the daily view from Thru Other Eyes

Happy birthday Noam

  September 1, 2009; Tweede Jan Steenstraat 1, Amsterdam @ 20.00

Today our dear friend Noam invited our 'inner circle' of friends to celebrate his birthday. Not everyone could make it and from those who could not all had arrived yet. But I didn't have my normal camera so I got this shot before the light was too dim for my cam phone.

Noam decided on a neighborhood Lebanese restaurant called Artist. None of us had been there ever and no one knew anyone who had so it was a bit of a gamble. And sometimes gambles pay off big time and tonight was one of those occasion. The food was really good, the atmosphere was cozy and warm and the couple that owns the place are really wonderful, wonderful people.

Artist is run by a husband-wife team and their son works there also. From the husband and wife, one is Lebanese Jewish and the other is Lebanese Christian. We never figured out which was which and it didn't really matter. They really made us feel like we were guests at their home enjoying that legendary Lebanese hospitality. Noam had made no prior arrangements and thought everyone would just order a la carte. Fortunately the owners had a different idea.

Knowing we were there as a small group celebrating Naom's birthday they just took control, not allowing us to even see the menus. "Don't worry," we were told, "sit back, relax and enjoy. We take care of everything."

They put down a great spread of appetizers: falafel balls that were very original in their lightness and seasoning, baba ganoush that had been perfectly roasted, tabouli with a fresh mint and tomato flavor, lebne, dolmas, Fatayer B'jibneh (mini pizza like things with feta) and Lahme B'Ajin (mini pizzas with ground lamb and pine nuts). Then came two dishes for the main course: the house specialty Riz' 'a Djej (spiced rice mixed with chicken and almonds) and grilled ground lamb meat with kibbeh (meat pie with cooked bulgar wheat, chopped mint and onions mixed into ground lamb meat). And of course the wine flowed like the head waters of the Al-Litani river.

When desert came out we were all surprised by a plate of delicious sweet baklavah with one in the middle with a candle! They played a kind of Arabic motief happy birthday tune to which Noam, never one to be shy, did his best imitation of an exotic and mysterious belly dancer.

Tapas at Cafe Siempre

  August 10, 2009; 1e Sweelinckstraat 23, Amsterdam @ 18.40

Went to one of our favorite places to eat, Tapas Cafe Siempre. Generally we only go in the summer when one can eat outdoors. They are located in a nice small pedestrian cross-street near the Albert Cuyp market. The inside is small, a bit stuffy and not so attractive but they are one of the few cafes with gas heaters outside so the outdoor eating opportunities there are a bit more than at most places. The prices are reasonable, they have a large selection of tapas and they are quite good.

Besides eight normal tables outside they also have these wooden lounge type seats where the house cat often holds court. I think he may sleep more peacefully here than at a Chinese restaurant. He didn't even wake up from the crazy guy who was engaging various diners and passers-by in loud, sometimes irritating and sometimes amusing antics.

Tang

July 20, 2009; home, Amsterdam @ 08.45

Pretty much every day we have a fresh fruit smoothie for breakfast or snack. Today's included watermelon, banana, strawberries and in commemoration of the first lunar landing 40 years ago today I added raspberries for some extra tang. Get, it? Tang! hahahaha....one small step for humor...very small... and maybe backwards... And thanks to the spell checker, I just discovered, after 53 years, that raspberries has a 'p' in it. Live and learn....

Turkish delights

June 26, 2009; Albert Cuypstraat 40, Amsterdam @ 19.00

Today was a beautiful & hot (25C/77F) summer day so we decided to have dinner at one of the city's many many restaurants with a sidewalk terrace. We chose for a really friendly and tasty Turkish restaurant called Orontes.

The restaurant is named after a region of Turkey that is defined by the tail end of the Orontes River. The river begins far south in Lebanon also making its way through Syria. It is one of the few rivers in the area that flow south to the north as it makes its way to the Mediterranean Sea.

The cuisine of the area, partially reflected in the restaurant's menu has largely been defined by history as ancient empires came and went. Traditional dishes reflect Greek, Roman, Arab, French and Turkish influences.

The restaurant's specialties include charcoal grilled fish and meats and a delicious variety of cold and warm salads and appetizers. As appetizers we chose this time fried calamari and one of their signature dishes - baked mussels in a Turkish style tomato and red pepper sauce. For the main course we both had the grilled dorado, all washed down with copious amounts of Cola Light.

The restaurant recently received a 9 (out of 10) from the Netherlands' leading restaurant critic. It is always crowded and despite the quality and popularity strives to maintain a (relatively) reasonable price level (tonight's bill was €50).

