262631 Sun Apr 20 16:51:41 -0700 2003 12 26 International 0 1387756 We're returning for first time late this fall. Like all sorts of food- favorite last time was Albatros- and like just walking Please say what you've enjoyed. Thank you Sun Apr 20 16:51:41 -0700 2003 0 Martin 1 1387775 I just returned from Amsterdam, and I recommend going to the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp neighborhood - supposedly the biggest outdoor market in Europe. From the vendor with lots of jars of pickles, get what translates as "herring in bread" - you will get cured herring in a bun topped with onions and a pickle slice - sounds strange, but I couldn't get enough of them. At the same market, get a siroopwafelen. It is two thin, freshly made crispy waffles, with a caramel type syrup in the middle. Very delicious. They can also be bought in boxes, but are better fresh. There is a good cheese store near the market, on either Saenredaamsratt or Gerard Doustratt, I can't remember which. It has lots of good dutch cheese - try the "Old Alexander", a flavorful aged gouda. Good chocolates can be found at Puccini (Singel 184). Lots of interesting flavors, like tamarind, thyme, plum, etc.... Mon Apr 21 20:18:50 -0700 2003 1387756 0 penguinboy 2 1387779 Im curious - re your herring sandwich, what were the onions like - fresh or soft, like they had been marinated? And what kind of pickle? It sounds like the sort of a meal I would like. Tue Apr 22 00:05:11 -0700 2003 1387775 0 jen kalb 3 1387791 Thanks Tue Apr 22 13:17:31 -0700 2003 1387779 0 Martin 4 1390734 Try Hotel Blakes, run by Vanushka Hampel Weiner the same of the one in London. Tue Nov 25 01:56:58 -0800 2003 1387791 0 el 3 1387795 The onions were fresh, no marinade, just diced. And the pickle spear was sweet, not sour. The herring may be the main ingredient, but the pickle made the sandwich. I want more. Tue Apr 22 16:21:11 -0700 2003 1387779 0 penguinboy 4 1387798 the next time I get some matjes herring, I am going to give this a go. thanks for the info. Tue Apr 22 16:48:49 -0700 2003 1387795 0 jen kalb 5 1387804 During the last week of May comes the first catch of new herring -- "hollandse nieuwe haring". What happens is the herring lose weight over the winter as food sources decline, but in the spring when longer days and warmer water cause plankton to multiply they eat themselves silly and grow fat. The very first new herring of the season is presented to the queen. For New Yorkers, hollandse nieuwe is served at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central. Maybe other places too but that's the one I know about. Should be the last week of May, first week of June. Tue Apr 22 18:27:42 -0700 2003 1387798 0 lintsao 1 1387797 I recommend Summum, on the Binnendommerstraat, for a great continental meal--in a nice, untouristy neighborhood. And Tempo Doeloe for Indonesian Rijstafel. The Bakkerswinkel, in two different locations in Amsterdam, has great breakfast/brunch and good bread. Puccini Bomboni has amazing chocolates. Buffet, in the Jordaan, has good sandwiches and salads for lunchtime. You should easily be able to find the addresses in the Dutch yellow pages or the internet. Have a great trip. Tue Apr 22 16:43:20 -0700 2003 1387756 0 Quinnhound 1 1387850 Here's what I wrote to someone else.... I just came back from there a few weeks ago. I stayed in a place called Hotel Hemonyhof. It was the bargain basement and I got what I paid for. It was about 160 euros for 3 nights. The rooms are clean, but no frills whatsoever and its not in the inner rings of the city. nearby is a place called the Carousel, near the Heineken Brewery, which specializes in pannekoeken (pancakes!!) My wife loved them and she's picky. Downside is, they're only nice if you speak Dutch. There are various places that sell traditional Dutch food called croquettes, which are kind of mashed potatoes and gravy deep fried. Sausages are good too. I found the Italian food to be second rate, but hey, I'm from Chicago, I have high standards. Indonesian restaurants are their equivalent of cheap tacos. They have somethign called a rijstaffel where you get a big bowl of rice and a bunch of different side dishes. BUT