The Dylan - Amsterdam

Amsterdam, December 1, 2006

The Dylan Amsterdam
Keizersgracht 384
1016 GB Amsterdam

The Dylan Amsterdam (former the Blakes Hotel in Amsterdam), is a Creation Of Anouska Hempel, The Celebrated London Hotelier And Internationally Renowned Designer. The Building Is An Exceptional 17th Century Landmark On The Keizersgracht, One Of The City's Famous Canals. Its Beautiful Garden Offers A Haven Of Tranquility, Away From The Hustle And Bustle Of Amsterdam's Unique Historic Center. The Dylan Amsterdam Is A Testament Of A Philosophy On Design And Lifestyle, Offering The Ideal Blend Of Color, Texture And Atmosphere And Of A Meeting Of East And West.

Well in plane english it's a perfect place in the heart of Amsterdam in a terrific and stunning building and very nice styled using a lot of black.

Time for a lunch last Friday (December the 1st - 2006). The last time I was there it was still the Blakes hotel and now transformed to the Dylan. Invited by my dear friend R. This busy woman deserves a lot of respect of how she manage her oh so busy job and family life and still find the time to have lunch with me. She's a real sweetheart. Each diner / lunch we get to know one another a bit better. Her possible only flaw is her car ... but we're working on that :-)

The last diner was with rather strange subjects as for conversation so this lunch was just fun. Time went by very quickly and before we knew it we're actually too late. But we managed, thanks for the ride home. And she also wanted to have her dish stated here, so her wish is my ...

Amuse :
Homemade sundried tomatoes (that's actually funny in Holland ;-) )
Handmade Crisps with seasalt and a tomato sauce
Salted puff pastry with Reypenaer Cheese

Starter :
R; Salad niçoise 'The Dylan
P; Dutch shrimp consommé with poached turbot and tarragon oil

Main Course :
R; Grilled Dover sole fillets with a vol-au-vent of sweetbreads, crayfish and frog legs
P; Monkfish fillet spiked with lemon, served with fennel and baby squid à la Grecque

Dessert :
R; Sugar pastry tartlet with lemon cream, marinated citrus fruit and a mandarin sorbet
P; Warm tartlet of Pur Caraïbe chocolate with chestnut garnache and vanilla ice cream

Coffee :
R & P ; Espresso ... and again Peeze what was not good, both got a second one and was a bit better but still not what you expect from espresso. Dear Vic please help these people out ...

served with some small alternatives to bonbons, like a 'sorbet'of Cocos, Papaya and Yoghurt foam, A caramel cookie, sugared pear and nougat.

We drank champagne during the lunch and although it wasn't Ruinart is was most enjoyable.

The food was pretty good, the flavors of the individual ingredients were kept like they should and weren't covered in sauces. The nouvelle cuisine look need to go though that can be done much better although their variety on the Salade Nicoise was very nice. For ambiance we would preferred diner in stead of lunch I think, it was quite ... (actually we're the only ones)

Thanks R for the invitation next time it's on me again, have a great weekend,

-xxx- P.