Restaurant Update: November 2013: Caffe Parma | Franklin Bar | Bocinq | fa. Speijkervet

Caffe Parma

There's a new hip italian spot in town.
No cheesy wine leaves, no Mediterranean stucca, no singing waiters.
It's an urban chic place with a Provencal interior.
We went there a week after the grand opening.
Staff was friendly and had things under control.
The acoustics were nice, but there weren't a lot of people.

The menu is basic and simple. Italian classics, but there are some interesting meat dishes for us carnivores. I ordered the duck. It was actually pretty amazing. Perfectly cooked, right temperature, succulent, well seasoned, and served on a bed of mashed veggies.
It looked good, smelled good and tasted good. Top quality.
Across the table the pizza was looking good as well, and it tasted very authentic, fresh, light, a lot of flavor. Very refreshing.

 They specialize in their special pasta. You pick ingredients, the chef makes something amazing with that choice.
Must try that next time. Because we'll definately be back.

 The only thing to improve is the selection of wines. The wine list didn't really dazzle me to say the least. A hip place like that could do better in that department.

 All in all, a very useful addition to the culinary scene in de Pijp. Next to Barca and Marie.

 http://www.caffeparma.nl/

Franklin Bar & Kitchen

Franklin is a new modern big city cocktail bar with a restaurant serving seasonal food.

The place looks good, could be in any cosmopolitan city in the world.
Great cocktails, often they have famous bartenders work their magic behind the bar.

Sometimes there are society events. We were there when Esquire Magazine had their best dressed men awards in Amsterdam and the nominees were drinking cocktails before the show to get into the right mood. Always good to see a well dressed crowd.

The appetizer with the Wagyu beef was pretty amazing, expectations were rising.
However the main course didn't completely fill these expectations. The venison was fine, really fine actually, but was drowning in pumpkin sauce. There was little difference between the sauces and the puree. A shame, flavor wise it wasn't all that bad, but the texture screwed things up.
A good try though, but too many powerful flavors getting mixed up in your plate.

The staff however is amazing, very friendly, very helpful.
Great accoustics, and fine wine. Excellent value for money.

Definitely one of my new favorite hangouts in my area.

franklin.nl

Bocinq

Bocinq refurbished.
It looks stylish, chic, neat, very French setting. Very comfortable dining room, it can be a bit loud because it's popular with groups. If you want a quiet meal, book your table at Dutch dinner time (18:00-18:30), you'll be finished before most other nationalities arrive.
Staff is not only gorgeous, but very professional, attentive, but with the right amount of distance.

Shared dining is hot at the moment in Amsterdam. Choose 3 dishes per person and share, the French-Moroccan menu is amazing and very unique in Amsterdam. The quality, the scent, the flavour of the dishes are spot on. A real treat for your taste buds. Even the vietnamese spring rolls tasted and smelled like the ones I had when I lived in Vietnam. It's authentic, clever, well prepared, with the right amount of seasoning and spice. Well done! There is a large selection of wines, for any budget, my feeling is you can't go wrong.

The venison, the crab cakes and Moorish chicken are to die for.
Price/quality things are great too.

(photo's (c)bocinq)

www.bocinq.nl

fa. Speijkervet

If you like meat, you need to try out fa. Speijkervet.
It's all about meat, they get an entire animal and use all of it in their menu. (including kidney pies etc.).
The meat is also processed in the kitchen, I like that concept.
The restaurant is located in an old bakery, the main dining room is where they used to have the bread making machines. It's a artsy industrial like lit interior, a lot of tiles, big space, rough chic.

The atmosphere is hip and urban, there's a mixed crowd, a lot of hipsters, a lot beards and a lot of tattoos, but also quite a few rich babyboomers checking out what the hype's about.
It's a big restaurant and it's always full, make your reservation on time.

The food: well the food is good, but it's not all mind blowing. It also depends on what you get.
The cocquilles st. Jacques with horseradish were not impressive at all. Rather plain and not a lot of variety in taste. On the other hand, the board with meat (vleesplankje) was old school spectacular, took us back to our childhood dinners with our grandma. The red beets (Deventer Zwartblad) were a very unique dish that got it totally right. A lot of exciting flavours, well balanced and a good texture, very inventive.

We got the beast (Procureur pork) and that was ok, but that was about it. It was succulent, well prepared, well seasoned, but the dish lacked something spectacular, and the bacon was a too obvious addition to the dish. It was delicious, but not completely memorable.

The staff is friendly and well in the know of what will appear on your plate, which is mandatory I feel.
There is an interesting wine list, with reasonably priced wines.We had an Italian wine, Apollonio, it was excellent.

