Pancakes Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

When in Rome, er Amsterdam...I felt obligated to find a pancake! I ordered from the traditional section of their menu, selecting the apple cheese.








When my pancake arrived, I found myself looking down at a thin cake that had a circumference that covered an entire dinner sized plate. It had apples dotted across that plate that had been dropped into the batter as it had cooked. Added to this, was an adornment of  slightly crispy and slightly salty cheese.

I tried a bite that was plain and then perused the toppings that were offered and included honey, syrup, powered sugar, and granulated sugar. The plain bite was simple with sweet soft apple and crunchy salty cheese, but with the batter being neutral in flavor. I then added honey, which offered a
contrasting and balancing sweetness to the neutrality of the batter, as well as offering moisture to the cake. Later on, I also sprinkled some granulated sugar on top. I really enjoyed this version as it provided a rewarding crunch. The thin nature of the pancake meant that I did not feel that it was too heavy, as pancakes can result in, although finishing the plate felt like an adequate meal.

Babylonstoren

Simondium, South Africa

The beautiful food generated from this restaurant is in direct proportion to the beautiful farm from which the food is sourced, which is also the home on which the restaurant lives. The food is seasonal and, remarkably, nearly every ingredient is sourced from their own farm. The restaurant itself is housed in a renovated cow shed that has the contemporary addition of glass walls that afford an open view of the farmland surrounding the dining room. The above picture is a demonstration highlighting what was in season during my visit in December. Although in some ways serving hearty and simple fare, the experience felt luxurious. As I waited for my meal, I was offered an assortment of unadorned  seasonal fruits and vegetables as well as their own fresh bread and olive oil. This was a blatant demonstration of the deliciousness of food eaten fresh and in season.

 


Risotto
Babylonstoren Carnaroli beetroot infused risotto with walnut and watercress pesto and a drizzle of olive oil. Although expecting that the vegetables were from the land, I was in disbelief that the risotto was grown on the farm as well. This dish was rich with thick sheets of cheese from the local Dalewood Fomage on top. This contributed not only salt, but the fat to add richness to the already thick texture of the risotto. Babylonsoren does have a dairy and makes cheese, but this cheese came from an award winning source nearby. I enjoyed the crunchy texture afforded by the walnuts that were peppered throughout the plate. However, the dish became most memorable when a squeeze of lime added acidity to make the tastebuds really sing.

Fish
Trout was the fish of the day. It was served with a light and spicy coconut bobotie sauce alongside ginger pickled fruit and vegetables.

This was an unexpected combination of fruit and fish, but gave a complexity to each bite via the acidity delivered from the fruits of strawberry, blueberry, plum, and lime. This cut through the richness of the sauce, which was slightly sweet from the coconut that had a touch of spice as well.

Each entree was served with a healthy portion of vegetables, which revealed the beauty that can be coaxed from each item being treated with care. My favorite was a combination of beets and squash. The beets were subtly sweet due to having been cooked with pineapple and the the squash had been cooked with almonds. My mouth was on vacation! I would have loved an opportunity to sample a bite from each item on the menu.

Kiari West Bakeshop

Redondo Beach, California


As I enter this pristine and welcoming bakery, I am sure many may be curious as to why it is called "west". It turns out that the original bakery is based in Fukushima, Japan. Hiro, the owner and original baker of Kiari West, developed this shop as a branch of the bakery run by his family in Japan. His father and brother opened the original bakery in 2011. Their idea was to bake pastries made exclusively from rice flour, without using any wheat in their store. After they successfully opened, the city of Fukushima had both an earthquake and a tsunami later that year. Of course, this impacted the bakeshop in many ways. Not only was the shop impacted by the natural disasters, but it was also effected by people who were then concerned about how safe it was to eat food from this region. People became worried that the food was contaminated because of the nuclear power plant crisis even though the nuclear plant was not close to the shop or resources used by the shop. Nonetheless, repeated testing has been done on the ingredients and products made by the bakeshop to ensure that they are safe to be consumed. 

