itself the Capital of Taste (Dutch) and will kick off the Week of Taste with the Taste Market (Dutch) in Oosterpark on Sunday 20 September.

There are a few interesting events on the agenda:

The market of 1001 tastes – a market with various food stalls organized on the area of the Amsterdam whole sale market on Jan van Galenstaat on Sunday 27 September.
The taste explosion festival – September 25 – 27 in Zaandam – a cultural culinary festival with movies, workshops, celebrity chefs and more.

For a full list of all activities, see the agenda (Dutch).

Amsterdam Capital of Taste 2009

Photos of Restaurant de Kas

The other day I went to Pure Markt in Park Frankendael, also home to top Amsterdam restaurant de Kas.

There was a spectacular light that day from a bright sun behind huge stacks of clouds. And since de Kas is one of my favorite restaurants, I thought I would share two photos of de Kas I took that day.

Restaurant de Kas Amsterdam - Chimney, Greenhouse and Garden

Restaurant de Kas Amsterdam - Dining Room from Outside

Café Loetje – Steak and Beer

Café Loetje is an Amsterdam institution. Amsterdammers have been flocking to Loetje for a good steak with french fries and a few beers for years and years.

The authenticity and tried and true formula at Loetje is both bane and boon.

The steak and french fries are good. But the selection is extremely limited. Loetje only serves steak, saté chicken and a few other dishes. So don’t hold your breath for a vegetarian option. There actually is only one kind of steak, a tenderloin, served in a very buttery sauce.

The prices are decent and Loetje has a nice large terrace and also a winter garden. But beware that the wait for a table can be long.

Another great thing about Loetje is its location, near the van Gogh and Rijksmuseum, but off the beaten path. You won’t see many tourists and the simple, brown-cafe style interior will make you feel like a local. The service is, however, is as brash and slow as in many other Amsterdam restaurants. Don’t be surprised if you get an annoyed look from the waitress for wanting to order food or drinks.

Overall, there are no surprises at Café Loetje Amsterdam. The steaks have been consistently good for years, the menu hasn’t changed and the service won’t improve anytime soon.

café loetje amsterdam

Pure Markt – a True Artisanal Food Market

I finally went to Pure Markt, which is happening once a month in Park Frankendael, also home to Restaurant De Kas, one of dutchgrub’s best restaurants.

There are three reasons I never made it earlier. First of all timing is difficult with the event taking place each last Sunday of the month. Secondly, Park Frankendael is far out there in Amsterdam East with not much else going on in the area. And finally, I have been to one too many food markets that promised organic or sustainable food but did not deliver.

pure markt amsterdam - playground pure markt amsterdam - stalls

Last Sunday I finally made it there. And the scene at the entrance of Pure Markt seemed to confirm my initial suspicion. Yet another food themed event with a great concept but poor execution, more of a kids playground than a market, with only a few stalls offering everything from esoteric jewelry to patchwork bags and blankets and no decent food anywhere in sight.

But as I walked further towards the stalls, I could not help but notice an incredibly tasty smell of home made sausages on a barbecue. The smell came from the Berkshire Butcher, the first of many great food stalls offering an amazing variety of tasty produce. What impressed me most was the artisanal character of the Pure Markt. Many of the people promoting and selling the food, were actually the producers themselves. And they encouraged people to try the produce, told them about the whereabouts of their wares, made suggestions for their preparation and were happy to tell the story of their food business.

As I walked further along the market, I tried many products and brought home a nice stash of exciting food items. Here are some of the highlights.

The Berkshire Butcher – Frank Bunnik

The Berkshire Butcher is a small business making sausages from The Duke of Berkshire pigs. They acquire live pigs from a single supplier and make great sausages from the flavorful meat of these special pigs. They have a number of different sausage types, including typical English and herb infused Italian ones, each made with the regional spices and herbs.

I had a barbecued sausage on the spot and loved how juicy and flavorful it was!

Other than on Pure Markt, the Berkshire Butcher sells his sausages on the Haarlemmerplein market in Amsterdam each Wednesday. For more information see www.berkshirebutcher.com.

berkshire butcher - pure markt amsterdam pure markt amsterdam - chocolate cranberries

Grape Farm Nieuw Tuinzight

Grape Farm Nieuw Tuinzight is the last remaining active grape farmer in the Netherlands. The family run business goes back to 1885 and today grows Frankenthaler, Alicante and Muscat grapes in 14 green houses near Delft.

I tried the Frankenthaler and loved it! The grapes had been cut that same morning and were incredibly fresh. They are organic and have a very smooth taste, not too sweet but with many different aromas. Almost like a good glass of wine.

Nieuw Tuinzight has a shop on their farm that is open during harvest season from August until November. They also organize events such as open days or group lunches. For more information see www.druivenkwekerij.nl.

Futuro Verde

Futuro Verde is a project run by a group of Dutch emigrants. They have an olive farm in Sicily on which people can adopt a tree or rent a vacation home. The olives are harvested and pressed and the oil sold entirely untreated on markets in the Netherlands. The oil was nice and thick and had a pure, slightly sweet flavor. The price was quite reasonable at € 10,= per bottle.

For information on adopting an olive tree, see www.futuroverde.nl. To buy a 25 liter barrel of olive oil, go to their web shop at www.verseolijfolie.nl.

Many more Artisans

There were many more interesting stalls where passionate artisans offered their produce. Zilt & Zalig had four different kinds of oysters on offer. Brouwerij De Prael, an Amsterdam based microbrewery that employs handicapped people, let us taste their beers named after famous Amsterdam singers. And slightly yuppie Japanese store Roppongi arranged tastings of five kinds of sake.

olive oil futuro verde - pure markt amsterdam pure markt amsterdam - sign grape farm nieuw tuinzight - pure markt amsterdam

And apparently there’s much more as participants change every month. There is a long and tasty sounding list on the website of Pure Markt.

I will definitely be back for more sausages and to check out the other producers!