Psst, don’t tell mummy I shared her 3 Amsterdam gourmet street-food favourites with you
Everywhere you go in Amsterdam, you can grab something to eat. The choice is extensive. Not only can you choose from different cuisines - ranging from Dutch to something a bit more exotic - but you can also choose how exclusive you want your snack to be.
FOODISTA
I have absolutely nothing against an ordinary hotdog. As you can buy them practically on every street corner, I am not going to tell you where you can buy them. I’d rather tell you about some of the more gourmet snacks you can find in Amsterdam.
As you will have already noticed, mummy is rather a foodista, always looking for something a bit more special. She should write a book about her food discoveries! As I am learning from the best, I am proud to be able to share a few of her favourite Amsterdam snacks. Actually, she doesn’t know I am sharing them with you, so don’t tell her I did so …
You know, a snack is not a snack on its own for my future mummy. There is always a story, a special shop or well-known place or person connected to it. She does not grab a quick snack without having gone through the trouble of carefully picking something she really can enjoy from the very first to the very last bite. Does that sound picky or spoiled to you? I can assure you, it is just the way she is, enjoying life and food to the fullest.
So let me share three of her favourite Amsterdam snacks with you. It so happens that all three are deep-fried, but as mummy only allows herself to have a snack once in a while and then really enjoys this guilty pleasure, I reckon she is a well-balanced foodista. After all, it is not the quantity, but the quality she is looking for.
PATISSERIE HOLTKAMP: SHRIMP CROQUETTES
One of her all-time favourites is Holtkamp’s famous shrimp croquette.
Although these croquettes are being served in some restaurants as well, mummy prefers to fetch one from the original shop at Vijzelgracht 15, where Cees Holtkamp and his wife Petra took over an existing bakery and turned it into their well-known Patisserie Holtkamp in 1969.
In 2002, their daughter Angela and her husband Nico continued the famous exquisite patisserie. In 2004 they had the shop restored in the typical style of its original designer Piet Kramer, architect of the famous Amsterdam School. I just adore they way they kept all of the original elements, which makes the shop elegantly timeless, ready for the next generation.
Beyond doubt, their exquisite patisserie is well-know as you can see from some photo impressions, but as we are talking about snack/street-food, I have to limit myself to their croquettes. These are available in 3 varieties: shrimp, veal and cheese. You can buy them to deep-fry them at home, but if you want the perfect street-food snack, they’ll prepare them while you wait. And they are really worth the wait! They are golden, super-crispy and oh so creamy and tasty! Just writing about them makes me hungry.
Photo by Rien Janssen (www.rienjanssen.com)
Photo by Rien Janssen (www.rienjanssen.com)
I’ve tried to photograph them in such a way that you can see what I mean. In order to show you just how creamy and perfectly filled they are, Patisserie Holtkamp allowed me to make use of some of their pictures as well.
For those of you who understand Dutch, I would like to share the video on Foodtube in which Cees Holtkamp is demonstrating how to prepare this lovely shrimp croquette.
I also found the recipe in English online translated from the original recipe as described in Cees Holtkamp’s book De Banketbakker (unfortunately no translation available yet – although “The Dutch Pastry Chef” would be a welcome Christmas gift to all of you English-speaking foodistas).
MAOZ: FALAFEL
Another of mummy’s favourites is the gorgeous falafel sold at Maoz, an international chain of falafel bars, originally from Amsterdam. I didn’t realise this brand had actually expanded worldwide to places such as Barcelona, Paris, New York, Boca Raton, Chicago, … I reckon that’s pretty cool, don’t you think?
Mummy loves their super tasty crunchy falafel balls packed into a fresh wholewheat pita bread that you are allowed to top with all these lovely salad and dressing options at the salad bar! Occasionally she also chooses the extra paid toppings such as avocado, hummus or fried eggplant. The salad bar looks really attractive and is packed with colour and variety, at whatever time of day you drop by, ranging from orangey cooked carrots, reddish beets and shredded cabbage to yellowy chickpeas and so much more.
Photo by Rien Janssen (www.rienjanssen.com)
Photo by Rien Janssen (www.rienjanssen.com)
Photo by Rien Janssen (www.rienjanssen.com)
There are various Maoz locations in the city centre. They are not only vegetarian, but they also have a vegan option available. Falafel may not seem that exclusive to you, but as they are so crispy fresh, they are a special street food option for mummy.
To give you a good overall impression of Maoz, please click on their video “The Maoz Experience”
VLEMINCKX SAUSMEESTERS: BELGIAN FRIES
Fries aren’t just fries for mummy. Although fries are being referred to as French fries, in Amsterdam the best fries are called Belgian fries.
Mummy’s favourite address in Amsterdam is Vleminckx Sausmeesters (the ‘Sauce Masters’), selling super crispy Belgian fries since 1957. Fries and 25 sauces, that is all they are selling. The fries in 3 sizes (small, medium and large) are being served in a paper cornet. Again, fries are being sold everywhere in Amsterdam, but these are just so good that people queue up to enjoy a paper cornet filled with Vleminckx fries.
The shop itself is not really a shop, it is actually a counter through which they sell fries.
NAP-TIME
These were just three of mummy’s street-food favourites. I could share a lot more with you, but time is precious, dear friends. Talking about food has made me sleepy. However, I just noticed we are standing in front of Patisserie Holtkamp. That can only mean one thing: mummy is craving for a shrimp croquette ...
Speak to soon!
Enjoy the pictures and let me know your favourite Amsterdam street-food so that I might give it a try one day.
Yours,
LittleBoy2Be
Ps 1. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions provided in this article are strictly those of LittleBoy2Be.com
Ps 2. My special thanks to Patisserie Holtkamp for the “croquette interior” pictures and the “logo cake”.
Ps 3. Should you like to try out these street-food gems, here are their respective websites.
https://www.patisserieholtkamp.nl/nl/croquetten
http://www.maozusa.com/restaurants/locations/amsterdam
http://vleminckxdesausmeester.nl/en/
Ps 4. If you like Amsterdam, then you definitely have to read my blogpost about Utrecht, another Dutch gem.
Ps 5. Look out for my next post. Current working title: Jammed Tomatoes