Burger King - Amsterdam Airport

Schiphol Plaza,

Renée asked for a "review" on burgers (actually the "golden arches") but since I hadn't tried the latest creation of BK (Burger King) we went out for tasting today. Always a good excuse ... So I took my lovely department to the BK and we went for a test. The Burger King Chili Cheese Weeks are now live at a BK near you!


Since we do have a BK in the neighborhood we don't need to go far... So in order to do a proper test we took everything and went back to the office for a full test. The order was wrong for starters. We asked for two menu's, loose burgers and the nuggets ... hold this hold that, after all their slogan says : have it your way!!! But where was the second menu? Not in the bag, so we went to the girl and she said you have to wait in line .... I mean there you are, everything is getting cold, have to wait again ... and immediately in the defense, we thought you could solve the problem as well ... you just helped us ... ???

Back at the office Chili Cheese Nuggets. This were the favourites before even tasted the nuggets. But unfortunately they were not. Yes there was some Chili flavour, but as well a lot of crust and not too many cheese .. so a thinner crust, more cheese, bit heavier on the taste and they would have been much better.

The burger .... the big one (on the right in the picture) is over 200 grams ... that's a lot. A big bun with two huge burger patties (pattie is the actual burger), cheese on it, chili sauce and the spicy Jalapenos ... well this was not that spicy. The nuggets had more flavour to it. So this was another "heart breaker".

Than the fries, we like the Mc Donalds better because they don't have this strange coating and taste like fries. And Mc Donalds got this sauce ... to die for. BK had that too ... they changed it to normal bags from Heinz ... that's not a good move, we want the special sauce like they had before.

So I'm not that lyrious as I sometimes am about the restaurants I visit. The next time I go there I definitely go for the Whopper. Keep it stupid plain and simple ... go for the best. I wouldn't recommend the Chili Cheese, go for the Whopper, much better !!! (but that's personal of course) fortunately we went for drinks and a new year speach early in the evening, got our personalised X-mas gift and had small apetizers to go with some nice drinks and so my evening finished well. In stead of a diner just small apetizers and when one was finished, the other one was there .... very nice, from Salmon to Duck and everything in between ...

Renée next time I'll go to Mc Donalds ....

Early morning photo

Old pictures from October this year, taken in France during my last stay at my parents. Time of fog in the morning. With the trees and the first sun light, and all the morning dew reflecting on almost everything.

Looking to the trees, seen from the house ...



Nice drops of dew in the spider's web ...

Bistro de Holterberg - Holten

Bistro de Holterberg
Forthaarsweg 1
7451 JS Holten
tel : +31 (0) 548 363849 - fax : (0) 548 365112
website : http://www.bistrodeholterberg.nl



John, you now the guy that still believes that Ferrari makes a change in the formula 1 championship in 2006 ... I know, I'll let him dream on as well ... anyway, John found that I needed to come with him to Holten because I needed to eat in this restaurant. Bistro de Holterberg. Well tonight I did. It's quite a drive from Amsterdam. Arriving at the "mountain" it looked pretty impressive, like time stood stil, nice lighting from candles outside, nice lighted bistro as well ... huge parking space. Entering the door you don't enter a restaurant but more like a living room, a big one. Very cosy, open fireplace, nice big wooden tables, comfortable chairs. Was John right ... this time ... The bread was good for starters and we ate :

Starters : Carpaccio with ginger cream - J Salted and smoked duck breast with a red onion chutney - P

Main dish : Runder Rib Eye with bearnaise - (a very very very good one) - J Beef fillet with olive & garlic sauce - P

Dessert : Vanilla ice cream - J Grand dessert - P

Wine :Grand Cuvee Prestige - Chateau la Coustarelle 2000 - AOC Cahors / 12,5% alcohol / 100% merlot Prayssac.

The duck was great, good taste, nice flavours and a perfect chutney. The beef fillet was very well too, nice and big piece of excellent meat. The sauce was a great combination. With some fresh vegtables and home made fries and home made mayonaise. Finished with a grand dessert what was very wel as well. So John was right.

The athmospere is fantastic, the food is very good, no stupid things on your plate just good quality. Nice people who were serving tables. They have a nice terrace as well, great for sitting outdoors in the summer overlooking the valley. Especially at night this place looks like a small fairy tale. So certainly something to go to. So if you're in the neighborhood... If you like wine very much, ask for the special wine list !!!

John, great choice and thanks for the book of the Holterberg. A nice book to remember this day by and signed by the owner. Great book to have for the collection. Tomorrow another day ... it will be simple but still outdoors ... can't help it ...

Japan Inn - Amsterdam

Leidsekruisstraat 4
1017 RH Amsterdam
tel +31 (0) 20 6204989
website : http://www.japaninn.nl

In the city center between all the small restaurants, near the Leidschestraat, there's one that stands out of the crowd. Been there for the first time but looking at all the restaurants in the neighbourhood this was the only one that was completely full! We had reservations fortunately. It's a small place, can hold not more than 38 seatings and that's not too much. It's probably not one of the most beautiful restaurants to be in but the service, the quality of the food, the speed ... it's all perfect and for a very good price.

We had two seperate combi menu's. There was so much in it, a nice salade with crab and avocado, of course the Miso soup, rice, sushi, sate, grilled salmon, grilled vegetables, chicken, "meat" balls, kind of bacon ... so much a very good price.

