Amsterdam: Spanjer & Van Twist

Our first real meal in Amsterdam was after my tour through the Anne Frank House (this is just a food blog, light and happy, but I must say I am still in awe that I stood in the very same spot where Anne Frank and her family and friends hid for 2 years. I touched the bookcase that hid the entry staircase. I was there. Words fail).

Back to the more inane details of life--brunch along a canal!

Spanjer & Van Twist was just a block up from the Frank house and had immediate seating. They had seats and tables inside, but hello! Amsterdam! Gorgeous weather! You bet we picked a spot right along the water! I mean right along the water. It was so neat to see all the boats drift past us (and a swan!) as we ate in the sunshine.

First things first--where's my coffee?

I hadn't had a proper breakfast yet, so I opted for the bacon, egg and cheese on toast, and of course, a coffee. It was melty, salty, crunchy, and exactly what I wanted.

ABF, once again, had his ordering mojo going. He ordered the sandwich on pumpkin bread. My American brain pictured a dense, heavy, sweet loaf, but it turned out to be a light and lovely bread with a hefty sprinkling of pumpkin seeds on the crust.

This was outstanding!

Also yummy? The crunchy little cookie (reminscient of Cookie Crisp cereal) that came with our coffees. A sweet little ending to our lovely, relaxing meal along the water.

Spanjer & Van Twist
Leliegracht 60
1015 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
020 639 0109

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Amsterdam: Street Eats

While visiting ABF in London, we made plans for a quick weekend jaunt to Amsterdam. I'd never been, I didn't know that much about it (Tulips! The Anne Frank house! Bikes!), but it was a cheap flight, quick trip, and it was someplace extra to visit while we had a home base in London.

Neither ABF nor I were prepared for how much we would enjoy it. What's to like? How about friendly people? Every time we paused to look at our map, a local would walk up to us and kindly ask if we needed help. Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn't, but every time it was a delight.

What else? Oh, the museums! Rembrandt, Van Gogh, you name it! We actually found a great little snack spot right outside of the Reijksmuseum, the Dutch national museum.

"Real" American hot dogs--how could we not?

We got a kick out of seeing the extras--freshly-chopped raw onions (my favorite!), some sort of relish, mustard, ketchup, and in the not-quite-typically-American area: curry ketchup & sriracha!

Naturally I had to try those too-- I love sriracha, a very distinctive hot sauce, but had never thought to put it on a hot dog! Good idea! The curry ketchup was a bit too sweet for me. I like my hot dogs salty, not sweet.

(That's the sriracha on the left, curry ketchup on the right--test-sized portions at first!)
The texture of the dog was a little different--softer, no casing, I think, which is fine with me!

As we enjoyed our hot dogs in the afternoon sun, we spotted another treat a few yards closer to the museum entrance: a portable cappuccino stand! Oh Europe, I heart so many things about you!

A young woman was running this stand solo. In the back of her vehicle she had a fully-operational espresso machine. I ordered a latte to share with ABF before we went into the museum. It was a rich, creamy, robust latte, and for only 2.50 Euros (about 4-5 bucks). So much better than Starbucks, and a much better atmosphere!!

Look at the setup she has going on there! The miniature chandelier gives it a nice set of whimsy, and the back door of the truck serves as an awning/sunshade, and was plastered with postcards from all over the world.

It was a wonderful latte, and an unexpected treat to enjoy before making the trek through the gorgeous museum. Sightseeing takes a lot of energy--a little extra caffeine boost is always a good thing!

Note: If you're visiting anytime soon, the museum is under construction, so a lot of items have been rearranged and grouped together, but we found this made it possible to see everything even faster!

Rijksmuseum
Jan Luijkenstraat 1 Amsterdam 1070
The Netherlands
31 20 6747000
info@rijksmuseum.nl

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London: TomTom Coffee House

A glance on Foodspotting.com one day put TomTom Coffehouse on my radar, and I dragged LaShauna out there one day for a midday break amidst our nearly ceaseless walking/traipsing about London.

In a town know for its tea, TomTom has made a name for itself with superb espresso. Located in the very chic Belgravia area of London, it has a tiny counter area but plenty of outdoor seating, and a few seats inside. TomTom also offers cigars, as you can still smoke outside at this place and many others around London, but we didn't see anyone taking advantage of that.

On the day we came, the dishwasher was broken, so all drinks had to be made in takeaway cups. Sigh. I ordered a mocha and joined LaShauna at the communal table, where another couple was lost in their newspaper and conversation.

The mocha, fellow food fans, was absolutely transcendant. Velvety smooth, full-flavored, and just the slightest hint of sweetness. Wow. This is coffee well worth the trip.

LaShauna ordered the hot chocolate and gave it equally high marks. Normally TomTom is known for creative cocoa stencils on its drinks, but due to the glassware shortage, we had to settle for smooth-as-silk foam. Fine with us!

We sat at a communal table, and I noticed a bevy of options to top the fresh croissant I ordered there: marmelade, fresh butter, and local, homemade jams. I tried a little bit of everything (NB: marmelade is still too bitter for me to enjoy).

I scraped the last bit of that delectable blackberry jelly out of the jar, as well as some of the delicious strawberry jam (seriously, WHY is it so much better over there??) and put a different flavor on every bite of my croissant. I do so love options. :)

LaShauna ordered the carrot cake and gamely let me take a bite. It was awesome. Even though it had raisins, I still enjoyed it--moist, dense, rich cream cheese frosting, a lovely edging of walnuts. This was fantastic.

My favorite part of the visit to TomTom? Discovering the tap water fountain in the middle of the inside seating area.

