The Urban Foodie: Summer Travels

Thursday, 15 November 2007

Summer Travels - Amsterdam

This has been one of those posts that has been lurking around, too big to write and publish quickly, but too good a memory for me not to. I was in Amsterdam for a weekend in June after meeting my friend Sam at Colombia Road Flower Market. Needless to say we instantly hit it off, and before long there were exchanges of all sorts and for me an invitation to come over to Amsterdam. Curiously enough, Amsterdam had never been on my cultural radar - but I knew I had make the effort to visit it, as it, like most European cities is always well worth a visit.
To say that I fell in love with Amsterdam, is an understatement - of all the cities in Europe I could live in, Amsterdam (besides London & Paris) is it. So, rather than me rattle on about the city, it's relaxed and slightly louche lifestyle, the canals, the boats or the hashish, I will stay focused on the food, in particular a rather fabulous meal that made for Sam and her friends, and the wonderful organic food market where we spent the day gathering produce.

4 comments:

Vida said...: Steven, you have outdone yourself with the blogging, talk about making up for lost time... feast and I have forgotten the famine!! Vida x x; 17 November 2007 at 09:13
Steve Wallis said...: Thankyou Vida, glad you are liking it all.. indeed I needed to make up for lost time. Chat soon, SX; 19 November 2007 at 16:24
Tony said...: I felt the same way about Amsterdam until I visited a few weeks back. It's such a lovely city and will be sure to return; 21 November 2007 at 11:22
Steve Wallis said...: Hey Anthony,
Yeah, it's such a gem of a city. There's an amazing fleamarket there called at Ij Hallen, whicj is on the first weekend of every month, one of the best fleamarkets I have ever been to, you should check it out sometime; 21 November 2007 at 11:26

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MUSINGS AND QUOTES ON FOOD

"My weaknesses have always been food and men, in that order."

Dolly Parton

"Fish, to taste right, must swim three times - in water, in butter, and in wine."

Polish Proverb

"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."

P.J. O'Rourke

"An empty belly is the best cook."

Estonian Proverb

"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch."

James Beard

"The smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us...."
Marcel Proust

"When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in it in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one's ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender, of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries."
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it is safer to harrass rich women than motorcycle gangs."
Unknown

"Scallops are expensive, so they should be treated with some class. But then, I suppose that every creature that gives his life for our table should be treated with class."
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

"Never eat more than you can lift.."
Miss Piggy, Diva.

"The squid is so cooperative. Its body forms a tube that can be stuffed with marvelous fillings. You don't have to be Greek to enjoy this one. "
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

"The joys of the table belong equally to all ages, conditions, countries and times; they mix with all other pleasures, and remain the last to console us for their loss."
Jean Antheleme Brillet-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste