Category: amsterdam

Da Portare Via is a no frills pizzeria that makes fabulous thin crust pizza in a wood fire oven.

Da Portare Via serves pizza in two locations. The shop on Leliegracht in the Jordaan only makes pizza to go – quite in line with the restaurant’s name which is Italian for “to go”. I like going to the other location on Frans Halsstraat 63 in De Pijp. There you can either take your pizza away or enjoy it on one of the long wooden tables in the restaurant or outside on the sidewalk.

The setting of Da Portare Via is no frills. The furniture is simple wooden tables and benches. The purpose of the typical red and white checkered table cloths is being easy to wipe off rather than being decorative. You order your pizza at the counter, pick up beer, wine and other drinks from the fridge and pay up front. And it’s usually busy with people waiting for their pizza. It all makes for a friendly, laid back atmosphere where it’s easy to have a conversation with other guests.

The pizza is top notch. Its thin crust, baked in a wood fired oven is crunchy and plain. And it’s packed with large amounts of super fresh ingredients.

What I like most are the interesting combinations. I love the pizza “Don Floert”, topped with tomato, Parma ham, rucola, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. It’s fully covered in thinly sliced Parma ham with a mountain of rucola and big humps of smooth and slightly sweet ricotta. And I also highly recommend the pizza “Tartufi con Coppa di Parma” with with tomato, mascarpone, black truffle, Coppa di Parma, rucola, and Parmesan cheese.

Da Portare Via is great for a school night out with friends for a quick pizza and hanging out and chatting over a good glass of wine around a long table!

De Witte Uyl is one of my favorite restaurants in Amsterdam. The unusual menu, personal and friendly service and extensive wine list make it well worth a trip. They change their menu is line with the season, which is always a great reason to go back.

A few bright sunny days in mid March – before the cold and rain returned to Amsterdam – was enough inspiration for the team at De Witte Uyl to lure us with their spring menu.

As usual there are twelve dishes including wontons with crab, ginger and mascarpone and goat’s sausages with sweet potatoes and lemon grass. Yummy!

Burgermeester is a fantastic no-frills burger place that serves super fresh and inventive burgers in two locations in Amsterdam. I have repeatedly recommended Burgermeester as a perfect lunch venue.

On my last visit a few days ago, I checked out their new spring 2009 menu. In addition to the classic “Master Beef Burger” with tarragon mayonnaise and the “Lamb Burger” with locally produced meat, the Burgermeester crew is now offering some refreshing spring flavors. During the spring season they offer a “Devilish Chicken Burger” with cucumber-salsa and harissa-mayonnaise and an “Albacore Tuna Burger”. The burger of the month currently is an Asian beef burger with bean sprouts, mint and cilantro.