Texas Comes to Amsterdam

So my apologies loyal followers but work has gotten extremely busy and as a consequence my blogging has fallen behind. Almost 3 weeks ago (I know like I said I’m behind) we had some visitors from the Lone Star state grace us with their presence and I have yet to share the details of their visit with you. Well fear not! I have training this week so I have some time to catch you all up on the happenings of the Amsterdam Bartholomew’s.

Two days after the Oster’s departed Amsterdam to head back to the U S of A the Texas Bartholomew’s pulled into the Netherlands for a visit. They were fresh off their river boat journey through Central Europe and we were happy they added our new city to their itinerary before heading back to DFW. Brad and Beth did not arrive until late on Wednesday and I had a work event (see sushi made by yours truly below) so Bill greeted them. I didn’t see them until Thursday evening so I’ll start my recap there.

So Thursday. We met up with Brad and Beth at a local restaurant in the Pijp we had been wanting to try – Brasserie SenT. We tried to go here a few weeks ago but were turned away because we didn’t have a reservation. This time we came with reservation in hand. The appetizers we had were outstanding. I had a pork belly steam bun and Bill has a beef tartare dish with noodles. It was a promising outlook for the meal to come. We didn’t know it when we booked the restaurant but they specialized in different meat dishes cooked on non-other than a Big Green Egg. That’s right we took the Texans to a place with a meat cooked on a Big Green Egg. Enlightening. The Dutch sure knew how to use it though. The meat was fantastic and the frites perfectly crisp. It was a good start to the Bartholomew’s trip.

So day two. Unfortunately another day Bill and I had to work but we were happy to meet up as a group for dinner. Tonight’s selection was Rijks – the Michelin star restaurant under the Rijks museum. Very creative naming. Very Dutch. The meal was great. Another Michelin Star venue that didn’t make you order the fixed menu. We all decided to forgo the fixed menu and order a la carte. I remembered to take pictures of all the courses which is actually an achievement for me. First was the amuse bouche. A pear soaked in ginger. It was fascinating because although the pear slice was soaked through, it remained crisp. It was also served on this piece of wood which was a nice presentation.

Next up, oysters on the half shell. Nothing crazy here but I just love oysters. Still missing horseradish though… how can we make that a thing Amsterdam?

Keeping with the seafood trend, course two was a scallop ceviche with thinly sliced pumpkin on top. Now I love scallops and while this was quite tasty, I think I prefer them cooked.

My final course was my favorites of the mains – slow cooked short ribs. Definitely recommend this bad boy. Also note I Alison forgot to photograph this one but remembered halfway through.

Last but not least, dessert. I got the blackberry dessert which had different preparations of blackberries with some lavender ice cream. A great end to a lovely meal.

One final picture was the view from our table. Out the window you can see one of the towers of the museum itself. A nice backdrop to a nice meal.

Post dinner we attempted to go to the whiskey cafe but unsurprisingly it was at capacity so we instead had our nightcap back at our apartment.

Saturday started bright and early so Bill could head to the airport to meet our next guest – Jarik Jurica fresh off Mt Kilimanjaro. That right this crazy dude climbed the highest peak in Africa and thought ya I definitely will want to go be a tourist in Amsterdam for 24 hours directly afterwards… to Jarik’s credit though, he rallied. Once Jarik was on hand we went down to our now favorite brunch spot Bakers and Roasters. If you come visit us, there is a great likelihood we will also take you here. So take notes on which dishes look the best via this blog. Although there were several new items on the menu, I went back to the Navajo eggs and I have no regrets. Oh and a cute little build your own mimosa.

Post brunch the group broke into two. The males went and did a man activity i.e. the Heineken Experience and the woman did a woman activity i.e. shopping. After being in Amsterdam for two months I had a list of items I needed. My beloved heels are not sensible footwear in the city so the top items on the list were flats for work. Also, commuting in the rain has been a bit of an adjustment. After getting caught in a few downpours I need general waterproof gear – bag, shoes, coat, the works. After about two hours of shopping and much success we surrendered and headed home for diet cokes.

After resting our feet we agreed to meet the gents in the center (right back from where we came) to meet our boat tour. The Dam Boat guys. This is a great company to use if you’re coming to town. It is a small boat which allows you to interact with the captain, thereby getting a tour more catered to your interests. In addition, by being on a small boat you get to go down some of the more quaint canals which the big boats can’t fit. Oh and it didn’t hurt it was byob. Cheers!

After the boat trip Brad and Beth called it a day. They had an early early flight back to the States so they wanted to pack and rest beforehand. With only the millennials remaining, we met some of my EY coworkers at a boch beer festival in Dam square. The beer was actually reasonably priced (one token or 3€). It felt kinda cool too because it was clear this was definitely more of a local affair and we knew about it! Look at us becoming locals!

After lot of drinking we needed substance. We headed back toward the pijp and ate a LOT of pizza.

Sunday was Jarik’s last day but his flight didn’t leave until a little later so we had time for another brunch. We had a place all picked out but on our walk we went by the Avocado Show – basically picture any avocado dish you’ve seen on social media and you have this restaurant They very much seem to be centered on making insta worthy food. Anyways, the line is always miles long. Well this morning I don’t know what it was (maybe day light savings?) but there was no line. So we took advantage and decided to give it a try, see what the fuss was about. Well, as I expected the food was good but not great. It was definitely a place I would go to again but I 100% would not wait more than 20 minutes to eat there. No avocado toast is that good.

After breakfast Bill helped Jarik to the airport and I did a deep clean of the apartment before heading to Pilates then out for round two of shopping. This week I will end with a lovely photo of me and a coworker in our glamours new rain coats. Until next time!