Terrace Café Rotterdam offers panoramic view of the skyline and the Maas

30-6-2015

Café Rotterdam was already an icon on the Maas, but is lifted to a higher level after a major renovation. With the reopening of Café Rotterdam directly above the Cruise Terminal, the ‘Wilhelminapier’ gets a real boulevard look.

Terraces with panoramic views are popular

We already know for a while that rooftop terraces have become very popular worldwide. Paris, New York, Istanbul, every metropolis is graced with (roof)terraces with beautiful views. In Amsterdam we have some pretty roof terraces with great views, such as the Skylounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and the roof terrace ‘s at the former oil rig at the REM Island which is now a restaurant. The terrace of Café Rotterdam, at the same level of the Erasmus Bridge and the Cruise Terminal, offers a unique panorama of the Maas and the skyline. A new hotspot in Rotterdam this summer!

Café Rotterdam

The interior of Café Rotterdam breathes Pre-war Rotterdam class: large windows that offer plenty of light, high ceilings and modern details. The Chef Merijn Sips (formerly Librije’s Zusje ** in Amsterdam) serves a Mediterranean cuisine with international appeal. A business lunch, a delicious Sunday brunch or a romantic dinner, it’s all there. Apart from the restaurant area, there is a long bar where you can enjoy a cocktail, Gin & Tonic, authentic Schiedam Jenever, beer or a glass of wine with the Dutch delicacy ‘bitterballen’ (small round croquettes). The new Café Rotterdam is the youngest member of the Dudok Group which is a leading company in the hospitality and event industry since 1991.

The McBike

23-6-2015

This takeout container should actually have been invented in the Netherlands! But McDonald’s has worked with the ad agency Tribal Buenos Aires in Argentina to create this McBike packaging.

Takeout packaging for cyclists at McDonald’s

This cyclist-friendly packaging is a recyclable, compact container for a burger, fries and a drink. The burger and the fries each have their own compartments. You can attach the package to your bicycle’s handlebars. The design ensures that the drink is kept upright.

The McBike packaging will also be launched in the Netherlands

The McBike package is launched in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is one of the most cyclist-dense cities in the world. But it’s also launched in Medellin, Colombia. We’re lucky, Amsterdam is also on the list of McDonald’s to launch the McBike … ..

Changing pop-up location Rotterdam Central Station

18-6-2015

Pop-up food concept ‘Eten Centraal’ opened at Rotterdam Central Station on 16 June. It is a new initiative by The Food Line-up in collaboration with NS Stations. The pop-up location changes every two weeks with another small street food entrepreneur from the city.

Changing pop-up

The Food Line-up was one of the initiators of the street food debate about new permits that would benefit diverse and sustainable street food. Now they’ve set their crosshairs on high traffic destinations like the Rotterdam Central Station. With pop-up stores like ‘Eten Centraal’ railway stations will surprise travellers with a weekly changing selection of several local entrepreneurs. The focus is now on empty shop spaces that require temporary filling at Rotterdam Central. If successful, this may result in temporary fillings of empty spaces at other stations. It makes stations thus even more attractive for everyone.

The Switch

Every two weeks during “the Switch” a new business will build up in the pop-up store. In 46 days, more than seven Rotterdam heroes will serve a diverse menu including Old Scuola Pizza Napolitana, Man met Bril Coffee, Saté man with Toko to go, Fritez Haute friture, Pinky Rose lemonade, Jumble Korean Food and Rotterdam brewers. The website and Facebook will show the complete list of entrepreneurs and time tables.

Groundbreaking

“The pop-up street food concept is truly groundbreaking,” according to Lotte Wouters and Maartje Nelissen. “For the first time a high traffic location like this provides room to small local businesses next to the fixed formulas and usual suspects on locations like these. Travellers can now also enjoy the offerings of local entrepreneurs at Rotterdam Central Station, one of the most prominent places in the city, and taste the identity of the city and its inhabitants. “

Chef Michael Wolf opens Wolf Atelier

17-6-2015

The 31-year-old chef Michael Wolf (Oud Sluis ***, Vila Joya ** and Envy) will officially open Wolf Atelier on 21 June. He does this in 1920 railway bridge transformed into a glass surrounded restaurant next to the Central Station of Amsterdam.

Wolf Atelier

Wolf Atelier is light and spacious, the monumental railway bridge has a characteristic industrial design and is equipped with 80 high glass windows. This workshop offers a 360 degree view of Amsterdam, due to the large amount of plants and earthy tones it looks like an urban garden. The open kitchen and small chef’s table provide constant interaction between Michael Wolf and his guests.

