vrijdag 19 december 2014

THREE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY FAVOURITE CITY

Here are 3 things I love about my favorite city Amsterdam:

1. Sightseeing on your own boat (sloep)

The nicest way to see this gorgeous city is from the water. But don't get on one of the heavily polluting sight seeing boats that race tourists through the canals. Rent your own little boat, bring some wine, bionades, lunch, snacks, portable bbq, speakers on board and cruise the many canals at your own pace. On warm sunny days, it seems that most of Amsterdam's social life happens on the water.


25% of Amsterdam's surface is water, so you have a lot to explore, stick to the historic canal belt, Amstel river, western and eastern islands, the IJ river and venture east past the Scheepvaartmuseum towards Brouwerij 't IJ and the windmill De Gooijer, drinking Brouwerij 't IJ beer on the jetties adjacent to Brouwerij 't IJ is THE thing to do on a sunny day.


2. Getting lost in Amsterdam by bike

The best way to get around town is by bike. However, if you're not comfortable on a bike, don't get on a bike. A very fun thing to do is to join rush hour traffic on a sunny week day. Since I manage 3 construction sites in the city (one in east, one in west, one in south) I often join rush hour traffic on my bike, it's the fastest way to reach any destination in the city. And the cheapest.



Amsterdam is very compact. The A10 beltway circumvents Amsterdam's area of interest. East-West is a 9km trip. North to South is a 10km trip. What I love to do is to venture out, to an unknown area and just bike random streets. What happens is that I always make new discoveries on such expeditions, shops, bars, restaurans, play grounds, parks, markets, galleries... Amsterdam has a lot of hidden gems, and the real Amsterdam experience is to be found outside the historic canal belt. Every little neighborhood in Amsterdam has it's own cool bars, shops, markets,....

3. The food scene

Holland is not famous for it's food. However, there's a lot of good food in Amsterdam, and a thriving food scene.


Sure you can dine at world class Michelin star restaurants. But in my humble opinion, they aren't better or more special than the ones you found in Belgium or France. Price/quality wise you're better off abroad if Michelin star restaurants is what you're after. BUT: exception to this is Yamazato, the Japanese 2 star restaurant in the Okura Hotel. The only Japanese restaurant with 2 stars outside of Japan. Highly recommended.


What is much more exciting are the various food concepts that emerge all over town. Often organic, biological infused ideas, often set in very cool locations, and quite often emerging as a pop-up concept. Think of Wilde Zwijnen, the boys of Repere and Foyer, BAK, Baut, Restaurant As, Rijsel, Speijkervet, Cafe Modern, Goudfazant.... More conceptual ideas emerged as well, Fier with Limburg food, Bar Brouw specialized in pulled pork, Rotisserie focusses on chicken, Julius is all about the BBQ. Shared dining was introduces and now counts 5&33, Bocinq, Mercat, Boca's. In addition to all that there's now a huge selections of bars and brasseries serving excellent food: Carters, Bar Moustache, American Bar & Kitchen, Hugo's Bar & Kitchen, Franklin Bar & Kitchen...


There's now also a serious breakfast and brunch scene, with G's as the pioneers, and Little Collins, Drover's Dog, Staring at Jacob seeing their stars rise. Flanked by hundreds of exciting coffee spots scattered all over town: Bedford Stuyvesant and Bru in East, Mem's in South, Quartier Putain in the red light district, White label coffee and Berry in West and Headfirst Coffee Roasters in the Jordaan.



All in all, no matter how you find your way across Amsterdam canals and streets, there's always exciting places to discover where you can find good food, good drinks, good people, and crazy moments!

Write your own article and win great prizes: http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/content/tale-of-3-cities.shtml

maandag 15 december 2014

Fall Update 2014 - Amsterdam Restaurants & Bars

1. Restaurant As

Zuidas|Beatrixpark - Oud Zuid - Amsterdam


Hidden in the shadows of the Zuidas high rise and the Beatrix Park trees, Restaurant As is a 50ies church converted into a restaurant, with a kitchen outside. It's a great place to dine outside in summer. All organic, good ingredients, local produce... but Restaurant As lacks consistency. 


They're on the edge of the price/quality equation. Meals are served on big plates placed in the center of the table, when a lot of people in your party order the same meal, portions may turn out on the small side. That's a shame, because usually, the food is delicious and very well prepared.


Recommended, keep your fingers crossed and try it out yourself.

www.restaurantas.nl/


2. BAK


Westelijke Eilanden - Houthaven Amsterdam

Restaurant BAK is truly an experience. It's well hidden under the exposed beams roof in the Veem building lining the Oude Houthaven (Van Diemenstraat). They began as a pop up restaurant, but the pop remains up. They're here to stay. Hopefully for a very long time. You really feel like you're in a secret gastronomic hide out while dining in the BAK attic overlooking the Houthaven. 