For only € 25 per person you have an entire menu. I'll definitely will go back here. A perfect way to start or end the evening with a bite to eat. Just order different kind of things let it be placed in the middle and just enjoy from each others choices. I'll be back !!!

The website is currently not available, more info on the iens website. And again it's like a web-log. Want to visit a place for the first time ... look at the reviews here for people who didn't know the site. Afterwards a small drink with "Tieltje", for the Amsterdam people, you know where I was. The small bar with no music and one of the best apple pies in Amsterdam ...

Dean thanks for diner.

Palladio - Amsterdam

Caffé ristorante Palladio - Amsterdam

Elandsgracht 64
1016 TX Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 6277442



Today due to work we went out eating in stead of cooking ourselves. The entire brady bunch was there again and we had a lot of fun. Started on the Johnnie Jordaan in this real old Amsterdam Café and than went to this restaurant. Palladio is run by real italians and just received a 9- from Johannes van Dam. He doesn't normally give high figures and in this case I totally disagree, the figure is way too high.

The starters - the antipasto was oke not very good, the salad with mozzarella was oke, nothing special though.

As main dish I had the Turbot fillets and they were oke too much "water" though. Garnish was rather simple.

The dessert though was great, a chocolate souffle (you know delicious cake with fluid chocolate inside) with vanilla ice cream, and the souffle was perfect with great taste. It's a good restaurant but not perfect though.

website : http://www.restaurantpalladio.nl

Envy delicacies - Amsterdam

Prinsengracht 381
1016 HL Amsterdam
tel +31 (0) 20 3446407
website : http://www.envy.nl

I know, I know ... for all of you who think that I don't do anything else ... Envy at the Prinsengracht almost in the heart of this lovely town. In a very narrow old canal house they build a restaurant. And quite unique I can tell you. They were able to make a restaurant in such a narrow place. I came in at 19.15 (about) and left at 00.15, just the two of us (Jackie from Cork was over). Time went by quickly and before you knew it it's after 00.00! They made something very special of the place. They placed all there fridges up against the wall and all with glass front doors. So everybody could see the products they were using. If I ever build a new kitchen, I'll do it like that for sure! For all you food lovers it's a great place. From everything a small piece enjoying so much more flavours. It's like tapas but much better .... The idea from the owner is to create the same ambiance as at the local butcher shops in Italia. So not only selling meat but also all the specialities of the region. You know this shops like you have in France as well from the small traiteurs ... I'll definitely go back ...

for starters 3 different kinds of deli meats
4 cold dishes Salmon Fillet marinated / Tartar of veal / Salad with dutch shrimps I'll get to the last one ....
4 warm dishesTomato basil soup / Fillet of duckbreast / Gently fried Turbot with chanterelles and a sauce of cepes / Cheeks of Seadevil (is there any better !!!)
4 cheeses Vacherin / Tete de Moine / Pave d'auge / Dutch clove cheese
2 desserts Crème Brulée and Chocolate Cake
coffee Segafredo Espresso



Entering the restaurant after the kitchen on your right there are high tables which you do not need to reserve, even can't reserve. It's for the customer who drops in - great idea! Look at the front door glass coolers .... And enetering the restaurant on your right there is the kitchen.



A look at the kitchen taken from the restaurant looking at the entrance. As well the tables on the right - shicj you can reserve, or the high tables on the left. Look at the narrow restaurant as well. It's very cosy that way !

Greenes - Cork / Ireland

Greenes Bar & Restaurant under the Cobblestone
Arch 48 MacCurtain Street
Cork / Ireland tel : +353 (0) 21 4552279 / fax : +353 (0) 21 4506355
Website : http://www.isaacs.ie/hotel_isaacs_cork/restaurant.htm

The Isaacs hotel also has a restaurant, called Greene's. Like they say themselves under the Cobblestone Arch. The restaurant is overlooking a waterfall, which is floodlit by night. So it's a beautiful sight almost in the middle of town. They serve an early bird menu, especially for the people who want to attend a performance in the opposite theater.

starter : Baked Crab claws with garlic butter, sweet chilli, lime, coriander, served on a bed of oriental egg noodle salad Tiger prawns & asian vegetable springroll on a paksoy timbale with laksa sauce

main : Panfried seabass fillet on pesto new potatoes timbale homemade pork & herb sausage with smoked salmon salsa

dessert : Chocolate mousse

Well what can we say ... perfect. The starters were great. Not only nice presented (we made pictures) but all the ingredients mentioned above were also something you could taste in the dishes. I missed the tiger prawns though a bit to small cut for my taste, although the entire starter was great in taste and again in appearance. The main dishes. The seabass was perfect and the combination with the homemade sausage might appear strange, in fact I think it was but it was very tastefull, great sausage! And a special main course of the day with smoked cod which was really nice. The mousse for dessert was oke, nothing to spectacular though.

We drank a Babich / Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005 from New Sealand, 13,5% Great taste very nice wine. http://www.babichwines.co.nz

There are a lot of restaurants in Cork. The people over here do have their preference and this was one of them and I must admit a very good choice. We only have two perfect restaurants on the list so next time we're here (January 2006) we'll try them as well So ever in Cork searching for a good place to eat, go here, make a reservation though, the best restaurants are full all the time.