Gallery and Workshop-section at the menu

The menu contains two main sections. The so-called Gallery-section of the menu lists some of Michael Wolf’s current signature dishes such as ‘lacquered pork belly with fried langoustines, carrot cream and a sauce of spices.’ The Workshop-section is to pre-test dishes and consists out of experiments and cool innovations. After feedback from guests, only the best dishes will be continued in the ‘Gallery-section’ of the menu.

Chef Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf: “This workshop space is tough and metropolitan, the ideal setting to strive for perfection. Everything must be right, really. Not only the food and wine but the ambiance, the music, the service and the cocktails as well, each telling its own story. I can’t judge whether I ask too much from myself and my team, the only thing that matters is that I’ve lived up to this moment since I was fifteen and can’t wait to start!”

Ramadan Special: Halal Fried Chicken

16-6-2015

Halal Fried Chicken in Amsterdam has announced special activities during the Ramadan.

Either this Wednesday or Thursday the Ramadan, the abstinence month for Muslims worldwide, will start. The exact date depends on the position of the moon and is determined on the final moment. In addition to the abstinence during the day is sharing meals between sunset and sunrise a key element of this religious month.

Halal Fried Chicken

One of the catering businesses announcing special activities during the Ramadan is Halal Fried Chicken (HFC). The fast food store opened in December 2014 at the Vlugtlaan in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Soon a second restaurant will open at the Waterlandplein in the North of Amsterdam. Halal Fried Chicken claims to be the first Halal fast food restaurant in the Netherlands.

Offer

In addition to various halal burgers (chicken burger, beef burger and cheeseburger) HFC sells halal chicken pieces, tender strips, nuggets, hotwings, chicken wraps, fries and Coca-Cola. The restaurant sells combinations in different buckets and menus, as you would expect at a fast food restaurant.

Halal

In the beginning there was criticism to the halal certificates of the products at Halal Fried Chicken. This because of a discussion between various halal certifiers and Halal abattoir about what is and is not ‘halal’. The fast food restaurant preferred not to be the subject of the discussion and stated to act conscientiously, especially because it has the specific notation of ‘halal’ slaughtering method in the name. Nowadays the storm seems to have passed, or at least for HFC as a subject in this discussion.

Community

Halal Fried Chicken has a committed community that makes themselves heard with quite some criticism, especially on Facebook. The fast food restaurant sponsors MaroComedy and Mystiek Productions that do the production of the stand-up comedy show ‘Couscous & Baklava 2.0’ together.

Garden of Unusual Delight by Hendrick’s Gin

12-6-2015

Hendrick’s Gin created an ultimate experience at Taste of Amsterdam with the ‘Garden of Unusual Delight’.

Garden of Unusual Delight

A critical visitor Taste of Amsterdam could have spotted the Garden of Unusual Delight on the event map already. Ordering an ‘unusual’ Hendrick’s Gin at the FeverTree bar gave access to a hidden garden behind the booths.

Delightful oasis of peace

Through the secret channels of Hendrick’s Gin, Armand got the tip to order the ‘unusual’ Hendrick’s Gin and tonic at the FeverTree bar. After ordering he was taken to the secret garden where he arrived in an oasis of peace, certainly compared to the rest of the popular festival.

Select crowd

A flamboyant host welcomed all the guests, with only a handful of other curious visitors there was plenty of room to site down on the picturesque bistro sets, bean bags or romantic benches. The bartenders had three standard cocktails on the menu and saw special requests as a challenge to be extra creative in the preparation process.

Experience

The special bar, VIP feeling and contrast of the peaceful garden to the rest of the festival gave an exclusive total experience. The #SocietyOfTheUnusual by Hendrick’s Gin seems a guarantee for more unique experiences around the liquor brand. So keep your ears and eyes open and ‘expect the unexpected’.

Sample platter for Friska’s …

11-6-2015

Recently we spotted the sample platter at Friska. Their healthy, responsible roles with fresh ingredients are served at the Amsterdam Food Halls.

Sample platter created for your product

Often the small details in new concepts catch our eye. At Friska, designed by van Ommeren Architects, we think the wooden trays amplify the concept. These are specially designed platters to serve Friska’s from. You don’t often see architects design such a platter especially for one product.

About the Friska’s

Friska’s in their own words: “Part-time sushi, part-time wrap, fulltime Friska. Healthy, organic and 100% gluten free. Friska’s are healthy rolls with fresh ingredients. Easy, ready to eat and easy to eat with one hand. They have a lot of standard choices in Friska’s but you can also create your own roll. Choose your favorite wrap, create your own stuffing with different grains and fresh vegetables and your Friska is ready.