Back to the establishment of Kiari West. In 2014, Hiro, the brother who had been living in the United States,  brought his family business to California. He put his heart and soul into the opening of Kiari West. Speaking with Hiro reveals a man who is genuine with an underlying driven persona. It is clear that he is passionate about creating a product that he is proud of, which is unmistakable during conversations about the work that has been put into this shop. Not only is everything in the store made without gluten, all of the flour is GMO free, and the shop uses mostly biodegradable, recyclable, and compostable materials. Hiro strives for creating pastries that are as delicious as the traditional pastries made from wheat flour and he is delighted to see the amazement on the faces of patrons who find this to be true when they taste his creations. 

The menus on the wall boast the quality of the ingredients in both the food and drinks! There are vegan options with quality organic and/or local ingredients, including organic teas and organic milk. I also found seasonal specials, aligning with my drive to find creative tastes. When I was there, the seasonal drinks included an Espresso Julep that had mint leaves as well as strawberry puree in the Iced Strawberry Mocha and the Strawberry Iced Tea.  

                                        

Enough of the background of this place. As I arrived, I was drawn towards the case that was filled with so many attractive choices! I am gluten free by choice and long ago believed that these pastries would no longer be options for me, so what delight that they were within my reach! 

Both savory and sweet choices meant that I took a long time deciding what to try! The staff patiently answered all of my questions and made suggestions without being overbearing.

   

The most popular item for the shop is the almond brioche. 

This pastry was superb. It offers a mild sweetness that permeates each bite of rich cake that was sprinkled with a generous topping of slivered almonds and sugar. Not a tad of dryness could be found anywhere around this delectable choice! Since it is not overly sweet and boasted the crunchy texture from the almonds, it was easy to enjoy! 

There were other wonderful things to eat with a full menu including avocado toast and french toast, too, that would be more of a meal than just a pastry. I admired the beautiful quiche and the buns with various toppings. I tried two of the buns,  but the Manhattan was my favorite. The saltiness of the parmesan was a nice contrast to the earthiness of the sun dried tomato and egg, with pesto imparting the acidic component atop the foundation of the bun. Again, I was impressed that there was none of the feared crumbling dryness of some gluten free breads.

If you have a sweet tooth, as I do, the caramel scone shines as a star. It was ridiculously addicting with the irresistible classic combination of salty and sweet. It was a favorite for me. The caramel is made from scratch and the texture of the scone is similar to a soft cookie, but slightly more like cake, falling somewhere close to the texture of a brownie. I couldn't get enough and wanted to eat another after I finished one! 

This gorgeous green apple tart was topped with lively rosy peppercorns that provided so much more than just color, with a bright sharpness in flavor that was mildly floral rather than imparting the heat that another choice in pepper might. The crust was thick and crumby with the green apple sitting atop a dollop of almond cream. The pastries I tried consistently struck a balance between having a sweet component without being overwhelming. This allowed the enjoyment of the treats to be maintained for each mouthful.

Admittedly, so much less photogenic were the rolls and loaves of bread, but not to be underrated or forgotten. Quite honestly, and unexpectedly, the roll was another memorable favorite for me. It was still warm as I spread it with butter and it compelled me to recall the reason why bread can be so comforting and difficult to turn away. The bread maintained the desired stretchy texture comparable to that of a gluten bread, while still remaining fluffy. Although I had had my fill to eat by the time that I tried this, I ate it nonetheless! I urge anyone who visits to give this a try.

The owner, Hiro, explained to me that he aims to balance high quality ingredients and an excellent product with a reasonable price point. I found this to be true. In summary, this is a special find to be able to genuinely enjoy gluten free products both for those who are gluten free and tasty enough for those who do eat gluten to also be satisfied by the product. Kiari West strikes the balance of excellent service and remarkable products. I was impressed. Check it out for yourself!