Price/quality wise you're very ok here, excellent value for money.
I also like the fact that the menu actually changes quite often, it keeps you coming back for more.

All in all, it's a good and cool dining experience. One that I will be revisiting often.

Bonvivanthipster's Playlist

Forget 3FM!
Don't like Flemish accents on Stubru.be radio?

Don't worry:
Keep an eye on this Spotify list

Bart's play list with obscure, good, indie music Indie: all of it

Bar Brouw | Tripel

BAR BROUW

New rough hipster hotspot in Amsterdam West.
Off Ten Kate markt,  in a quiet neighborhood there's a new bar/restaurant offering more intriguing food and drinks options in Amsterdam. Smoked meat and beer. Think bio meat and specialty beers. But don't worry, word has it that vegetarians dine in a good way as well.

The menu states: black angus burgers, pork belly and pulled pork!

The meat is smoked and slowcooked for over 12 hours. 5 minutes after your order is places food is on the table. (Eat that Mickey D's or BK...) Mains come with 2 sides. Good stuff, the pork is delicious, absolutely tender. Tried the pulled pork and the pork belly. The flavour of the pork belly was so intense, it blew me off my feet.

Bar Brouw specializes in beers, and refreshingly enough, no Belgian beers. Obscure dutch, american and international beers, a wide variety of IPA's (India Pale Ale) and there aren't many places in the lowlands where you can find IPA on draft. They also have a lot of whiskey.

The wines they serve are excellent as well, my preference however is their merlot.

The interior is new rough. Industrial, natural products. Sober. Edgy.
Good alternative music. Could be more obscure.
Hip artsy crowd.

Relaxed atmosphere, refreshing on a saturday night.

No groups of drunk English!

Ten Katestraat 16, Amsterdam
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TRIPEL

A new Belgian bar, from the same owners of Van Mechelen and de Zotte.

It's brand new, but it looks old.

Very basic set up, but it's spacious, pretty cosy and very functional.

Those qualities are missing in the cramped bar de Zotte.

The collection of beers is extensive, creative and not what you would expect.

Something I appreciated a lot is that the beers are poured for you in the original specific glass.

Passchendaele, Pater Lieven, Oerbier, Ename... it feels like home!

This could very much become the extension of my living room.

Things to improve: the music. Mainly punkrock, not very inventive. It gives the place the feeling of a tourist trap. No Belgian bands (apart from Plastic Bertrand). With the Belgian music flourishing nowadays it would make sense to play Belgian bands in a Belgian bar. (well, it's what I would do)

Dare to stand out.

Lijnbaansgracht 94

Amsterdam Restaurant Update October 13

Mercat

Great industrial interior, massive garden outside. A very cool setting to wine and dine.
The night we were there there was a big table and the restaurant was understaffed.
It was chaotic and it felt like no-one was in charge. Long waits.

The food itself is good, it looks and tastes like the real deal. Not a greasy deep-fried concoction you often get in other tapas bars.
Quality ingredients and excellent cooks in the kitchen.
That's what it's all about.
The variety is huge as well, ranging from traditional tapas to more inventive pinxtos and some more elaborate dishes.

On a swell summer night, this is the right place to be.
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Cafe Modern

It's hip, it feels like a hotspot, and it is a hotspot. Located in Noord, a neighbourhood that has been claimed "up and coming" for years, there's finally some proof off of NDSM wharf.
Cafe Modern is based in an old bank building, definately go to the restroom.

It's a big dining place, the setting takes you back to the fifties. The atmosphere is busy crowded, but not overwhelming.

The food: the chef cooks a weekly 5 course dinner for 40 €.
Amazing dishes but the portions were not very big, but just enough (when you have some bread in between).
It's inventive, very tasty, quality products... and price/quality ratio is good.
If only the chef adds some more veggies on the plate it would be perfect.

The wine selection is very cool, they had amazing wines, we went for a red Chinon. Perfect.
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La Riva

A fantastic location. We had dinner on the Amstel, La Riva is on a pontoon. A very suitable location because we had boats bringing soil from the subway digging machine to the IJhaven, and passed this location thousand of times in the last 2 years.

The setting is minimalist, white, modern design. Big windows, nice views, nice open space, good accoustics, spacious. Very very comfortable.

The food: the quale was perfect, with chinese herbs, well prepared. Excellent starter.
The wild boar filet was a bit over done, which was a shame, because the meat was of excellent quality. Some sauerkraut, glaced carrots, sprout leaves and cantherelle mushrooms made the dish a little more interesting, however, I'm not so sure why fine restaurants believe sauerkraut or red beets are an absolute must to be served with game, especially the sauerkraut, I sometimes believe it's added to give the dish a kind of Dutch terroir feel...

