Amsterdam Roundup

Ah, Amsterdam. Was it really two weeks ago when we last met? During my extended weekend in town, I did my best to try a hearty sampling of food and drink. Here are some highlights.

Balthazar's Keuken: "Keuken" translates into "kitchen" and what you'll get here is a cozy neighborhood restaurant with contemporary flare. In a way, it reminded me a bit of Ten Tables in Boston's Jamaica Plain. The deal with Balthazar's is that they're only open Wed-Sat and only do two seatings a night. We were able to get the "early" reservation (7pm) on a Friday night. For the meal, it's a set appetizer and dessert and each guest can select 1 of 2 entrees. The night we were there, it was meat or fish, and being a party of two, we selected one of each. The appetizer was wonderful -- a delectable sampler that Glenn & I couldn't get enough of. The entrees were OK, but nothing amazing -- one was a roasted white fish on lemony pasta, the other was a local sausage on some sort of mashed potato. The other standout of the evening was dessert...warmed brandied cherries on a shortbread cake topped with mascarpone and pistachios. Oh and the cherries? They were also part of a brandy/prosecco house cocktail that Glenn enjoyed quite a few of!

Appetizer Sampler clockwise from top: Lentils with chorizo, duck confit, escargot with garlic and herbs, warmed gouda cheese, seafood mousse/cream on a Dutch cookie. Possibly butter in the middle, but we didn't eat it!

Glenn has cultivated a palate for the finer beers in life, notably Belgians. As such, one of the places on our to do list in Amsterdam was a stop at Cafe Gollem, noted for their extensive selection of Belgian beers. In this dimly lit pub, crowded on a Saturday late afternoon, they focus on the the beer. We staked out a spot and happily drank away, taking in the large beverage menu, the various glasses set aside for each brand of beer and the cat lazily sleeping next to the cash register.


The Dutch spice trade was a big business back in the colonial days and the Dutch did their best to capitalize on it. Throughout Amsterdam, there's a vast supply of Turkish, Indonesian and Thai restaurants (notably, we only saw 1 sushi place while in town). We jumped at the opportunity to try Indonesian food and booked a table at Tempo Doeloe. Reservations were required for this place and, oddly enough, you were forced to a ring a doorbell before they'd let you in. Once inside, we saw multiple tables stacked with metal trays powered by tealights. The thing to do here was to order a sampler of prominent dishes, have them be served in small ramekins and arranged on the candle-warmed tray to keep their heat. Dishes were served with a combination of saffron rice and white rice. Eating here made me think that the Dutch's involvement with the spice trade was purely monetary and that they did not have an extended history of actually consuming the spices. The menu warned against the "spicy" food and advised patrons to go easy. Upon sampling the food, we found that the dishes were flavorful with some heat, but nothing that would put you off. Except I was careful to avoid the huge chili pepper tucked into one of the dishes. :)