A few days in Amsterdam

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, found some gems that I thought I'd share with you here. I'm not going to go into loads of detail about what we did/ate/saw as there is so much to discover there but I have to let you in on where to find a bloody good cup of coffee, some incredible pizza and tasty chips and mayo, all pretty essential when it comes down to it. If you do want to read more about some of Amsterdam's essential culinary treats check out Hollow Legs.
If you're in Amsterdam for a special occasion or you're just feeling fancy De Kas Restaurant is an absolute must. It's an incredible restaurant set in an old municipal green house that the owner and chef saved from being demolished to create an amazing culinary experience. What makes it quite unusual and very special is that they grow a lot of their own produce in the greenhouse on site and in small farms outside of the main city. They also source the best local seasonal produce and create an ever changing menu according to what's in season and what's good that day. I didn't take photos of the food, I don't often take photos of the food.. partly because I'm still behind on the whole smart phone thing and my current phone sucks but partly because I've nommed all the food before even thinking about taking a photo of it! Hopefully I'll get a snazzmatazz phone soon and will be a whizz. All I'll say about the food at De Kas is that it was unbelievably good! Everyone eats the same menu unless you have specific allergies or dislike something they're serving so the nice thing was that as we were eating early, we didn't see what other people were having! Starters were beautiful followed by venison to die for, a trio of perfect desserts and a delicious cheese plate. What's more is that we had the wine pairing (a wine to match each dish) which just enhanced the whole experience. The staff and service were impeccable, with explanations of each dish and the wine as well. What was even better was that it was T's idea to go here as a complete surprise to me and it really was the highlight of the trip.

The next day, a little hungover we wondered over to the main shopping streets in search of much needed caffeine. Coffee@Last came to our rescue. Serving beautiful coffee and brownies, sandwiches or pastries, it doesn't look all that special from the outside. A warm welcome awaits as does some great coffee, they clearly know what they're doing. Though a little part of me feels that it might be let down by its location, right next to a few tacky touristy spots which can be off putting but it's worth a look for a decent caffeine fix, it's right near the station too so we took a stop there right before getting our train out of the city.

Looking for budget places to eat when staying near the city centre can be a bit of a challenge but we spotted this pizza place, Da Portare Via on a stroll of an evening and so decided to give it a whirl. The place is tiny but on later research I discovered that there are a number of other larger branches in the city. They make everything fresh in front of you and they have a beautiful wood fire oven to cook the pizza in, moving them around on one of those giant paddle things. So nice to watch! The pizzas are simple and classic, with lovely ingredients. I had one with Parma ham and rocket that was delicious.

This particular branch is mainly takeaway but is next to a very cool pub and people were coming over from the pub, grabbing piles of pizza to take back to their friends enjoying the beer next door. We were lucky enough to grab the two stools at the front of the pizza place to chow down our pizza but this did mean we couldn't have a beer, they sell only take away alcohol. The people in the pub had a good thing going on! I guess if you go to a larger branch you could probably have booze on site. We stopped by the pub after we'd scoffed all our pizza.
What are the dutch known for if not chips and mayo!? We went down to the market, Albert Cuypmarkt of an afternoon in search of lunchtime snacky and the first stand you come to had your classic fries and mayo and they were the bomb. The market was pretty good too, with a variety of food, sweets and chocolate private parts.. interesting if you're into it.
Amsterdam is a great place with a fantastic vibe to it. T was mesmerised by all the bikes and I was inspired by how stylish the cyclists are and how many there are of all different ages, shapes and sizes, it's brilliant. T sought out some of the specialist bike shops to get some inspiration for ugrading his single speed bike to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats this summer (madness). I also bought some amazing panniers not from a bike shop but from a shop that only sold red stuff! They're going to look great on my red bike! I'll try to post a picture once they're in situ.

Where we stayed: We stayed in a tiny B&B (only two guest rooms) called B&B Margot. It was a lovely room, with a view of the canal and an amazing breakfast each day. There was also a really cute cat (the main reason we chose to stay there, obvs) Here's a picture of her looking desolate at the prospect of our leaving, I think she kinda liked having us around.

 
How we got there: Eurostar. It's an easy journey with a quick change in Brussels, taking about 5 hours in total (not including the wait time). Book in advance and you might get lucky with a £99 return deal, it's worth it I tell you!

