Rainarai - Amsterdam

Eating and traveling is a wonderful concept. Exotic, aspirational, liberating, yet, all too often, disappointing and unsatisfying. Either you stick too closely to the guide book (treading the path well-traveled) or your pursuit of the quintessential local spot ends with mixed results. That's why discovering an authentic, earnest spot like Rainarai makes the whole process worthwhile...

North African cuisine, I guess, but they don't bend over backwards explaining anything. In fact, in a friendly city that unilaterally speaks English, it was actually refreshing to have to decode some Dutch. And there's no menu. Just a showcase and a chalkboard with whatever was cooked that day. And it changes daily - we know because we kept going back...

Occupying an odd-shaped corner spot, bordering the Jordaan, Rainarai looks like a too-small bodega. It's at once friendly and aloof. Nondescript and unique. There's not even a sign (I had to swipe a business card to even know the name), only a couple of crates of fresh fruits and vegetables to signal its existence. And on a sunny day, they'll toss the rugs on the sidewalk and let you dine on the Lauriergracht canal. Don't expect fussy service or over-attentive waiters. Or even waiters, really...

I can't recount all the food we had over our three trips (truth is, I don't remember). What stood out was the couscous with apricots and a hollowed out Butternut Squash roasted with figs, goat cheese, spinach and lots of other great stuff. But what made it work was the complete absence of pretense. Like I envision a quick-service restaurant in Marrakesh. Maybe Rainarai is better, maybe worse, but it doesn't seem to care. You can't help but admire anyplace that is so disinterested in making it into Frommers they don't even both to hoist a sign over head. Oh yeah, and the food was great...

Rating: 7.5 / 10.0
Cost: $

Rainarai
Prinsengracht 252
Amsterdam
020-624 97 91

Vyne Wine Bar - Amsterdam

I'm infatuated with the idea of wine bars. Elegant, usually aesthetically interesting, bars with eclectic menus of starter-sized food and a diverse, comprehensive list of by-the-glass wines. What better place to read a book in the corner for a couple hours? Why is it then, that this is yet another one of my dreams unrealized?

My first and biggest issue is usually the wine. You would think that an establishment so self-described would take great pride and care in selecting the actual wine, for which they are named. Not so, I have found. I'm not saying they, in general, serve bad wines, and maybe, like everything in life, my disappointment is a function of my expectations, but the wines are rarely distinctive. Rarely special...

Next, I've found, in my limited experience, that the stereotype of the aloof, exclusive wine scene is more or less perpetuated by the typical wine bar. I'm generalizing here, but can I get someone that isn't trying really, really hard to smush as many wine buzzwords into a sentence as possible? "...I think you'll find our Alsatian selections have a wonderful nose, but may be overly fruit-forward for the oysters..." I made that up and have no idea whether it makes sense, but you get my point...

On the Prinsengracht canal, on the western edge of Amsterdam's city center, sits Vyne. A few doors down from their high-end, concept restaurant, Envy, is a narrow, long room with a few tables and a bar. The dimly lit interior (alas, no book in the corner) and austere fixtures melded to create a library-like stillness (if there are libraries where it's too dark to read), at least on a Monday night. Not uninviting, but not exactly welcoming. But with 85 wines by the glass, how could I go wrong?

Marques de Grinoa, Toledo (Spain) Syrah 2002
Tiefenbrunner Alto Adigo (Italy) Gerwurztraminer 2005
Serano ham and melon granita

It's not that I went wrong. Both wines were solid. Good. Nice. Just nothing I'd seek out again. And therein lies the problem. Isn't that the purpose of a wine bar? To screen out the ordinary and deliver the sublime? Yes, I know there are practical considerations. There are distributors and small production vineyards that don't want to be left with the not-quite-sublime bottles. There are different palates and tastes. I get all that. Yet I left Vyne like I've left most wine bars, unsatisfied...

Of course, maybe I'm frequenting the wrong wine bars...

Vyne
Prinsengracht 411
Amsterdam
020 344 64 08

De Kas - Amsterdam

There is public transit in Amsterdam, most noticeably in the form of bright blue trams, which share the road with a sea of black bikes and tiny cars (I'm putting the over/under for crippled American tourists per summer at nine - yes, insensitive, but these things have no conscience. The trams not the American tourists - okay, maybe both). As a visitor, however, I think the best way to see the city, and remember what it's like to be ten again, is to rent a bike and jump in the mix. The city's traffic is completely oriented around Amsterdam's preferred mode of travel and, while often intimidating, the learning curve is not so steep. I say this because De Kas almost certainly requires a bike ride. Set off from the road, just south of Oosterpark and probably three or four miles from the city center. About a 30-minute ride from our Jordaan location, we allowed the time and had fun with with it (post meal it was a welcome bit of exercise)...

