Eating Amsterdam

I don't often get the opportunity to travel outside of the UK, but we managed to grab a week away this February to Amsterdam. If you haven't been, it's an incredibly beautiful city that has so much more to offer than its red light district, chips and 'coffeeshops'. In particular, Amsterdam has an awesome culinary scene that was begging to be explored... So I'm going to share some of my foodie highlights with you!

The Fat Dog

On the corner of Ruysdaelkade and Van Hilligaertstraat sits the entrance to The Fat Dog, adorned with graffiti, you feel as though you are about to walk into a biker bar to sink a few whiskies. But the inside of the petite Fat Dog is warm and invititing. Couples and small groups sit in candlelight, nursing big and beautiful G&Ts to an eclectic and cool soundtrack. With 10 gourmet dogs to choose from, you're spoilt for choice and each dog is intriging. I went for the Speedy Gonzalez -  Chimichuri, guacamole, sour corn, jalapeno-cilantro mayonnaise, pork corn. Although slightly less colourful than I was expecting, the balance of flavours was delicious. Finish of your meal with a hearty slice of vanilla cheesecake to share - creamy, sugary goodness with a buttery biscuit base.

Pancakes!

Pancakes! No I'm not excited, that's what it's called. If you're heading to Amsterdam, you have to indulge in some gorgeous Dutch pancakes. Either at Pancakes! or The Pancake Bakery. I opted for a Deluxe Dutch pancake with apple, mixed nuts, calvados and cinnamon - surprisingly savoury and well balanced. Rob's choice was a joy to behold - spinach, goats cheese, garlic oil and pine cuts. All the flavours of an excellent pizza but with a pancake base. Thoroughly recommended. Pancakes! is also located in the Nine Streets (De Negen Straatjes) amongst a plethora of boutique shops and cafes.

The Lobby

The best breakfast in Amsterdam? Head to The Lobby - part of Hotel V and right in the centre of the city. I was treated to a gorgeous latte and eggs florentine. The poached eggs were indulgently silky, a hollandaise that had the perfect vinegary tang and toasted brioche buns. Their french toast was laden with cinnamon and syrup, with a dollop of creme fraiche to cut through the richness.

De Bakerswinkel

Pies? Cakes? Sugar? Visit De Bakkerswinkel, of which there are a few branches. The classic Dutch apple pie is a must or if you're heading for breakfast, try the brioche french toast - with extra butter and syrup! They also do an excellent selection of sandwiches and lunch platters. Or you can even book in for a 'high tea' laden with delectable cakes and treats.

G's Really Really Nice Place

Continuing my 'eggsterdam' tour, we started Valentines Day with brunch a G's. Every bit as hip as an East London cafe, Gs uses old records for it's menus and has a whole list dedicated to Bloody Marys. I started off with a Bacon Bloody Mary and followed with their Healthy Benedict - two poached eggs served on spelt on a bed of cottage cheese with sauteed spinach & avocado. The spelt bread added a new dimension to the traditional florentine and kept me going for hours of canal walking. Rob ordered Le Beef Burger - custom-made for G's by their local butcher “louman’s” just the way G likes it: topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle & mayo. It was juicy and slathered in mayo but gorgeous. I recommend the Challah Cinnamon French Toast - jewish braided bread soaked in egg / milk / cinnamon then pan-fried crispy and toppedwith banana slices.

 Little Collins

If you're wandering the streets of Amsterdam's bohemian residency - De Pijp, you'll want to stop by Little Collins. A petite Austrailian run cafe serving feast worthy food. The flat white coffee isn't widely spread throughout this city, so I was overjoyed to find it on the menu at Little Collins. Their crockery was reminiscent of Caravan, and I got a pang of homesickness. I munched my way through a huge skillet of Kasundi Eggs - Roast pumpkin, spiced chickpeas, feta, coriander, yoghurt and sour dough toast; I was eventually defeated but this brunch item is something I will definitely be replicating at home.

Lanksroom

Finally, the stroopwafel. For those who aren't familiar with this revelation, stroopwafels are made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. You can buy them in supermarkets in England, but they originated in Gouda (Netherlands). To get a taste of tradition, head to Lanksroom for a stroopwafel with different flavoured caramels. Coffee Caramel is a winner!

