It's a cliche that the food in Europe is exponetially better than in the US -- but like a lot of cliches -- it's completely true. How can it be that a simple pasta with a few basic ingridents, an unadorned piece of fish or a grilled vegetable can be so much better here? Obviously, it's the quality of the ingridents themselves.
One of the great surprises of Amsterdam for first time visitors is the huge diversity of food types: Italian, French and Spanish, of course, but also Argentine, Thai, Cambodian, Brazilian, Surmianese -- and I don't even know where that is! The second great surprise; it's all good.
Last night we ate at a neighborhood Italian place that can't be more than a few hundred yards from the apartment. Diana had pasta in a white sauce with calamari and loads of peas; I had fettucine with sweet red peppers. Both were better than anything you could get a five-star restaurant in Las Vegas.
Of course, now that I think about it, it may be that we've just been lucky so far. Knowing that my faithful reader (or maybe there's even more than one of you by now) relies heavily on these posts as a source of accurate information, I vow to test as many different food items as possible in the coming months. A lesser man (smaller stomache, greater willpower) might shrink away from this task, but it's something I feel I can readily grow into.
One of the great surprises of Amsterdam for first time visitors is the huge diversity of food types: Italian, French and Spanish, of course, but also Argentine, Thai, Cambodian, Brazilian, Surmianese -- and I don't even know where that is! The second great surprise; it's all good.
Last night we ate at a neighborhood Italian place that can't be more than a few hundred yards from the apartment. Diana had pasta in a white sauce with calamari and loads of peas; I had fettucine with sweet red peppers. Both were better than anything you could get a five-star restaurant in Las Vegas.
Of course, now that I think about it, it may be that we've just been lucky so far. Knowing that my faithful reader (or maybe there's even more than one of you by now) relies heavily on these posts as a source of accurate information, I vow to test as many different food items as possible in the coming months. A lesser man (smaller stomache, greater willpower) might shrink away from this task, but it's something I feel I can readily grow into.
ANKLE UPDATE: Did a fair amount of walking today. Slow and painful, but well worth it just to get views like the one below -- the Keizersgracht around sunset. Tomorrow...a bike!
2 comments:
As one who has the chance to dine in Europe every day, I agree about the food. However, today I did spend a July 4th in splendor of Hot dogs and Hamburgers. Oh, right! those too are not from here.
Have fun tantalizing your taste buds. And don't forget the beer!
SP
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