Amsterdam (Rough Guide) - Martin Dunford [108]
Eating and drinking | Snacks and sandwiches |
Dutch cheese
Dutch cheeses have a somewhat unjustified reputation abroad for being bland and rubbery, but in fact they can be delicious, even if there isn’t the variety you find in, say, France or Britain. Most Dutch cheeses vary little from the familiar pale yellow, semi-soft Gouda, within which differences in taste come from the varying stages of maturity: jonge (young) cheese has a mild flavour, belegen (mature) has a fuller flavour, while oude (old) can be pungent and strong, with a grainy, flaky texture. Generally, the older they get, the saltier they are. Best-known among the other cheeses is Edam, also semi-soft in texture but slightly creamier than Gouda; it’s usually shaped into balls and coated in red wax ready for export – it’s not eaten much in the Netherlands. Leidse is simply a bland Gouda laced with cumin or caraway seeds, with most of its flavour coming from the seeds; Maasdam is a Dutch version of Emmental or Jarlsberg: strong, creamy and full of holes, sold under brand names such as Leerdammer and Maasdammer; you’ll also come across Dutch-made Emmental and Gruyère. The Dutch like their cheese in thin slices, cut with a cheese slicer rather than in large chunks.
Amsterdam has several specialist cheese shops and there’s also a good range of cheeses on sale at the Saturday farmers’ market on the Noordermarkt (9am–1pm). Finally, Amsterdam is within easy striking distance of two world-famous cheese markets, one at Edam, the other at Alkmaar.
Eating and drinking |
Cakes and biscuits
Dutch cakes and biscuits are always good, best eaten in a banketbakkerij (patisserie) with a small serving area; alternatively buy to take away and munch them on the hoof. Top of the list is the ubiquitous Dutch speciality appelgebak – chunky, memorably fragrant apple-and-cinnamon pie, served hot in huge wedges, often with whipped cream (met slagroom). Other sweet nibbles include speculaas, a crunchy cinnamon cookie with a gingerbread-like texture; stroopwafels, butter wafers sandwiched together with runny syrup; and amandelkoek, cakes with a crisp biscuit outside and melt-in-the-mouth almond paste inside.
Eating and drinking |
Full meals
The majority of bars serve food – everything from sandwiches to a full menu – in which case they may be known as eetcafés. This type of place is usually open all day, serving both lunch and evening meals. Full-blown restaurants, on the other hand, tend to open in the evening only, usually from around 5.30pm or 6pm until around 10pm.
If you’re on a budget, stick to the dagschotel (dish of the day) wherever possible, for which you pay around €12 for a meat or fish dish, with a generous serving of potatoes and other vegetables or salad; note that it’s often only served at lunchtime or between 6 and 8pm. Otherwise, you can pay up to €20–25 for a meat or fish main course in an average restaurant. Vegetarian dining isn’t a problem: many eetcafés and restaurants have at least one meat-free dish on the menu, and the city has a scattering of veggie restaurants, offering three-course set meals from about €10.
As for foreign cuisines, the Dutch are particularly partial to Indonesian food; Nasi goreng and Bami goreng (rice or noodles with meat) are good basic dishes, though there are normally more exciting items on the menu, some very spicy; chicken or beef in peanut sauce (saté) is always available. Or you could ask for a rijsttafel – a sampler meal, comprising boiled rice and/or noodles served with perhaps ten or twelve small, often spicy dishes and hot sambal sauce on the side. Usually ordered for two or more people, you can reckon on paying around €20–25 per person. Surinamese restaurants are much rarer, but they offer a distinctive, essentially Creole cuisine – try roti, flat pancake-like bread served with a spicy curry, hardboiled egg and