Amsterdam, Netherlands

Pancakes Amsterdam

When in Rome, er, Amsterdam, one eats Dutch pancakes, which are thin like a crepe. This restaurant was founded in 2007 and has been voted "best" for pancakes with a menu of Dutch pancakes, American style pancakes, each with transitional and original flavor combinations. The menu at this popular restaurant that has venues consisted of a variety of options. The traditional combination consists of ham and cheese. Since I am allergic to ham, I opted for one with Jonagold apples with Dutch grated cheese. I also selected the gluten free batter. I enjoyed this treat as the thinness left me feeling satisfied, but not heavy as other pancakes tend to do. It was also a pleasant combination of sweet and savory with the mix of apples and cheese. At each table, there are also condiments including powdered sugar and syrup. Yum.

Fromagerie Abraham Kef

During my limited time in the city, I enjoyed the beautiful skyline with quaint buildings and stopped into several cheese shops. I really enjoyed the engaged and eager interest of the staff at Fromagerie Abraham Kef. This was little shop that I entered with a front door immediately followed by steps down to the cheese cave. The staff excitedly told me about their most unique offerings and I purchased several to take home with me as they seemed to have the best variety of cheese that I found during my wanderings. This was a place I remember warmly.

I walked on an stopped into several other cheese shops, but the only other one where I made a purchase was Tromp, also with a good selection of cheese, whereas some of the other places I perused consisted of primarily Gouda style cheese, which was dominant here as well, but less so than some others. 

Dinner time for me in Amsterdam was at Restaurant Greetje. In my online searching, this was touted as having traditional style faire, but elegant.

The meal began with whole wheat rustic bread that was presented with organic butter with beet juice. I thought the butter was lovely mostly because of the striking color! 

Next, the amuse bouche was a chestnut puree with pumpkin pureed topped with butter.

This dish was characterized as having a fairly plain taste of pumpkin that maintained a thick texture, nearly requiring a knife as it was so compacted into a ball that it required me to press firmly with a fork while focusing on avoiding it flying across the plate! 

To my disappointment, I was not feeling hungry when I arrived for my reservation, likely due to being off schedule as I traveled. Therefore, after the above mentioned items, I limited my order to one, highly recommended dish.

I selected the rabbit, a dish reported to be traditional of the southern end of the Netherlands, by Belgium. I was told it was therefore unusual for this dish to be found in Amsterdam. It was served with mashed sweet potatoes and stewed celery with salsify chips. The flavor is a sweet and sour due to vinegar being used to marinate the rabbit prior to cooking. I cannot say that I would order this again, primarily because I desired more complexity of flavor and this was overpowered by the vinegar to my taste, but it was interesting to experience the traditional flavors.

Chocolatl 

I saved my favorite experience to describe at the end of this post. I LOVED MY EXPERIENCE at Chocolatl. This is a stop for an experienced chocolate lover and novice alike. The experience was wonderful because of the proprietor who had an immense knowledge of chocolate and he eagerly shared it. He provided tastes and a tasting experience, offering pointed questions to educate the taster, such as inquiring about the texture and color as I experienced each chocolate square. The walls of the store were lined with chocolates from around the world, primarily makers from Europe, which are difficult to obtain in the United States. This can be described as a gallery of specialty artisanal chocolate, primarily of single origin. They even offer single estate drinking chocolate. A decadent hidden gem. I purchased several and years later I am still wishing that I would have taken even more! If you go, will you bring me some?

Pisa, Italy

 

I went to see the leaning tower because, doesn't everyone? But while I was in Pisa, I also discovered a few somewhat less tourist driven stops along the way. As I walked through the town, I meandered through a market with many vintage goods of all types for sale. I also found a food market, Mercato delle Vettovaglie, which is well know, but unknown to me until stumbling upon it's many stalls. I admired the cheese and fish and pestos, as well as buying a cannoli, the only one that I can remember eating while in Italy! 

I also made my way down a little side street (although most of the streets in Pisa could be described exactly this way) to a restaurant I had been hoping to experience for lunch. However, they were closed! Although disappointed, a few more steps down on the same street, I enjoyed a remarkable meal of pumpkin souffle and eggplant at Sosta Dei Cavalieri. 

Pumpkin and almond pudding with Muffone cheese cream of the Carai farm, Volterra, Italy.

This is not sweet, but savory, although the presentation is commensurate with a perfect bakery dessert. It was smooth and crunchy and savory and I wanted it to last for longer than it did!

Gratin of eggplant with pecorino cheese and smoked ricotta cheese and Pachino tomato sauce. 

Here is a quintessential food picture from Italy. However, it also fits the bill for the quintessential taste of Italy. Pure fresh ingredients that are so thoughtfully combined that the simple tastes meld into something really remarkable. This was a very memorable dish and certainly what Italian eggplant is intended to taste like. Please make a stop at this restaurant if you have the opportunity. They also boast a lovely assortment of wine offered elegantly in daintily thin wine glasses. I went for the tower, but remember the food!