If you've ever traveled to Europe you know what a find this is! Tap water isn't a given at most places, but there was a 'help yourself' sign and I absolutely did. Don't worry--I got some for LaShauna, too!

TomTom was a great sanctuary for two tired tourists, and it looks pretty popular with the locals, too. One sip of their killer coffee will be enough to convince you that TomTom is worth spending at least one coffee break there.

TomTom CoffeeHouse
114 Ebury Street
London SW1W 9QD, United Kingdom
020 7730 1771

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RIP: Hinsch's

**I'm taking a brief break from the lovely London posts to update a sad closing in my part of Brooklyn**

The rumors are true.... one of my favorite neighborhood spots is no more. Apparently the owners of Hinsch's decided to retire early, and they closed their doors forever while I was away on vacation. This place was not a glamorous, five-star place, but it was a reliable spot for easy breakfasts and decadent sundaes, and the bill was never more than 10 bucks a person.

Bay Ridge won't be the same without you, Hinsch's. Thanks for the delicious memories! (You can see my old post on Hinsch's here-then you'll see why we'll miss it so much!)

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London: Gourmet Burger Kitchen

I spent the first part of my recent UK trip doing girly things with LaShauna (O, the places we did go!), so when it was time to meet up with ABF (yay!) it was time for some manly food: burgers!

We stopped at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a popular spot in the Canary Wharf undeground. It's a fun, feisty chain restaurant with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. It's also pretty laidback--you order and pay at the back, and then the staff brings your food and drinks pretty quickly.

They offer a bevy of burger choices, so it took us a few minutes to sort through all of our options. We started with some cool drinks on this surprisingly warm September day: Coca-Cola in the bottle for ABF, and an Elderflower Fizz for me--elderflower syrup with fresh mint, lemon and limes--fantastic!

The elderflower soda was sweet, perfumey, and wonderful. I don't know why some things, ie: rose petal, lavender, taste 'soapy' to me, but not elderflower!

I'm a sucker for horseradish, so I ordered the Wellington, a burger with cheddar, thinly-sliced red onions, a heaping pile of rocket/arugula, and slathered in horseradish cream. Mmmm. The burgers come in 2 sizes: regular and smaller. I opted for smaller, especially after the decadence of some of my previous meals! The burger was a bit overcooked, but that horseradish cream--I MUST make some of that at home!

ABF ordered the Avocado Bacon, which is pretty much what it sounds like: avocado & bacon, along with some thinly-sliced red onions, cheese, and a regular-sized burger. The avocado was melt-in-your-mouth ripe, just perfect, and the bacon was crispy and nommable. Man oh MAN was this good. That ABF, he knows just what to order, almost every time!

If you're not into beef, fret not--they also offer chicken sandwiches and veggie options!

We shared a small order of chips (fries to us Yanks)--they were fluffy, light, and pretty decent.

Service was quick and friendly, and if I'd had more time in London I would have definitely gone back to try them again because there were some pretty tempting combinations on that menu. Beets, aged cheddar, pineapple and more on the "Kiwi," habanero peppers and mayo on another, and another one with sweet chili sauce caught my eye, too. I'll say this, though, while the UK might have us topped on eggs and tea, they can't touch our burgers!

Gourmet Burger Kitchen
24 Jubilee Place
City of London E14 5NY, United Kingdom
020 7719 6408

London: Gordon's Wine Bar

A friend of a friend spoke super-highly of Gordon's Wine Bar, touted as the oldest wine bar in London. That rocketed it right up my list of must-visits on the last trip, and my friend LaShauna was only too happy to join!

There's a lot of space here--cave-like rooms inside (up and down some scary-looking stairs) and outside, but it's a really popular location, so you had better grab a seat as soon as you spot it. It was a comfortably cool night, so LaShauna held our table in the outdoor alleyway (filled with tables, upturned wine barrels doubling as tables, and random chairs--also all packed) while I made my way to the extremely bustling bar.

You can't be shy at this point, folks--wallflowers will wilt waiting for service. A lovely chap let me take his spot after he got his order "You'll wait all night for nothing there," he told me, explaining that he'd waited almost 30 minutes in the same spot where I'd been waiting. I'm a patient girl, but life is short. I thanked him and took up his better spot, and within 2 minutes I'd ordered a bottle of a tempranillo wine from Portugal for 16 pounds (about 25 dollars).

I picked up an overflowing cup of olives for another 2 pounds 50. These were delicious and more than enough.

Doesn't that look lovely? 1 bottle, 2 glasses, a dozen or more olives--a recipe for a lovely evening outdoors. But wait, there's more!

Gordon's has plenty of cheese to go with that wine, too--don't you worry about that! After I came outside with the wine, LaShauna went back in to get some cheese and bread--and she came back with a jaw-dropping amount.

Gordon's is more than generous with their bread (this isn't including half-loaf on the table AND the other half-loaf that fell off the plate!) AND cheese--we ate to our hearts' and bellies' delight and STILL had more than half left.

They also have plenty of 'freebies' to add, gherkins, chutneys, etc. The gherkins I loved, but the chutney was too sweet for me. Not my thing.

We toasted our fabulous trip and enjoyed a few hours there, people-watching, eavesdropping listening in on the most interesting conversations going on around us, and savoring every sip, every bite of the London nightlife. I would definitely recommend Gordon's to anyone visiting London--it has a fun, energetic vibe, a mostly-young crowd outdoors, though it was a mix of all kinds inside, and what a fun location!

Gordon's Wine Bar
47 Villiers Street
London WC2N 6NE, United Kingdom
020 7930 1408