THE BEST PLACE OF ALL IN MY OPINION is in Amstelveen (a close suburb reachable by public transport) and is called the Hotel Abina. They have all you can eat ribs or all you can eat musselsfor about 14 euros. Beer is cheap, but served by the glass not the pint. This place is really goi9ng local, and its a popular hangout for the Dutch to drink. They will speak English, but with difficulty. The waitresses here are simply phenomenally good looking even when they're not dressed up. Simply beautiful. The place wins awards for its cooking, it hops as a club, and you can rent a room upstairs if you want for well less than average. I highly recommend it!! Alle beste!! Oh yeah, under no circumstances should you speak German to anyone if you happen to know it. Fri Apr 25 13:26:34 -0700 2003 1387756 0 PresterJohn 1 1387911 A wonderfull brown bar called Cafe De Klaus (sp?) near Leidseplein Square. Even though it's in a touristy area it's very native. We were the only foreigners there and it was mid June. In general, the best food I had was Indonesian, Chinese and street food. The Albert Cupstrat market and Waterloopien market both have lots of choices - herring, fries, cheese toast, etc. Have a great trip. Thu May 01 01:45:39 -0700 2003 1387756 0 Troy 1 1388060 My girlfriend and I have been living in Amsterdam since August; our apartment overlooks the Albert Cuypstraat. A few guidelines: the Dutch are largely culinary barbarians and wuss down or sweeten up everything. But there is good food to be had. Really good food actually. Also, don't worry about language barriers. I'd say a larger percentage of the people you'll encounter in Amsterdam speak English than Dutch. Here's a rundown of our favorite spots in Amsterdam: Albert Cuyp and surrounds: Haringwinkel: look for the middle aged man with the deep voice (traditional Albert Cuyp Dutch accent) close to Van Woustraat (west end of the market). Big jars of pickles, as mentioned in other posts. You can get it 2 ways: with or without squishy white bread. Diced onions and pickles optional, but definitely get them. I heartily recommend skipping the bread, eating it Dutch sashimi style. €1.80 (regular), €2.50 (broodje). Stroopwaffle: probably the best native dutch food item, and no surprise, it's sugary as heck. Really great right off the griddle (€.80). These things also make perfect gifts for people at home. Look in the supermarket (Albert Heijn or the Dirk) for "roomboter stroopwaffles" and stock up the day before you fly. Around €1 per pack. Frites: Both the Bob's Vlaamse Frittur (purple truck at Eerste Sweelinckstraat) and the orange and white truck at Van Woustraat are delicious. Ask for "fritesaus" (mayonaisse), pindasaus (peanut sauce) or both (called oorlog). Awesome stuff! Around €2. Ice Cream: only open in the summer, Peppino's has delicious gelato just off Albert Cuyp on Eerste Sweelinckstraat. €1.50 cone. Soup and tartelettes: Soupwinkel on Eerste Sweelinckstraat. Fresh soups daily and monthly. Never had a bad meal here. Get the €6 lunch deal (drink, small soup, tart, bread). Olives: Chris' Oliven. Everything is good. We get 300 grams of the Garlic marinated green and black mix at least 2 times a week (“Knoflook, groen en zwarte”), and they rarely last the day. The black tapenade is equally delicious. Everything €1-2 per 100 gram). Cheese: “kaas” vendors abound on the market. There are usually 2-3 a day. Look for “boeren kaas” of any type. That’s the higher grade “farmer’s cheese.” Jong = unaged; belegen = middle aged; oud = old. Dutch cheeses are delicious and go from a soft, elastic swiss cheese style to a very sharp, almost parmesan nuttiness in the oud. All are recommended! Also look for geitenkaas, dutch Goat cheese. Can be with garlic (knoflook). Also good is mostard kaas, cheese with mustard seeds. Fish: this is the place to buy delicious, cheap fresh fish. If you have access to a kitchen, pamper yourself. Great deals and quality are available here. Take your items to the Sarphatti Park just south of the market, but make sure to sit on the human side, not in the dog dough laden dog side! Thai: White Elephant on Van Woustraat near Stadhouderskade is absolutely delicious. I