The wine list is amazing, and very well priced. We had a chateauneuf du pape for 35€ a bottle.
It was a splendid wine.

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5&33

This place opened in October 2013. It's what Amsterdam needs. A big trendy stylish place without looking too snobbish or commercial. Located in the art hotel, it oozes big city glamour and style.
Yet inside it's dark, huge and cozy. Great designers in other words.

Great staff. Compliments to Lars, our waiter, he was eloquent, helpfull, confident, not too present, offered his opinions and suggestions, which was very much appreciated.

 The food is mediterranean tapas. Medium sized dishes, so you pick 6 dishes for a party of 2.
We had a fantastic selection of cured meats and cheeses. Crab ravioli, perfectly spiced fennel sardines, wonderfully fresh burrata, wonderfully tender and well prepared ox cheeks, and ended in style with an amazing mascarpone lemon pie and chocolate delice.

The wine Lars suggested (Cote du Rhone), and thus overruling my request for an Australian Shiraz, matched perfectly with the Mediterranean dishes. The staff is really proud of their house wine, as it should be...
Pricetag: 120 € (drinks, one bottle of wine, 6 dishes, water, 2 deserts).
Price/Quality 10/10.
A needed and refreshing cosmopolitan addition to the Amsterdam cullinary scene. We'll be back... often.

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Antwerp Hot Spots - LIST

Lunch

Pitten & Bonen: Sandwiches| Soups| Healthy | Modern| € | Nationalestraat

Lunchbox: Burgers | Wraps | Smoothies | Healthy | € | Schouwburgplein

Walrus: Belgian/French| Brasserie | Children friendly | €€ | New Courthouse

Berlin: Hip | Brasserie | Belgian | Jazz | € | Oudaen

Mint: Brasserie| Fashion| City-Chique| Belgian-Mediterranean fusion| €€ | Nationalestraat

Zurich: Brasserie|Retro|Belgian classics|€|Zuid

Wasbar: Washing salon|Hipster|€|Zuid

Dinner

Pazzo: Italian-Japanese fusion|Best Belgian sommelier|Wine Bar|Weekdays only|€€|Eilandje

L'epicerie du cirque: Belgian|Creative|Seasonal|Organic|Adventurous wines|€€€|Zuid

Hippodroom

Den Artist

Le petit zinc

Lodging

Hotel Julien: Boutique Hotel|Spa|Stately house|Design|€€€|Centrum

Hilton: Grand|Stylish|American|Elegant|€€|Groenplaats

Shopping

- to be updated -

De kaaien

Design

Furniture

Art

Kloosterstraat

Design

Concept stores

Art

Antiques

Nationalestraat

Antwerp couture

Jewelry

Historic centre

Curiosa

Boutiques

Kannestraat

Affordable Fashion

Schuttershofstraat

Designers

Meir

Major brands

Société Wunderbar

A new bar in Amsterdam.
Located between Rokin and Kalverstraat, not really the hippest area of town. Or my favorite place to be.

Yet, it has potential because it stands out. There is no competition for this kind of bar focussing on a young hip local crowd on the west side of Rokin inside the canal belt.
There is a terrace, it's spacious inside, the inside long and narrow, so it will get cozy without having to be crowded.

The fake rock behind the bar doesn't do the place justice.
However, it feels like a bar that could be anywhere in the world, which is a good thing, these kind of places are rare in Amsterdam.

Liked the wine.

We will definately have to check out the food.

To be continued.

http://www.societewunderbar.com/

(c)Société Wunderbar

Pure Markt - Park Frankendael

Things to do in Amsterdam on a lazy sunday afternoon!

Park Frankendael is a very nice park in Amsterdam Oost.
With the famous restaurant "de Kas"  and the bar/restaurant/venue Merkelbach located in the park cullinary delight seems to be always present.
When Pure Markt sets up in Frankendael Park it gets even better.
Seasonal delicacies from all over Europe are sold in a huge collection of little stands.
Bring your picnic blanket, your friends, your kids and enjoy park life while enjoying delicious dishes and drinks from the market.
Stroll around the stands who sell sustainable products, clothing, jewelry, furniture, ornaments, (organic) food products...

Entrance is free.
There is live music.
There is usually stuff for kids to do (make-up artists, carrousels, playgrounds...).
It's laid back, not overcrowded.

Recommended:
- a Butcher selling only pork products
- Pinxtos
- Hungarian bubbles

http://www.puremarkt.nl/index.html