amsterdam Archives - Page 32 of 39

La Oliva Jordaan – Don’t Bother

I am often disappointed after visits to what has been described as a ‘leuk restaurantje’ – a nice little restaurant – that people found ‘gezellig’ – a cozy sort of fun. ‘Leuk’ and ‘gezellig’ are superficial and indiscriminate words – and often the restaurants are likewise, not worth a foodie’s time.

La Oliva, a new Pintxos y Vinos bar on Egelantiersstraat is like that. It’s beautifully designed and heavily frequented. The food is average and high priced and the service unfriendly, inattentive and ignorant.

La Oliva is located in the heart of the Jordaan in the space formerly occupied by organic food cafe De Vrije Vork. It’s one of those locations where no restaurant ever seems to survive for a long time…

We were out and about the Jordaan, checking out the contemporary galleries, having a great time deciphering the works of the Sauerkids at gallery KOCHXBOS. We wanted a glass of wine to warm up and relive the experience, remembered the new wine bar and decided to try it out.

It looks beautiful – a dark colored but fresh design very much centered around Mediterranean food. There are large shelves stocked with wine bottles, hams hanging from the ceiling, a glass counter top full of cheese and an enormous buffet of pintxos, Basque style tapas.

It was all downhill from there.

Upon entering, the waiter gestured us to sit at the bar next to the pintxos where there were was space for one and a half guests at best. We did manage to sit elsewhere but then it took forever and two unanswered requests to be handed a wine list. The wine list is limited, about 10 Spanish wines, half of them available by the glass. I quite like red wines from Priorat and saw one was available only by the bottle. When asking if they might be able to serve a glass I was silenced by a stern note that the menu clearly stated that it was by the glass only. We ordered two other red wines, which the waiter mixed up. When we pointed this out it turned out that he had no idea about wine at all.

The wines, a 2006 Bodegas Olivares Jumilla Panarroz and a Valdepeñas house wine were ok. We were quite enjoying ourselves until a large group entered La Oliva. They were regulars and personally greeted. And within minutes they claimed the table we and another couple were sitting at entirely, pushing us to the end with the help of the waiting staff who didn’t even bother asking if we minded moving.

La Oliva is ok for a drink and some people watching when you’re hanging out in the Jordaan. But don’t go out of your way for a visit and be prepared to look after yourself when ordering wine and food and to protect your space…

Pacherenc + Ripasso + Celeste = Gall & Gall Card

If there are two things I hate about food shopping in Amsterdam, it’s (a) Dutch super markets and (b) bonus cards.

For the non-locals: Dutch food shops are generally small, focused on low cost and much more concerned about the expiration date than the quality of food. And all of them offer some sort of bonus scheme that provides discounts in return for loyalty. ‘Spaart u zegels’, anyone?

I generally prefer the Turkish corner shop over Dutch darling supermarket Albert Heijn and my local liquor store over AH’s cousin Gall & Gall. I might pay a little more but the quality is much better and the service much friendlier and more knowledgeable.

Today, however, I bought seven bottles of wine at Gall & Gall and subscribed to their bonus card scheme! How did this happen?

Well. I went to the large Gall & Gall near the Dam to pick up a bottle of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. The same ‘Torus’ I bought a few months ago and enjoyed a lot. I did enjoy it enough to pick up three bottles instead of the intended one. On the way to check-out, a bottle of Masi Campofiorin caught my eye. Only two days ago I had posted about how much I love Ripasso wine and that I never had tried one from Masi, the vineyard that invented the Ripasso technique. So I definitely had to get two of those. And right next to it, perfectly placed, I spotted a Torus Madiran. A red wine made by Brumont who also produces the Pacherenc. So I also had to get two of those bottles.

Über-happy with my unexpected stash of seven bottles I finally made it to check-out. Fully prepared to decline the usual offer for a bonus card. The friendly customer service representative, however, explained to me that it would be rather foolish to decline. A Gall & Gall card, he continued, costs € 10,- and entitles me to a 10% discount on each purchase for the next 12 months. And with my current shopping basket, I would be almost even immediately.

I went for it.

Did I give in to the system?!?

Pacherenc + Ripasso + Celeste = Gall & Gall Card

If there are two things I hate about food shopping in Amsterdam, it’s (a) Dutch super markets and (b) bonus cards.

Today, however, I bought seven bottles of wine at Gall & Gall and subscribed to their bonus card scheme! How did this happen?

I went for it.

Did I give in to the system?!?

Enjoying Ripasso in Amsterdam

Ripasso is one of my favorite wines and I have been enjoying plenty of it recently in Amsterdam.

Ripasso is an intense yet smooth red wine from Valpolicella, a well-known wine region in the Italian Veneto province.

Valpolicella wines are made from Corvina, Molinara, and Rondinella grapes. In general, the wines are considered light and fruity. The exception is the precious Amarone – Italian for ‘the big bitter’ – an expensive wine classic. Amarone can be found on many a wine list and is known for its extreme, almost raisiny dryness and big, often daunting body. Grapes are dried for several weeks before pressing to make Amarone wines. The drying process causes them to lose over 50% of their water, resulting in wines that are intense and rich in tannins.

Ripasso wines are made by an additional pressing – or re-passing – of fresh Valpolicella grapes over the pomace of dried grapes that were used to make Amarone. The re-passing causes an additional fermentation that gives Ripasso wines a lot more body and tannins than regular Valpolicellas without making them as dry or bitter as Amarone. If you’re like me and enjoy complex and flavorful wines that are not too dry, you will love Ripasso!

A good Ripasso will have a deep ruby color and a nose of raspberry and cherry that is incredibly persistent. Ripasso wine is full bodied with a warm, balanced, almost velvety taste. It’s great with red meat, poultry, cheese and, if you ask me, almost anything else.

Several shops in Amsterdam sell Ripasso and a number of restaurants have it on their wine list. My recent Ripasso cravings were quenched by the Montresor Capitel della Crosara, Tedeschi Capitel San Rocco, Tommasi, Tinnazi Ca de Rocchi Monteré and Salvalai Monile.

I found both the Tommasi and the Montresor at liquor store Ton Overmars on Hoofddorpplein. The Tommasi, the best of the selection in my opinion, goes for € 18. Well worth it for an incredibly smooth yet strong wine. And at € 9,- the Montresor is the best value Ripasso. Not quite as accomplished and balanced but still pleasant and harmonious. Ton also has a Tenuta Sant’ Antonio Ripasso Monti Garbi that he imports directly and sells for € 11.

Just around the corner on Haarlemmerstraat, newly opened Vino di Pino sold me a few bottles of Monteré Ripasso for € 23,- each. Expensive, since the Monteré does not have the quality of Tommasi. They did have a three-for-two deal for the opening of their shop, which made it good value after all. Mr Alaimo, the owner of Vino di Pino, also stocks the Masi Campofiorin Supervenetian, which claims to be the first Ripasso ever made when Amarone pomace was forgotten in a barrel…

The Salvalai is on the wine list of Vooges one of my favorite eetcafes, which is located on Utrechtsestraat. And finally Frenzi Cucina has the Tedeschi Ripasso in both their restaurant on Zwanenburgwal and for sale in their shop on Overtoom.

New Restaurants in Amsterdam in 2008

The end of the year is list time! And in good style Amsterdam city magazine NL20 has published a list of newly opened restaurants that they got around to reviewing in 2008.

The NL20 list covers about 25 new Amsterdam restaurants organized by neighborhood.

Mashua on Prinsengracht is one of the reviews of restaurants located in the center of Amsterdam. Mashua was created by the people running Casa Peru, so I went there soon after its opening upon their recommendation. Unfortunately Mashua does not have the home-style cooking and service that made me love Casa Peru. And even worse, Casa Peru has since also lost its laid back charm.

NL20 also managed to get a reservation and write a review for much talked about Momo, which is still elusive to me, and Heerlijk! where I went for restaurant week.

Some notable mentions outside of the center are The Colour Kitchen, the Dutch version of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Italian traiteur Frenzi Cucina that sells a good Ripasso wine and dessert only restaurant Sucre; all in the west of Amsterdam.

Right next door from Sucre, but missing from the NL20 list, is one of my favorite new restaurants of 2008: Restaurant Blauw on Amstelveenseweg serves a refreshingly different, modern Indonesian cuisine.

And again just a few steps further on Amstelveenseweg is Umoja, one of Mapplr’s favorite additions to the Amsterdam restaurant scene of the last five years.

What’s your favorite new restaurant in Amsterdam? For inspiration see the recently opened section of Dinnersite, which has a more complete and searchable list of new restaurants in the Netherlands.

Unusual Pasta at Puyck

Last weekend, I discovered an unusual type of pasta at Mediterranean restaurant cum deli Puyck on Ceintuurbaan in de Pijp.

My regular source for ingredients for Italian food is Feduzzi on Scheldestraat near the RAI. They have the best Parmaham and Parmesan in Amsterdam. I was, however, in de Pijp on the other side of town. And simply in need of some decent tomato sauce. Feduzzi was too far away and I remembered a little Italian traiteur by Sarphatipark. It’s called Puyck and belongs to the restaurant with the same name on Ceintuurbaan.

So I went there, had a look around, and discovered an unusual type of pasta – gnocchi filled with basil and mozzarella. Unlike regular gnocchi, they have a round shape. The flavor and texture is almost like German-style dumplings. And they have a mozzarella and basil filling.

Other than that, I thought Puyck was ok but certainly not worth going out of my way to pick up ingredients. The service was obnoxious. I was asked if I needed any help and replied that I wanted to have a look around. Unfortunately, the owner followed me around the entire store, breathing down my neck and commenting on everything. He was knowledgeable, but also annoying. Puyck has a large selection of different kinds of olive oil that they fill in little bottles. And they sell all the wines that the restaurant has on its wine list. It’s an interesting selection and I went home with a bottle of Sicilian Viognier that I have not tried yet.