Kindle stylish patio heaters

10-6-2015

The Kindle Allison is a stylish patio heater with a dual functionality.

Stylish patio heaters

During ‘Taste of Amsterdam’ the stylish patio heaters at the Visaandeschelde booth were a real eye catcher. Just like the delicious Oosterschelde lobster “en brochette” that was served by this restaurant, but that’s just a mouthwatering side note to this article.

Kindle Living

The patio heaters are from America and were rented at Héman. Kindle Living from Los Angeles is the creator of the patio heater. The company describes the design process simply as “We saw a need and set out to fill it. No more goosebumps”. There are six different models including a limited edition with a production series of only 101 pieces and a useful dolly to move the patio heaters. Moving the heaters is not necessary with the slim model that can be connected to an existing gas line. Earlier this model was awarded two Silver A ‘Design Awards.

Lighting

Ugly and purely functional gas heaters are history and using these heaters adds style to the terrace. The bottom of the heater can be illuminated in eight different colors and can be equipped with a handy shelf for glasses. Although your cocktail will get warm before you know it 😉

Eastwood – assemble your own perfect dinner

9-6-2015

Last Friday Armand had dinner at Eastwood, the new pop-up restaurant from DoubleTree by Hilton which is within walking distance of the Central Station in Amsterdam. The restaurant officially opened on 22 May and the location has two functions. In the morning, it’s the breakfast restaurant of the hotel and every afternoon will be converted into a grill restaurant. The tabletops, chalk boards, paintings and lighting get another look. Even the clothing of the staff changes.

Eastwood

The restaurant is located below the hotel and has a great potential. Especially the terrace outside will attract passers-by, even though it is not on the usual route towards the center. The first announcement of the opening was focused on a ‘beer & grill’ concept, the description ‘assemble your own perfect dinner’ would fit better. It is not a restaurant for people that have difficulties with choices since there are so many personalization options possible to meet your unique taste.

Assembling the dishes

The menu includes various building blocks from which the dishes can be put together. Potatoes are served as mashed potatoes, thin fries or hand cut fries. There are several vegetables and other side dishes to choose from, like risotto. For the main course guests can choose between meat, fish or vega. For meat-lovers a great exclusive offer of proper serving up to 800 grams are available.

Choice palette for personalization

With a choice from five knives that are presented on a magnetic cutting board, even the most cynical knife critic will be pleased. Earlier we wrote about using a herb cart and the ability to cut some fresh herbs at the table yourself. Eastwood extends this service with a range of sauces in glass bottles on the cart as well.

Shared ice cream bucket with toppings

The dessert was served as a single bucket of homemade ice cream on the table accompanied with nine different toppings. It’s a feast to work on the dessert this way and share the bucket. It was difficult to keep the special toppings apart, so a stylish card with the ingredients would complete it.

Small details

At Eastwood every detail mentioned before is well thought of. Many of the trends and examples we’ve spotted and published about on this website are integrated in the restaurant. This in addition to details such as stamped paper bags for the bread, name badges for the staff, Amsterdam’s specialty beers, the convenient use of segments in the restaurant at the beginning of the evening (so it looks busy early on) and the view of the bustling city life through the glass walls. The menu is not yet available online (the website is still under construction) but the price level is very okay and it’s a convenient place if you want to adjust portions and styles easily.

Wild Dining

9-6-2015

Recently, a small collective started organizing luxury dinners at extraordinary locations. By the name of Wilddineren (‘Wild Dining’) a train compartment, the attic of the Beurs van Berlage (Amsterdam) and the red toilets of the Patronaat in Haarlem were used for surprising dinners.

Unique Wild Dining

Each dinner has a unique location, unique chefs and a unique dining concept. At the Beurs van Berlage guests were eating between the old boilers at the attic, but everyday locations like a train and a toilet can be transformed into an unusual dinner location as well. Earlier, the guys from Gastrovan, Masterchef cook Elise Calkoen, Seats2Meet, ‘Catering aan huis’ and Patronaat participated in Wild Dining.

Contrasting experiences

In addition to culinary delights, there are presentations, interesting guests, table roulette and live music during the dinners. The organization finds it addictive to surprise guests and bystanders. They want to amaze people and to confront them with activities outside their own paradigm. The organization indicates that the dinners are a reaction to the current overload of parties in old warehouses, food truck festivals and pop-up initiatives of shops and restaurants. The focus is primarily on creating contrasting experiences. With these dinners they aim to compete with theater, cinema’s and concerts, rather than to compete with regular restaurants.

There are a number of dinners scheduled, but the specific time and place will be revealed on the day itself.