Best Eats of Glasgow

Back in July, Rob and I managed to get a couple of days away together. Keen on exploring a cultural and foodie centre, we opted for Glasgow. With such limited time and so many culinary hot spots to explore, we were ruthless in picking restaurants. Below are the few that made the cut.

The Dhabba 

In North India, roadside diners are commonly known as Dhabbas - This indian restaurant in Glasgow replicates that cuisine with finese and true expertise! Recommended by The Guardian as one of the Top 10 Curry Houses in the UK. 

We ate Shuruvaati Thal - a starter platter of king prawn, lamb, chicken and vegetarian bites. Followed by Masala Machli - Juicy monkfish in a sauce of caramelised onions, tomatoes and peppers, Bhuna Gosht with lamb that was 'melt in the mouth' tender, and we garnished our curries with garlic naans the size of my head - an incredible depth of flavour, and a lovely smokey finish.

Cafe Gandolfi

Once part of an old cheese market, this rustic cafe is the perfect spot for a Scottish breakfast.

Deagh Bhiadh, Deagh Bheannachd - Well fed, well blessed. The Gaelic proverb displayed on the wall of the Cafe Gandolfi is the owner's aspiration for everybody who eats there. We started our day with Freshly Squeezed Pink Grapefruit Juice, cheek pursing sharpness and sweetness balanced perfectly. Rob took on the Full Scottish Breakfast - Stornoway black pudding, bacon, beef sausage, cherry tomatoes, potato scone, field mushrooms and scrambled eggs... and toast of course! Whilst I opted for the slightly more modest Eggs Hebridean with Stornoway black pudding. By far the best black pudding I have ever had accompanied by silk eggs and a rich hollandaise, it was enough for a post breakfast nap. 

Bread Meats Bread

We happened to be staying around the corner from Bread Meats Bread and saw it by chance. It peaked our interested immediately - clever restaurant name, good styling, burgers?! So we gave it a try. As you know we're both big fans of American style food, so we hoped it would fill the beef shaped hole in our lives. We ate a Fullhouse Burger - Brioche Bun, American Cheese, Smoked Brisket, Gravy, Tobacco Onions, Pickles and Sauce, as well as the Chicago Goumet Dog with mustard, tomatoes, onion and pickle relish. We then shared a Classic Poutine. If you have never tried the Canadian masterpiece that is Poutine - you are wasting your life, go out and get some NOW. The classic poutine is Chips with Cheese Curds and Gravy. It's not chips, cheese and gravy. It's different, honest. You'll fall in love or your money back (Georgie guarentee*) *No money will be refunded.

Riverhill Cafe

For our last morning in Glasgow, we searched for a great cup of coffee. It had been two days and I needed caffiene - I'm a Londoner! Riverhill ticked all of the boxes. I was finally granted a delicious flat white - smooth, rich and creamy. Rob opted for a Black Pudding Sausage roll, which was beautifully rustic and had a great texture and flavour. Continuing my Canadian theme - we were in Glasgow after all... I tried a Nanaimo Bar. This particular nanaimo was vegan and extremely filling. A traditional nanaimo has a wafer-like base with a custard layer and chocolate topping, but this was a healthy coconut version, made with dates and cocao instead of chocolate. Guilt free cakes at their best!

Coffee of Note.

Good morning and a Happy Friday to you, food lovers!

I am afraid I am becomming a bit of a coffee addict. Tea has taken a backseat for the time being as I explore and learn about new types of coffee. It also makes it much easier to get going on the last day of the week when you know there is a gorgeous bank holiday waiting for you on the other side.

Yesterday I had a Flat White from POD (St Giles branch), which I really enjoyed and is better than a lot of usual high street chains. However this mornings coffee trumps even that. 

This mornings Flat White comes courtesy of Notes, from their St Giles Coffee Barrow Stall. 

They have their own roastery, where they process a gorgeous bean and they roast their beans slightly lighter than usual, ensuring a delicate flavour that really compliments the natural sweetness of the milk. With three shops - Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Trinity Leeds, and a number of coffee barrows serving the same excellent product (St Giles, Borough Market and Fleet Street), there is no excuse not to get yourself a Notes coffee this weekend! Even you northerners. 

They even do a larger Flat White containing three shots of their delectable espresso. I am feeling so pumped right now!