Smiths of Smithfield

Friday night is steak night! Well, not every Friday but last Friday at any rate. T had a windfall recently and opted to spend the monies (or some thereof) on moi and an epic plate of beef!
Owned by John Torode (best known for co-presenting Masterchef) Smiths of Smithfield is a good bet if you want some quality meat dishes as it is opposite the historic meat market still operating there. It was a first visit for both of us and with a little internet research I discovered the place is huge! Four floors of fun. The ground floor is a buzzing, industrial-chic bar where we stopped off to whet the whistle as we were early for our booking upstairs. Thumping base and chatty crowds, it is an intense and buzzing atmosphere when you first arrive, I was unable to stop gawping at the beautiful people who clearly frequent this bar on a regular basis. The drinks on offer here are excellent and varied and we sampled an excellent pale ale by the half pint. (I know, but we didn’t want to fill up on beer when we knew what was waiting for us upstairs). Each floor also has a cloakroom which is handy in the winter months.
So, to upstairs as we had booked a table on the fourth floor (or floor 3, as Torode confusingly has labelled one floor, level P which stands for private dining). We took the stairs, not only to truly earn our beefy delights but also to snoop on the other floors as we went past. Level 1 is home to The Wine Rooms where there is an extensive wine list and small tapas style dishes on offer. Then comes level P which is private dining, as previously mentioned, so no chance to peek in there. Level 2 is The Dining Room, think bistro style dining but it’s level 3 where we came to a halt (it’s the top one, after all) and we were very happy. Known as The Top Floor in the restaurant, this is where you find your more luxurious and stylish dining, yet the feeling here is also very calm and relaxed – far from formal or stuffy which was a relief. This was of course down to the welcome on arrival and from the attentive and friendly waiters, the view also made the stair climb wortwhile.
Our starters were a great way to kick start our evening of eating, sharing between us one dish of Scallops, Chorizo, Toulouse Sausage, “Baked Beans” and the other consisting of Roast Foie Gras, Pears, Cobnuts, Brioche. The scallops were cooked perfectly and the slightly spicy beans that accompanied them were perfectly cooked and spiced. The foie gras was unlike anything else, so tender, smooth and rich made all the more decadent by the brioche slice is came with.
The starters were just the right stuff to get the juices flowing for the main event – we ordered the big kahuna, chateaubriand. Chateaubriand comes from the tenderloin of the cow, and is so tender and so flavoursome when prepared correctly. This cut from Smith’s, as with all their beef cuts, has been aged for 26 days and the flavour is all the better for it. More importantly, we were bowled over by how juice the steak, it was astounding. We asked for the steak to be cooked medium and I would say that it came out the rarer side, but no matter, in fact that’s why I ask for a steak to be medium because it usually treads the right line on the still-mooing to charcoal scale. All I know is that I’m rarely disappointed in a medium steak. Without doubt this was the best piece of steak I’ve ever had. We opted for sides of kale and French fries – the kale came with anchovies and garlic whose salty contrast and bold flavours cut through the sumptuous flavours of the meat. The fries were pale, golden, crispy and piping hot. Delish.
Now, the sauces were amazing – with our big cut we were allowed two to try and we went for horseradish cream, obviously. The other sauce was bone marrow butter! Meaty butter with such richness to it that the beef was definitely enhanced by it – I’ve not seen this on any other menu so it was a great opportunity to try it. The horseradish cream was great, but not really horseradishy enough for my taste – the word cream should really have given this away but I was expecting more oomph. That aside, we were also offered a selection of mustards to try – wholegrain, Dijon and English – which were all superb, even if I did overwhelm myself with the amount of saucy blobs on my plate.
All this wonderful food was accompanied by a delicious carafe of red wine though I fail you in not knowing which wine it was. T is the wine geek between us and I just happily drink his choices! What I did like though, was how many of the wines are available in a carafe as we often struggle to finish a bottle so that was a real bonus.
The only thing that let me down from this amazing dining experience (did I mention the view?!) was the desert menu. What we both tend to look for in a desert is something simple, classic and a suitably decadent end to the meal, often we end up sharing. The offerings here were fussy, over the top and pretentious to the point where I opted for ice cream, albeit very delicious, caramel, chocolate and vanilla flavoured ice cream. T on the other hand had the Carrot & Banana Slice, Cream Cheese, Orange, Walnut Ice Cream. The slice was large and very dry looking while the other flavours were over the top and the presentation was fussy to say the least with a carrot just sat in the middle of the plate, pointing almost accusingly at the eater! The puddings somehow seemed incongruous to the rest of the offerings here, but perhaps that’s just me. The cheese options were impressive though, we didn’t have a cheese board but a selection of lovely English cheeses is always a way to win with me. Definitely the best steak of my life, not quite the best dining experience. I intend to go back and try the other floors though as they all looked so inviting.. watch this space. 

View Larger Map

Market Goodness.

