Amsterdam, The Netherlands

A quick transit stopover here. Amsterdam is famous for many things (some of which don’t need to be mentioned here) but the many intricate canals, interesting architecture, and being home to famous people like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Anne Frank make the visit more interesting. Not to mention just missing out on the World Cup title for 2010.

I had a couple of meals here which for some reason both involved steak.

The Grasshopper

Right up against one of the canals was a pub called “The Grasshopper”. There were two separate sections, being the pub and the restaurant – with the restaurant having indoor and al fresco dining. Given the view and the weather, I chose to sit in the al fresco area.

The view from The Grasshopper

The menu included items for breakfast through to dinner, but even with the variety I got the overall impression “this is pub food” and my experience there supported this. At least the view was good.

Whilst the location was quite decent for me, I felt that the wait staff were friendly (and good looking) but the service was quite slow (I had to wait quite a while before being given the menu even though there was no one sitting out in the al fresco area and I had gone back in to ask if I could order inside) and non-caring compared to what I’m used to.

Rib Eye – EU25

Ordering the steak medium rare, the steak came out a tad rarer than that but that’s not usually a problem for me. However, I am sure I asked for an eye fillet but the steak didn’t look like any rib eye I’ve had before (in a bad way). The steak was pretty average being a bit on the tough side despite being cooked quite rare, and not really standing out as being a good cut of beef in any way that I could tell.

The steak came with fries, an onion salad, and a whole basket of condiments such as salt, pepper, and tomato sauce.

Iced Tea – EU3.50

Though a refreshing drink, this was a standard off-the-shelf iced tea that tasted quite typical of a cold and sugary lemon tea drink. However, it was quite welcome after a lot of walking and exploring for the day.

On a side note, they do sell weed for those interested.

The Grasshopper
Oudebrugsteeg 16
1012JN Amsterdam, Netherlands
020 4287224

Argentinos Restaurant Gringos

I made my way down to an Argentinean steak house, with promises of that famous and great Argentinean beef. This steakhouse, though like most other restaurants I saw in Amsterdam, was only lightly lit inside giving a warm but also nearly uncomfortable dark atmosphere. Perhaps that contributes to Holland's reputation as a "green" country. The waiters appeared to all be Argentinian and all seemed to have mildly chirpy and loudly friendly personalities.

But doh I seem to have lost the photos for this place.

Argentinean Rump Steak with fries and salad – EU9.95

The restaurant obviously specialised in steak with various cuts of steaks in various sizes and with various accompaniments. Whilst there were other menu items available, I found it difficult to even look at anything but steak in this Argentinean steak house.

Reminding of my prior trip to Argentina, and specifically the Argentinean beef I had in Buenos Aires, the steak here was good. Though ordering the steak medium rare and coming out more rare, the steak was juicy and tender and was a good steak for EU9.90 (when other steaks seemed to start at nearly twice the price).

The only unfortunate part of the steak was its size, being relatively small and maybe only 100g or so. However, the steak’s size was complimented with a bit of iceberg lettuce based undressed salad, and chips.

Cassis - EU4 (large)

I saw this drink on the menu and wondered what it was. I was told it was like Cherry Fanta and apparently is very popular. So I thought, why not give it a try? The drink indeed had a cherry taste – it was sweet, quite dark in colour (or maybe it was the very dark lighting in the restaurant) and had a deep taste to it giving a fruity (artificial) cherry taste (not to be mistaken for Cherry Cola a la Dr Pepper etc).

In summary, Amsterdam is an ok place to visit - especially if you're into its "freedom" and liberties that give it a reputation in Europe. However, Amsterdam is also filled with a lot of tourists and within the city it can give off that tourist city feel.

A few photos to finish this blog off...