Yorkshire Special: Salts Diner

I am currently having a mini holiday in Yorkshire, visiting my Mum and Stepdad and enjoying the fresh air of the Dales. So I wanted to give you a bit of a 'Yorkshire Special Edition' this weekend, starting with this post and a couple more to follow...

After picking me up from Leeds station at the crack of dawn yesterday, we travelled to Saltaire - a beautiful World Heritage village in West Yorkshire, somewhere that they've been looking at relocating to. Saltaire is a Victorian Industrial village that was founded by Sir Titus Salt, who began a huge textile mill in the area. He then gradually built up a village for his employees, providing them with schools, churches and accommodation. 

We visited Salts Mill, which is now a tourism site surrounding the history of Titus Salt and his legacy. They also have fantastic book shops, cook shops, housewares and an antique/vintage store. It was fab! We ate lunch at Salts Diner, which has a huge David Hockney connection (David Hockney lived in Bradford and Salts Mill holds a very large collection of his work). 

Salts Diner had some of the nicest restaurant design I'd seen in a while. Their logo is an illustration by David Hockney of one of his beloved Dachshunds and their menu was really innovative and interesting a beautiful. We didn't each a huge meal here, just having a light lunch. But I did further enhance my Arizona Green Tea with Honey addiction (in the US you can get a huge half litre can for about 60p). 

My mum and I shared one of the Pizza Specials, which was Butternut Squash, Goats Cheese, Beetroot Relish and Caramelised Onions and we had this was a seasonal salad. The pizza dough was delicious, really nicely flavoured and the toppings were perfectly balanced. There was a very subtle sweetness from the butternut squash and caramelised onions and these were matched beautifully with acidic goats cheese and earthy beetroot. One of the best pizza combinations I've tried for a while. The seasonal salad was more than just a handful of standard leaves, which I really appreciated. There were pickles, olives, radishes, peppers and the dressing was lovely. It definitely held it's own. 

So Salt's Diner was a winner! Tonight we're off to Shear's Yard in Central Leeds, which I am extremely excited about. I'm going to do some sort of stomach enhancing yoga stretches now to prepare. 

Tasting Texas

Back in March, I flew to Austin, Texas to attend SXSW 2014. Without blabbering on too much, I wanted to share with you some of my culinary exploits that I experienced while I was in the US.

Day One - Waiting for a transfer in Philadelphia, I began feeding my iced tea addiction. 

Our first meal in Austin, after nearly 24 hours without a proper meal. We visited Iron Works Barbecue.

Beef Ribs were had, along with Beef Brisket. Everything is served with a slice of white bread. 

A visit to the Flagship Wholefoods got me very excited and I bought a ticket for the Kombucha train. Kombucha is lightly effervescent fermented drink of sweetened black tea made with live bacteria and yeast. This concoction was particularly tasty due to the incredible flavour combination of Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Ginger, Sea Salt and Agave.

The next morning we started our day with a good cup of Tazo English Breakfast Tea. Yes I did go and find tea on my first day in the US. But to accompany we had deliciously sticky and sickly cinnamon buns (or chinnabons as they were soon to be renamed). Indulgence at it's best.

Our film badges did come with some perks. At a screening of TNT's The Last Ship, we were given free drinks, 'candy' and Bluetooth Speakers! Wonka Sweetarts were my top candy discovery of the trip. They are like eating dextrose tablets. Hyperness ensued.

I have a confession. Until this trip I had never really eaten Fried Chicken. So I'm extremely glad that my first experience was at Gus'. This was one of the food highlights of our trip. The chicken was moist and flavourful, the crust was crispy and moreish, the coleslaw was something particularly special and we all got to keep our soda cups! 

Rob and I had a more sophisticated lunch at La Condesa - my personal favourite restaurant in Austin. It was beautiful, fresh and the food was heavenly.

I had an Alma Blanca cocktail which was habanero-infused siembra azul blanco tequila, ginger liqueur, agave nectar, pineapple juice, fresh corn, hoja de hierba santa and a hisbiscus-rose-infused salt rim. It was almost too beautiful to drink but it was the best cocktail I have ever tasted. So intricate and delightful.

For lunch we had Tortas (mexican sandwiches). I had the Pambazo, which was homemade chorizo, black bean puree, mexican crema, cotija, baby romaine, avocado, duck fat-braised potatoes and a guajillo-tomato salsa.The potatoes were the unusual aspect yet highlight of this dish with the homemade chorizo adding an incredible richness. 

