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10 September 2008
08 September 2008
Van De Kaart
Prinsengracht 512
Amsterdam
Last week I went with a small group of family to Van de Kaart. I’d had my eye on this place for while but could never conjure up a good reason to actually go. On this occasion J and I were invited by his mother and her partner, who had been before for a business dinner. It’s easy to see why – the restaurant is near the Leidseplein, in the souterrain of a grachtenpand and there is an underground parking garage just a few steps away. The décor can only be described as ‘business Dutch minimal’ and I don’t recall hearing any music. On the Wednesday evening of our visit, the restaurant was entirely patronized by suits and almost everyone was male.
Upon descending the stairs to the restaurant, I was engulfed by the smell of lobster from a live tank adjacent to the door. I wondered what sort of tone the owners were trying to establish – or if such pungent smell could ever set the ‘right’ tone? Before I could finish this line of thought, our waiter offered to take our coats. I decided to forgive them and move on.
To start I ordered the couscous salad with octopus, avocado, a bitter bal of smoked white fish and green herb dressing. It was a last minute decision as I was also tempted by the creamy fish soup with sautéed codfish, tapenade, parmesan cheese and a crayfish brioche. I will pretty much always order a bouillabaisse if it’s on the menu, but ultimately I decided too much could go wrong with the soup – from "creamy fish" to fish bread, all mingling with tapenade (olive??), I decided the salad would be a refreshing choice.
It was a mess – the avocado looked like the paste you get at Taco Mundo, the octopus wasn't sliced diagonally, with suckers... it was long, white curly (like a pig-tail) and oddly phallic . The croquettes were delicious but the salad greens were over oiled. Then there was the one sun-dried tomato (from a jar) which somehow wandered into the train wreck. It all needed salt and I was relieved to receive a salt mill. I’ll give them a point for that.
The next course was roast Irish lamb rack with lamb sausage, black olive focaccia, violet artichoke and lamb gravy. I knew from the menu this would be problematic (gravy + meat + bread = no gravy, dry meat and soggy bread) so the first thing I did was to remove the focaccia layered between the cuts of lamb. Then I gazed suspiciously at the red-hued lamsworstje. It was a merguez sausage and for some strange reasons the chef felt that this detail wasn’t important enough to mention in the menu. One of the most disappointing experiences one can have in a restaurant involves being trapped by misleading menu descriptions... and after disappointment, follows anger, resignation and then acceptance of the fact that you will never regain full faith in the chef again. To his benefit, however, the gravy was well conceived.
And the front of house? Service began attentively but then dropped off to typical Dutch levels. In other words, utterly non-existent. Van de Kaart can be added to the pile of restaurants in this town which seem to operate successfully, but in reality care little for their patrons.
Amsterdam
Last week I went with a small group of family to Van de Kaart. I’d had my eye on this place for while but could never conjure up a good reason to actually go. On this occasion J and I were invited by his mother and her partner, who had been before for a business dinner. It’s easy to see why – the restaurant is near the Leidseplein, in the souterrain of a grachtenpand and there is an underground parking garage just a few steps away. The décor can only be described as ‘business Dutch minimal’ and I don’t recall hearing any music. On the Wednesday evening of our visit, the restaurant was entirely patronized by suits and almost everyone was male.
Upon descending the stairs to the restaurant, I was engulfed by the smell of lobster from a live tank adjacent to the door. I wondered what sort of tone the owners were trying to establish – or if such pungent smell could ever set the ‘right’ tone? Before I could finish this line of thought, our waiter offered to take our coats. I decided to forgive them and move on.
To start I ordered the couscous salad with octopus, avocado, a bitter bal of smoked white fish and green herb dressing. It was a last minute decision as I was also tempted by the creamy fish soup with sautéed codfish, tapenade, parmesan cheese and a crayfish brioche. I will pretty much always order a bouillabaisse if it’s on the menu, but ultimately I decided too much could go wrong with the soup – from "creamy fish" to fish bread, all mingling with tapenade (olive??), I decided the salad would be a refreshing choice.
It was a mess – the avocado looked like the paste you get at Taco Mundo, the octopus wasn't sliced diagonally, with suckers... it was long, white curly (like a pig-tail) and oddly phallic . The croquettes were delicious but the salad greens were over oiled. Then there was the one sun-dried tomato (from a jar) which somehow wandered into the train wreck. It all needed salt and I was relieved to receive a salt mill. I’ll give them a point for that.
The next course was roast Irish lamb rack with lamb sausage, black olive focaccia, violet artichoke and lamb gravy. I knew from the menu this would be problematic (gravy + meat + bread = no gravy, dry meat and soggy bread) so the first thing I did was to remove the focaccia layered between the cuts of lamb. Then I gazed suspiciously at the red-hued lamsworstje. It was a merguez sausage and for some strange reasons the chef felt that this detail wasn’t important enough to mention in the menu. One of the most disappointing experiences one can have in a restaurant involves being trapped by misleading menu descriptions... and after disappointment, follows anger, resignation and then acceptance of the fact that you will never regain full faith in the chef again. To his benefit, however, the gravy was well conceived.
