Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Amsterdam”) to Britain in exchange for the small country
of Suriname (which borders Guyana on the northeast coast
of South America). For the next three centuries, Suriname
(renamed Dutch Guyana) was a Dutch colony, which is why it
has indigenous Indians, Creoles, and Indonesian immigrants
who all speak Dutch. When Suriname gained independence
in 1975, 100,000 Surinamese immigrated to Amsterdam,
sparking a rash of Surinamese fast-food outlets.
Drinks
Beer:
Order “a beer,” and you'll get a
pils,
a light lager/pilsner-type
beer in a 10-ounce glass with a thick head leveled off with a
stick. (Typical brands are Heineken, Grolsch, Oranjeboom,
and Amstel.) A common tap beer is Palm Speciale, an amber
ale served in a stemmed, wide-mouth glass. Belgian beers are
popular, always available in bottles and sometimes on tap (for
more information, see page 367).
Witte
(white)
beer is light-
colored and summery, sometimes served with a lemon slice
(it's like American Hefeweizen, but yeastier).
Jenever:
Try this Dutch gin made from juniper berries.
Jong
(young) is sharper;
oude
(old) is mellow. Served chilled,
jenever
(yah-NAY-ver) is meant to be chugged with a
pils
chaser (this
combination is called a
kopstoot
—head-butt). While cheese
gets harder and sharper with age,
jenever
grows smooth and
soft, so old
jenever
is best.
Liqueur:
You'll find a variety of local fruit brandies and cognacs.
Wine:
Dutch people drink a lot of fine wine, but it's almost all
imported.
Coffee:
The Dutch love their coffee, enjoying many of the same
drinks (espresso, cappuccino) served in American or Italian
coffee shops. Coffee usually comes with a small spice cookie.
A
koffie verkeerd
(fer-KEERT, “coffee wrong”) is an espresso
with a lot of steamed milk.
Soft Drinks:
You'll find the full array.
Orange Juice:
Many cafés/bars have a juicer for making fresh-
squeezed orange juice.
Water :
The Dutch (unlike many Europeans) drink tap water with
meals, but many prefer mineral water, still or sparkling (Spa
brand is popular).
RESTAURANTS
Of Amsterdam's thousand-plus restaurants, no one knows which
are best. I'd pick an area and wander. The rowdy food ghetto thrives
around Leidseplein; wander along Leidsedwarsstraat, Restaurant
Row. The area around Spui canal and that end of Spuistraat is also