On approach, you at once feel completely isolated as you would in a city garden or state park (either of which, this area might actually be). A well-manicured children's playground and grassy patch of ground are all that share this slice of solitude with De Kas. De Kas is made up of two connected greenhouses, one an actual greenhouse that helps feed the guests and the other a giant dining room with clean, unobtrusive light filling a massive space...

The menu is set and they accept substitutions only for vegetarians and allergies (during my recital the waitress actually sat down to remember my list). Five courses (three appetizers brought out simultaneously, one entrée, and a dessert) for 47.50 Euros. Before ordering, they offered Champagne with basil from the garden, which was a nice touch. The earthy basil competing with the bubbles... The wine for the night was an Australian shiraz (Shotfire Ridge 2004) which was outstanding. Later, I learned it's a relatively cheap ($15-20) 92-point (Robert Parker) bargain if you can find it...

The menu wasn't revealed to us up front, which I liked. As we became engrossed in conversation, a new plate would make an appearance requiring a lengthy explanation...

Veal with lemon foam and pesto atop ratatouille
Saffron cauliflower with proscuitto, assorted tomatoes and gnocchi
Soft-boiled egg atop butter lettuce and french beans with shaved truffles and parmesan
Grilled duck breast with parsley risotto, chanterelles w/ garlic and (a long) radish (-type thing)
Marinated plum pastry with sheep's milk frozen yogurt and a pistacchio cookie

Where do I start? The small chunk of veal (airplane meal sized) was cooked perfectly. The soft boiled egg/truffle/parmesan combo was flavorful without trying too hard. But the best course, oddly, was the cauliflower. So fresh, cooked so perfectly with saffron used so sparingly (maybe only for color), it typified the meal. Yes, I knew De Kas was all about the fresh ingredients from their property, but that's pretty much everyone's schtick nowadays. Only this was no schtick, they really let the food speak for itself, with just enough restraint on the spices to complement, not distract. The entrée-sized duck breast was also cooked to perfection, tender and flavorful with the just-picked parsley taste of the risotto. The dessert was outstanding. Again, the perfect balance of sweetness, and like the rest of the meal, so clearly made for an adult's sense of taste. The sheep's milk frozen yogurt is, I'm guessing, what Pinkberry is striving to replicate (I'll know if I ever decide to wait on the lines)...

In short, the meal was near-perfect. From the rare European no smoking rule (a plus for us), to the relaxed yet focused service, to the unbelievable food. Before all of today's restauranteurs build their menus around "what's fresh at the market" and "make the food the star" they should be ordered to enjoy a meal at De Kas...

Rating: 9.5 / 10.0
Cost: $$$+

De Kas
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3
1097 DE Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 462 45 62

Blauw aan de Wal - Amsterdam

Translated from Babel Fish, it means: blue to the rampart. Translated from Webster's Dictionary, rampart means: an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes [note: back off, I know it's in the Star Spangled Banner, but it's been awhile since I've used it in a sentence]. In other words, I have no idea what the name means (and I didn't think to ask). What Blauw aan de Wal is, is an odd culinary gem in the most unlikely of places. In the heart of Amsterdam's Red Light District, through a graffiti-tagged alley and next to a tiny courtyard, is the two-story, white-linen restaurant. In fact, upon entering the alley I was graciously offered "yay-yo, speed or ecstacy" by someone who, I can only assume, wasn't affiliated with the restaurant (I could always be wrong)...

Inside, what I found was an uber attentive staff waiting to seat us and cater to our every need. The menu was short, but complex, with each of the appetizers and entrees prepared with fresh ingredients into a sophisticated rendering. The wine list was light on by-the-glass offerings, but had a nice diversity of choices by the bottle. We opted for the "set menu" - a three course meal of off-the-menu specials for 44 Euros...

Tompouce of Scottish Salmon with hard-boiled egg, fresh herbs, anchovies, capers and a roasted red pepper dressing
Bacon-wrapped Monkfish with roasted tomatoes and orange zest on creamy polenta
Verbena parfait with herbs topped with an orange confit

Evidently, a tompouce is traditionally a Dutch dessert with some type of cream between two wafers. In this case the wafers were Scottish Salmon and the cream was an egg salad-like mixture with the salty capers and anchovies adding a nice touch. At the end of the day, however, I don't like egg salad, so while this was an inventive dish and I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy it (most likely people with a penchant for egg salad), I didn't love it. The wine that accompanied the appetizer, however, was a perfect match. Las Brisas is an inexpensive Spanish wine that by itself was nothing special, but when paired with the salmon and egginess of the appetizer, really came to life...