And the front of house? Service began attentively but then dropped off to typical Dutch levels. In other words, utterly non-existent. Van de Kaart can be added to the pile of restaurants in this town which seem to operate successfully, but in reality care little for their patrons.
To Do List
Hotel de Goudfazant
I don't know if I'll ever make it here since the GVB stopped running the 1 euro ferry, but it goes on the list nonetheless.
Sazanka
I keep on getting distracted by Yamazato, but one day I'll find the strength to pass the coat check and turn right. Teppanyaki is always fun.
i-Chang
Looks interesting.
I don't know if I'll ever make it here since the GVB stopped running the 1 euro ferry, but it goes on the list nonetheless.
Sazanka
I keep on getting distracted by Yamazato, but one day I'll find the strength to pass the coat check and turn right. Teppanyaki is always fun.
i-Chang
Looks interesting.
De Kas
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3
Amsterdam
I confess that I can’t go too long without a trip to de Kas. Every some odd months, I whisper to Joppe over the phone as the workday winds to a close “Meet me at the train station. I made a reservation at de Kas”.
I love the conservative yet relaxed atmosphere they’ve imbued in the dining area (an eight meter high glass conservatory) and their commitment to using only locally sourced, organic ingredients. De Kas means ‘the greenhouse’ in English; the restaurant was previously a municipal nursery and today many of the vegetables are grown in the gardens adjacent to the restaurant or on their own plot of land just outside of the city. After asking what you don’t eat, they serve a five-course set menu – everyday different and always including something memorable. We took Elsie, Dawn and my mother this past July and experienced an egg cooked for 30+ hours in a low temperature oven, which brought it to a consistency gorgeous enough to satisfy the hard and soft cook demands of everyone at the table. Every plate exemplifies the freshest and earthiest vegetables and greens of the season. I hope that May will be warm so you can do something we’ve yet to try — dine (or lunch!) on the terrace amidst their herb garden.
Amsterdam
I confess that I can’t go too long without a trip to de Kas. Every some odd months, I whisper to Joppe over the phone as the workday winds to a close “Meet me at the train station. I made a reservation at de Kas”.
I love the conservative yet relaxed atmosphere they’ve imbued in the dining area (an eight meter high glass conservatory) and their commitment to using only locally sourced, organic ingredients. De Kas means ‘the greenhouse’ in English; the restaurant was previously a municipal nursery and today many of the vegetables are grown in the gardens adjacent to the restaurant or on their own plot of land just outside of the city. After asking what you don’t eat, they serve a five-course set menu – everyday different and always including something memorable. We took Elsie, Dawn and my mother this past July and experienced an egg cooked for 30+ hours in a low temperature oven, which brought it to a consistency gorgeous enough to satisfy the hard and soft cook demands of everyone at the table. Every plate exemplifies the freshest and earthiest vegetables and greens of the season. I hope that May will be warm so you can do something we’ve yet to try — dine (or lunch!) on the terrace amidst their herb garden.
Umeno
Agamemnonstraat 27
Amsterdam
Today I wanted to write about a place Joppe and I have been talking about every since our visit over two months ago. Umeno.
Umeno is a Japanese restaurant in a residential neighborhood of Amsterdam which from the outside looks a bit like the local bar you don’t dare enter. Inside is a nearly appointed, small restaurant with a sushi bar and all Japanese staff — notable in Amsterdam as the majority of Japanese restaurants are run by Chinese people. As Japanese restaurants in Amsterdam are notoriously expensive, we ordered carefully. However I must say that every dish we ate was so delicious that we nearly licked our plates clean! (OK, really it was me that licked my plate clean. And Joppe’s plate. Joppe just gazed at me laughing.) The sushi, prepared by a trained sushi chef, was fresh and artfully presented. Compared to the well-known and Michelin-starred Yamazato restaurant in Hotel Okura, Umeno is about half the price yet has the same level of quality. A new favorite for us.
Amsterdam
Today I wanted to write about a place Joppe and I have been talking about every since our visit over two months ago. Umeno.
Umeno is a Japanese restaurant in a residential neighborhood of Amsterdam which from the outside looks a bit like the local bar you don’t dare enter. Inside is a nearly appointed, small restaurant with a sushi bar and all Japanese staff — notable in Amsterdam as the majority of Japanese restaurants are run by Chinese people. As Japanese restaurants in Amsterdam are notoriously expensive, we ordered carefully. However I must say that every dish we ate was so delicious that we nearly licked our plates clean! (OK, really it was me that licked my plate clean. And Joppe’s plate. Joppe just gazed at me laughing.) The sushi, prepared by a trained sushi chef, was fresh and artfully presented. Compared to the well-known and Michelin-starred Yamazato restaurant in Hotel Okura, Umeno is about half the price yet has the same level of quality. A new favorite for us.
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