BBQ

June 2, 2009; Back balcony, Amsterdam @ 19.30

Summer weather continues so too the summer theme so we decided to do a little bbq. Just a few beef sausages and burgers, baked beans and baby asparagus. Yummy yummy

You gotta love those fries...

May 28, 2009; Voetboogsteeg 33, Amsterdam @ 13.30

I had a good and somewhat late breakfast this morning but while running around town at 1.30PM I got a bit peckish. At that peckish moment I was passing the small alleyway where VleminckX friet (french fries) shop has been located since 1887.

VleminckX is considered one of the Netherlands' best friet shop. The french fries are Belgium style meaning they are thick, handcut and fried to a golden brown. VleminckX changes their vegetarian frying oil daily (neither points are usual customs among friet shops) and they have a huge selection of sauces.

Fries are traditionally eaten with mayonnaise but friet shops offer various sauces from peanut sauce, curry sauce, tomato ketchup and a lot of other sauces. The fries are served in paper cones with the sauces poured on top. Many people, including myself, like to top off the sauce(s) with a spoonful of fresh chopped onions.

I had a small size with tomato ketchup and onions. That's my favorite.

The Sawmill Cafe

April 17, 2009; Westerstraat 182, Amsterdam @ 13.50

After a meeting we went to lunch at EetCafe De Zagerij. An 'eetcafe' is a cafe that also serves a limited menu ('eet' from the word 'eten' meaning food or eating). De Zagerij is located in the Jordaan section of the center. It used to be one of Amsterdam's real proletarian workers neighborhoods but has been almost totally re-gentrified over the last 20 years. 'De Zagerij' means 'the sawmill' and the building used to be a small sawmill and wood working shop. It is a slightly more stylized version of a traditional Dutch brown cafe. Note the Jugenstile light fixtures over the bar which are not usually found in a brown cafe. De Zagerij is a nice example of how our multi-cultural city sometimes finds a positive synthesis. One of the owners is Turkish and the menu had a nice combination of Dutch fare, a few Turkish items and their most popular dish - hamburger on fresh Turkish bread which is what we all ate.

The Heineken horses

April 5, 2009; Stadhouderskade 70, Amsterdam @ 16.30

Yesterday I came across the 'beer bike' and today I saw the Heineken promotional horse-drawn beer wagon. Does beer play a central role in Holland's social-cultural life and history? Yes!

Tricky Theater Restaurant

 March 18, 2009; Tricky Theater Restaurant, Oosterdokskade 10, Amsterdam @ 12.20

Amsterdam has a lot of funky things on offer and a lot of water and often you find funky things on the water. Like the Tricky Theater Restaurant where they offer eats and shows, mostly magic shows and open podium nights. On the map (see address link above) the area looks like much empty space. The satellite image is from several years ago when it was still a huge construction site. Now there is a brand new state of the art library, music academy and other office buildings.

De Taart van m'n Tante - Amsterdam's funkiest bakery and cafe

March 13, 2009; De Taart van Mijn Tante (My Auntie's Cakes) cafe and cake bakery - Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 66, Amsterdam @ 17.25

My friend Oren at our friend Noam and Siemon's popular and funky cafe and cake bakery. Upstairs is their equally funky B&B called Cake Under My Pillow

Albert Cuyp Market

March 5, 2009; fish stall in the famous Albert Cuyp Market, Amsterdam, NL @ 14.10

The Albert Cuyp Market is Europe's largest daily outdoor market where you can find pretty much everything both food and non-food. We were thinking of a fish or seafood dinner. Decided on two lovely dorade fish. They gut and scale them for you (thank goodness) and we just seasoned them and gave them a good fry.

Delicious Lentil Soup

March 2 2009 Shmulik's kitchen, Amsterdam @ 14.45

Spontaneously ended up at a dear friend's house to hang out and have a late lunch. Both of us were coincidentally off today. Over the weekend he had made a very tasty and very hearty lentils soup. We were sitting around the table chatting waiting for the soup to warm. It was very good, esp with the Turkish flatbread.

Hartog's Boterham - Classic Amsterdam

  Hartog's Boterham (sandwich shop) @ 10.45 AM
Wibaustraat 77; Amsterdam

Newest addition to the famous Hartog's Volkoren bakery. The bakery has been in business since 1896 and continues to bake only whole wheat bread products according to the original recipes from founder Aagje Hartog. They even grind their own wheat right in the bakery. This prize winning bakery has never expanded into a chain and thanks to its original artisan quality and sphere is very successful serving 1400 customers a day! The new sandwich shop is the best value for money in town for a delicious sandwich, coffee or fresh juice.