On to the monkfish... I love bacon. I love things wrapped in bacon (usually having something to do with the bacon). I have come to realize that I do not, however, love monkfish. I don't recall ever having monkfish and I found it exceptionally meaty and not in a swordfish or sharky kind of way. It was cooked to perfection, I have no doubt, but like the aforementioned egg salad, I just don't think I really like monkfish (having nothing to do with the nightmares I will have as a result of the monkfish pictured above - he's scary and mean looking and I'm glad, in that way, I ate him). The wine the waiter suggested was solid and a good match, although I've never been a huge Rosé fan (a Graf Hardegg 2005 Rosé from Austria)...

The dessert was good. The waiter kindly explained how a parfait is basically ice cream that, instead of being turned and turned and turned into ice cream, is simply put into the freezer (and it seems he was right, although America's globalization machine had me thinking it was a fruit/yogurt mixture). The dessert was definitely the most enjoyable part of the meal...

Overall, it's a tough one. I didn't really enjoy my meal, especially relative to what it cost, but I can't help wondering if this is one of those "it's not you it's me" instances. If I was a monkfish-loving, egg salad-craving wild man, I'm sure my take would be different. Although I'm not sure I'd be as much fun at cocktail parties...

Rating: 5.5/10.0
Cost: $$$+

Blauw aan de Wal
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 99
Dam, Amsterdam
+31 (020) 330 22 57

11 - Amsterdam

11 Restaurant and Bar is all about the view. That is not to minimize the menu, the see-and-be-seen vibe or the stark industrial approach to the 11th floor loft space (including the graffiti-tagged hallways and giant art-as-eroticism posters hanging in the elevator lobby). All that does just fine to compliment the view. In a city completely dominated by squat four and five story buildings, the converted mill rises about the city's downtown like a forgotten voyeur. Unfortunately, a recent condo project to the west blocks a small chunk of the 360 degree vista, but that matters little when you're sipping a white beer at ten at night with the summer sun still beaming. The latitudinal phenomenon that allows for an 11pm sunset and 4am sunrise is pure magic. I don't know how it would feel as a local - to swing from bleak winter days to endless summer nights - but for a summer visit to one of my favorite cities, it's ideal...

An unexpected 30-hour trip to Amsterdam is a prelude for a longer (purely recreational) stay next month, but a late dinner in the Eastern Docklands area (adjacent to the Central Station) made the quick turnaround worthwhile...

Escargots with gnocchi, Dutch lettuce and parsley butter
Spinach truffle risotto with asparagus, Beaufort cheese and water cress
Peach frangipane with lavender créme

I'm not exactly sure if white beer (or witbier) was the perfect pairing for my menu, but nor do I care because I am a huge fan of the European brew. It's light and citrusy and I love the little plastic muddle they deliver with it to pulverize the lemon. 11's brand of choice was Hoegarden, a Belgian beer that I'm told is available in the States...

The food was prepared with care and each course was enjoyable, although I can't say anything stood out. The snails were a little tougher than I had a couple of weeks ago at Artisinal (my one and only escargot experience to date) and the lavender was a little overpowering in the dessert (a frangipane is evidently, in this case, a Belgian almond pastry tart) but when you consider the view, I'd highly recommend experiencing this place for dinner. At a minimum, get a drink and stare out the window...

Rating: 6.5/10.0
Cost: $$$ (33 Euros for the prix fixe menu)

11 Restaurant and Bar
Oosterdokskade 3-5
1011 AD Amsterdam
020 62 55 999

Obligatory mission statement disguised as first post...

While I completely recognize the value of a blog (power to the people and all that), I am not a devotee. Sure, I have several bookmarked. Guy Kawasaki's energetic take on the business world, John August's carefully constructed thoughts on the world of screenwriting, and, while I don't know that I would consider it a blog in the truest sense, who doesn't bookmark Bill Simmons as The Sports Guy? But I'm not addicted. That is, they're not part of my day-to-day. And if you subtract those few outstanding blogs from the blogosphere, I am blinded by the sea of mastubratory musings that hopefully provide some sort of catharsis to the blog-er, yet are rarely of value to the blog-ee (at least as decided by me)...

I am not looking to form a community, appear in a New York Times blurb or parlay my food-lifestyle blog into a lucrative career as a food critic (offers on the aforementioned encouraged). This blog is meant to be but one fabric in the wonderful world wide web. It struck me, when researching restaurants for an upcoming trip to Amsterdam, that I needed help. Some sort of resource (or collection of resources) to help me avoid a night spent with my wife in a restaurant overlooking an outdoor brothel (we're saving that for the last night. joke)...

What I'll capture is straightforward... My thoughts on dining out, cooking in, food, wine and drink. I have no formal training, no time to do this, but it's too late. I'm in...