Brunch at the Moonshine Diner was a must. A ferocious bloody mary to start...

Followed by Gumbo - something that I was very excited to actually try whilst in the States as we have only made it ourselves at home before. Trying real andouille sausage was a treat.

Crab House Cafe

When you move into your first flat in central London, you realise that you can never go outside again. Because going outside means spending money, money that you don't have. So I've had to say goodbye to evenings out on the town, eating at restaurants and visiting the cinema on any day other than 'Orange Wednesdays'. Last weekend I was lucky enough to obtain a cheap train ticket home to Bournemouth. So I took the opportunity to have a good catch up with my best friend. As a lover of all things seafood, he decided that we absolutely needed to visit a particular restaurant in Weymouth, Crab House Cafe. It was the first time I'd been out on a Saturday night since goodness knows when. 

We embarked on the epic journey to this hidden gem in his little Fiat Panda and I worried that my ever-growing food standards would hinder my enjoyment of the evening. It's a long way to go for a bit of fish. But after our meal, I would have traveled a hundred miles further. It was a particularly chilly night, with a cutting wind blowing from the waterside, so we wasted no time in getting through the door. We were greeted immediately by (probably) the happiest looking man I have ever met - Alex was convinced that the waiter fancied him, totally disregarding the fact that he might just enjoy his job. The atmosphere in Crab House Cafe is a relaxed and rustic, with the kitchen slap bang in the center and fish counter laden with their succulent fresh catches. 

We were given our menu - which changes daily depending on what they have caught - and a wine list to peruse. A small menu is a virtue and I still really struggled to decide what to have. Their wine list had a good selection of wines and beers to accompany the seafood. Alex chose their house Oyster Stout, which was smooth, treacle-y and aromatic, whilst I opted for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (Isabella da Silva, 2010, Chile). Recently I have had some bad luck with Sauvignon Blancs (one of the only white wines I enjoy drinking), but this was crisp, fruity and sweet. It went down very easily to say the least. On the house, we were brought a board of bread and olives laced with seafood. As any good diner knows, you don't fill up on bread before you meal but the farmhouse look of this miniature loaf was begging to be ripped apart.

Spicy Mussel Bisque

Country Oysters

To start we had the Country Oysters (oysters cooked in cream with bacon) and a Spicy Mussel Bisque. I am a big oyster fan but have never tried the cooked variety before. You do lose the seawater tang in the cooking but the flavour coming from the sauce was worth it. Half a dozen was not enough. The mussel bisque was presented beautifully and had quite a kick to it. It was heady, rich and not overpowering - a beautiful bisque.

Plaice stuffed with Crab and Cheese

Sand Sole cooked in garlic oil

As soon as our starters had been cleared, our mains arrived. Alex opting for the Plaice stuffed with crab and cheese and myself for the Sand Sole cooked in garlic oil. The two sand sole fillets came off the bone incredibly easily and were perfectly cooked. On a bed of roast vegetables and potatoes and with a deliciously pungent sauce, this was a satisfying (and surprisingly filling) meal. 

Dorset Apple Cake with Cream

Chocolate Bourbon Tart with Whisky Chantilly Cream and Chocolate Wine.

I wasn't going to have a dessert as I was already full until I saw the Chocolate Bourbon Tart with Whiskey Chantilly Cream and Chocolate Wine. If not for the curiosity behind chocolate wine itself (was that just a really pretentious way of saying chocolate sauce?), then for the combination of two of my great loves - chocolate and bourbon. Alex was handed a sizeable slice of Dorset Apple Cake with cream and my tart arrived looking as good as it tasted. It turns out chocolate wine is genuinely just chocolate wine and was served in the cutest little glass I have ever seen (so easily pleased). The only criticism I have of Crab House Cafe is that my pastry was a little bit rock solid and quite difficult to cut through. It could have done with a little more time to come up to room temperature. But this didn't distract too much from the exquisite taste. 

I have to say that this is, without a doubt, the best meal I have eaten all year. Alex states that it was the best meal that he has ever eaten. Go to the Crab House Cafe for the crab, for the excellent service, for the skilled chefs, for the reasonable prices, for the changing menu, for the oyster farm. Just go, you won't be disappointed.