Amsterdam Foodie

If I have an OCD, it’s for list making. I make so many lists, I probably need a list of my lists. Last week, I spoke to a fellow obsessive compulsive list maker, and discovered something surely unique amongst us list geeks. On his ‘To do’ list, one of the items is always ‘list’ – which surely means he has to cross it off in the process of writing the list? I mean, that’s self-referential list making… that’s postmodern list making… right?

Anyway, my current lists include: ‘Things to buy (food)’, ‘Things to buy (other)’, ‘Food career ideas’, ‘Other career ideas’ (do we notice a pattern here?), ‘The Boy List’, and ‘The Restaurant List’. This last often informs where I eat next – it’s a list of places to try, and then write about. (Incidentally, the Boy List is pretty much the same, only I can’t phone up and make a reservation. Damn.) These are a couple of restaurants that I’ve recently had reason to cross off…

Van Beeren: An eetcafe with a walled garden out the back, Van Beeren is sort of cosy and summery at the same time. We shared some gratinated mussels to start with – they were cheesy and winey and eggy and slightly spiced with dried chilli, which doesn’t sound like it would work but it did. Next, I had lamb tenderloin (some pieces of which were slightly overcooked – not surprising since no one asked how I wanted it done) with sweet potatoes, something resembling turnip and salsa verde. The sauce was mint and red onion based, which was fresh if a little overbearing.

In de Baars: A Portuguese restaurant in the Baarsjes, In de Baars does exactly what it says on the tin. We had a lovely selection of tapas, including sardines, warm chorizo, Spanish tortilla, piquillo peppers and bacalao (salt cod) with artichokes. I talked far too loudly, to the point where the people at the next table started laughing at my stories too. Needless to say, I forgot to take any photos. All of the above = business as usual.