heartily reccomend this place! Entrees in the low to mid teens. Especially recommended is the Coconut curry souffle, an excellent red curry cooked in a coconut. You'll fight with your friends for the right to scrape the coconut out of the shell. Indian: Balti House on Albert Cuypstraat at Frans Halstraat (west of the market). Best Indian in Holland. You'd have to fly to London to top it. Entrees €10-18. We always order the off-menu vegetable jahlfrazi and a vegetarian biryani, both stellar. We also had a great appetizer of onion fritters last time. Order a Cobra and sit outside if the weather's nice. Good times! Other areas: Falafel makes for a filling and delicious cheap meal. Maoz is the predominant local chain. Eat it at the best Maoz in Holland, Muntplein 1, very close to the flower market and Munt Tower. Very busy which means it’s always fresh out of the fryer. The deal here is to load up on the fresh salad bar! Technique is key. Once the man hands over the sandwich, squash that sucker flat, crushing the balls. That gives you loads of room for toppings. €3.50. Beer: drink lots of it. If you’re boring or simple minded, get pilseners, but if you like flavor, take a Belgian Dubbel, Tripel or a Blonde. All the great names (Chimay, Westmalle, Leffe) are really cheap, and in a good café will run from €2-4. In a supermarket a bottle is about €1. The beer obsessed will want to visit the Bierkoning, Paleisstraat 125, a retail outlet with hundreds of beers run by a friendly and knowledgeable beer obsessive. Hard to find in cafes : Orval, Rochefort and Westvletern (sic). Indonesian: I recommend skipping the expense of Tempo Doeloe. We ate there once and only saw other tourists there. Small portions for big money (€25ish a person). For a rijstaffel, I’ll send you to a place most gourmands and Chowhounds would avoid: Kantjil, Spuistraat 291. Personal preference, but I think this place is a really good deal (€40 for two on a rijstaffel; could legitimately serve most groups of 3) and serves surprisingly spicy and tasty food for Amsterdam. Another cheap option is Bojo, near the Leideseplein. Lange Leidsedwarstraat 49 and 51. Only one of the locations serves alcohol, so look for the crowded spot if this matters (I recommend De Koninck over Amstel, but I prefer dark beer). The menu is the same at both spots. Order your food “lontong” for the sticky rice cubes, in my opinion superior to regular white rice. Fries: The best spot in the city is widely held to be the Saus Meesters, off the Spui on Voetboogstraat. There are 2 decent spots on the Damrak just outside of the Centraal Station; at one of them I recently saw the former fryman from the Saus Meester, making me think we could have a new contender for “best of the city.” I’ll try to report back on this one. Outside Amsterdam: In Den Haag, New Meyva offers the best Surinamese in Holland. Their roti plates are stellar and very cheap. Definitely worth a stop if you make it to the Hague. Unfortunately I don’t know the address, but take the #2 tram to Grote Markt, step out, walk forward and make your first right. It will be on your right about 20 feet in. I love this resaurant! Sun May 11 13:25:16 -0700 2003 1387756 0 Greg 2 1388061 Haringwinkel: look for the middle aged man with the deep voice (traditional Albert Cuyp Dutch accent) close to FERDINAND BOLSTRAAT (not Van Woustraat) (west end of the market). Big jars of pickles, as mentioned in other posts. You can get it 2 ways: with or without squishy white bread. Diced onions and pickles optional, but definitely get them. I heartily recommend skipping the bread, eating it Dutch sashimi style. €1.80 (regular), €2.50 (broodje). -- I also left out Cafe de Prins, a favorite of ours and all our friends who have visited. Prinsegracht, just north of (and across the canal from) the Anne Frankhuis. Enjoy your La Chouffe and geitenkaas salad outside. Other than La Chouffe, excellent beers are on tap and solid specials make this place worth trying. (Not to mention a friendly staff who understands that a restaurant in one of the top tourist locations in the world can cater to tourists without compromising quality.) Sun May 11 14:57:29 -0700 2003 1388060 0 Greg