The chef creates a daily menu. Very organic, a lot of vegetables. It's all seasonal, they grow their own vegetables in crates on the pier in the Houthaven. You can choose the number of courses you want to have. Order as many as possible, you'll love them all. Price/Quality you can't go wrong. I can recommend the wine pairing as well. You'll be dazzled. 

One of my favorite restaurants in Amsterdam.

Think Wilde Zwijnen but a bit funkier.
Highly highly recommended!

http://www.bakrestaurant.nl/


3. De Foyer

Keizersgracht | 9 Straatjes Amsterdam


From the same crew that amazed the Amsterdam food scene Répéré. The concept remains the same, another pop up restaurant, in the Felix Meritus building, together with FOAM. This time the building and interior is even more gorgeous. All biological wines, old fashioned food served in a modern way. It's all about the taste. Definitely try the cheesecake for desert, it's to die for!
  


You must try this cake!

Service is impeccable, the atmosphere is relaxed but has something elegant and glamorous. Prices are low, quality very very high!



Highly recommended.



4. De Goudfazant

Noord | Via Oosterpont


Nowadays I find myself crossing the IJ by pondje quite often. Noord is on fire. This is the first venture of the guys who run Cafe Modern. This old garage is an impressive venue. Check out the crazy bottle chandelier! Don't be shy, the place is huge, there's a lot of staff, and a lot of waiters racing past you with dishes when you head from the cloak racks to the bar, find a waiter and soon you'll be seated among hundreds of other patrons, hipsters, advertising people, business men (there's easy car parking). 

Eating here is a bargain. 30+ euros for a 3 course meal, you can't go wrong here. They have a very interesting wine list, and the staff is very able to guide you through it, in order to find that right bottle. The food leans towards traditional French, prepared to perfection. Great poussin chicken, hanger steak. 





Recommended


5. Anna

Red Light District | Warmoesstraat | Touristic Center

I will be honest with you. I shun Warmoesstraat and the Red Light District. Too many English stag parties, too many 10 € Argentinian steak houses, too many tourist traps. But it's true, the Red Light District contains a few gems, definitely for coffee and shopping (Koko Coffee & Design, Quartier Putain, ...) but there's a very fine restaurant hidden in Warmoesstraat: Anna.


It looks completely the opposite of the surrounding hell holes and oozes class, elegance and tranquility. The latter is not easy to accomplish in this area. The back faces the square behind the Oude Kerk. I must admit, I had one of the best meals all year in this restaurant. The combination of the interior, the staff, the food, the wine. Speaking of wine: if they have the Sterhuis, go for it.



You will be served little pieces of art. They taste as good as they look. Great combinations, inventive creations, generous portions, local produce, cooked to perfection. Traditional dishes, produced by Lindenhoff in Baambrugge, but the chef doesn't shun eastern influences. That is exciting. Some more trivia: they serve excellent bread.




Highly recommended.


6. Remise 47

Oud West - Foodhallen

The Bellamy square area has been the hottest place to be in Amsterdam during the fall. The old "tram remise" (tram work shop) has been converted to a posh hotel, fine restaurants, upscale real estate and a food market. First to open its doors was Remise 47 in Hotel De Hallen. Followed by Halte 3, Meat West and the foodhallen. 



The setting is wonderful, with a very nice outdoors area. The food was promising but not the end of the world. The scallops were well prepared, and the meat was alright but not memorable. Since we tried it out after they just switched concepts and were short in staff we are confident they will be up to par in no time.





 www.remise47.com


7. Ree 7

9 Straatjes - Western Canal Belt


The 9 straatjes are fun to shop. There are some nice bars, and some good restaurants. One of the best places in this area to have lunch is Ree7. It's small but cozy. This gastro bar definitely has a hipster flair to it, but the crowd is very varied. The main thing is: they serve healthy looking and very taste food. Very nice and creative salads, not very common to find those kinds of salads on Amsterdam menus. 






Recommended



8. De Foodhallen

The hippest place in town this fall without a doubt. Go there before it looses it's flair and is in every tourist guide possible. (And thus swarmed by Amsterdam tourists and stag parties on beerbikes).


Try the Vietnamese stand and the sausages. There's also a nice wine bar. At the east side there's a non-food market, with make up, craft beers and artsy stuff hipsters love.




Highly recommended.

www.foodhallen.nl/



On the list to check out:

Le Coq
Smokin' Barrels
Breitner
Americano Bar & Kitchen
Carter Bar & Kitchen
George Bistro
De Plantage
Volt
Aan de Amstel
Rottiserie
THT
Pho91
Taiko
Cotignac
O Mai
Graceland Bar-B-Q

Jacques Jour
Paper Planes
Van 't Spit
Razzmatazz
Rijks
W36
Mossel & Gin
Buurman & Buurman
Van de buurt
Hotel not hotel
Waldorf Astoria
Meat West
Halte 3
Eddy Spaghetti