One of my great London loves, has to be the array of markets to be found here. In my 7 years (gosh, SEVEN) of living in the capital I have woken at hours unseen by many at the weekend to miss the crowds and purchase the finest wares for cooking up a treat (or several treats) over the weekend.
Partly, this love stemmed from my third year at university when I started a job at Borough Market and really got absorbed in the atmosphere, the friendly traders and the amazing food on offer there (and of course taking full advantage of traders discounts!). Now, Borough market has changed considerably since then (and so have I, now on the 9-5 conveyor belt) but its spirit remains and the culinary offerings there are as good as ever and this time of year is a great time to visit. As Christmas draws closer, it is so festive and you can wander around the market with your hessian tote bag filling up as fast as your wallet empties, all the while clutching a nice hot cup of mulled wine or, my personal favourite, spiced cider (watch out though, that stuff is strong!).
Much as my love for Borough still stands, I admit I find it increasingly difficult to visit as the hordes of tourists do much to marr the experience for me and make it hard to get any real shopping done. However, it is worth getting up especially early to miss the worst of the crowds and visit your favourite stalls, though this means getting there for about 8am. Of course, the other alternative for those lucky few who don't work on Fridays is to visit then but the market still gets busy so you need to choose your time well to make the most of what's on offer.

Recently, a favourite tour of mine has been to head to Borough, nice and early followed by a saunter down Bermondsey street to Bermondsey farmers market, followed by Maltby Street market. This works equally well if you do it the other way around! Don't forget to stop by Bermondsey antiques for a real treasure trove experience.

A bit about Maltby St. started almost two years ago, some of the traders from Borough market who all had their storage underneath the market until crossrail kicked in, found alternative storage places in the railway arches along Druid and Maltby streets, a stone's throw from Tower bridge road. Monmouth Coffee  opened up their roasting house (above) and realising that so many of the borough community were in the same spot, these traders have opened their arches up to the public on Saturday mornings and it's created somewhere really quite special that has grown more by word of mouth than anything else.
About 6 months ago, Borough Market did suffer some bad press as they took the decision to evict 7 traders, The Bermondsey Seven, for trading at Maltby Street. This article from the Evening standard in July of this year gives more informatuion. My understanding is that this dispute has now been resolved and the traders have been allowed back in time for Christmas, however, that it happened at all seems concerning and tells you something about how Borough is run.
Unlike Borough, Maltby Street isn't a market, rather it feels like a wonderful collective of market traders really working together to promote great produce and it's worth taking the chance to visit while you can. The traders will all take the time to talk with you about their wares and the passion for their products shines through in a way that's hard to come by, you're bound to make a few discoveries.
Bermondey Farmers market is also much less crowded and more relaxed and you can get all the essentials here, including a great choice of meat and veg and strolling from there along Bermondsey street, with some of London's best independent shops, cafes and restaurants is a really nice way to spend a lazy afternoon.

Artillery Passage

I've wandered through Artillery Passage on a number of occasions as it's a handy cut through from Spitalfields through to Bishopsgate and Liverpool Street station. Each time I think on how charming it is and a snapshot of a London from a bygone era. So of a Friday night, on a quest for some satisfying meal T and I decided Spitalfields would provide the answer to our foodie hankering. What we were hankering for we weren't entirely sure but we thought Spitalfields would have it as that lovely covered market houses just about any food stuff you can think of. As it turned out something more secluded was in order and so my mind raced to Artillery Passage where a number of quaint and  (mostly) independent restaurants nestle side by side. Although slightly marred by the sight of giant pink wheelie bins and by the groups of Jack the Ripper tourists (ugh, tourists!) there is a certain sinister magic to the place. No wonder, given that Jack's final victim, Mary Kelly was found yards from the alley and little seems to have changed there since his day.
The passage is also home to Alexander Boyd, a beautiful menswear shop and a testament to the rag-trade heritage of the East end.  Alexander Boyd's tailoring workshop is the only one that remains in Whitechapel and The Gentle Author over at Spitalfields Life has written a marvellous piece about it.

The restaurants here are varied and you're will find something to suit your tastes. Of course, our usual tactic of gawping through the windows at people's plates to decide if it looked suitably tasty worked a treat and we found ourselves nestled in a table at Olives and Figs. It is a fantastic Turkish Mezze bar and grill that is both delicious and reasonably priced. It is BYOB which keeps prices down and the service is polite and welcoming, if a little on the slow side on our visit. A starter of a sharing platter followed by grilled lamb was a winning combination and we ate ourselves to the brink of explosion without stretching the wallet. Baklava for dessert was a welcome syrupy sweet end to a delicious and authentic Turkish meal at excellent value for money - I will be going back.


View Larger Map