http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amsterdam-my-favorite-things.cfm

A thread I am working on about Amsterdam has several food details, from Rijstaffel (Dutch-Indonesian restaurant specialty) to Frites - those great French Fries that actually are best in Belgium to booze, etc.

A MUST in Amsterdam for an Indonesian dinner is a Rijsttafel meal, which is Dutch for rice table. Best I found is Sama Sebo restaurant. Reservations are a must.
www.samasebo.nl
I called from the States, no problem at all as they speak english, albeit with a heavy accent.

Forgot to mention----Belgian waffles in Brussells from any street vendor is wonderfull, as are Belgian Frites with mayonaise.

marinated but otherwise raw herring is a specialty in Holland - soldfrom numerous street stalls.

We love food too. Photos at the end:

http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/bruges-amsterdam.html

Cambrinus in Bruges was a favorite (be sure to book). In Amsterdam, try a Rijsttafel/Rice Table.

You would be very hard pressed to find a BAD street vendor of frites in Brussels. They are everywhere, and are dangerously delicious & addicting! Eat them with the mayonnaise. It's not like bottled mayo in North America and will change your mind about eating fried potatoes with anything else, ever.

Brussels is also very well-known for simple seafood dishes - I learned to love mussels in a whole new way living there. And, so happily, they are almost always served with frites!

Also when I was there and lucky enough to be invited to someone's home (a Flemish-Walloon mixed household!), I had waterzooie (I think that's the spelling), a sort of pot roast with pork cooked in milk. Sooooooooooooooooooooooo delicious. The next day for supper, we had Belgian waffles with whipped cream and powdered sugar, and lots and lots of different jams to try with the waffles. This was the only lunch or evening meal I ate in three months where I was not served beer or wine; we had hot chocolate (not Swiss Miss packaged cocoa mix but Belgian chocolate melted & mixed with whole milk).

When I was in Bruges, we ate chicken and roasted cabbage for lunch. It seemed like an odd combination to say but it was quite tasty as I recall. Particularly nice with a pint of beer!

In Amsterdam our best meal was at Van Kerkwijk, a lovely small restaurant where they sit down and explain the menu to you. The food was so different and creative not to mention delicious. We had a small wait at the bar before getting a table but it was well worth it.

We also had pizza at La Perla - it is wood-fired in a special oven. It's a small place with not very many seats (most locals were picking it up to take home) and it's in the middle of a really great neighborhood.

If you enjoy street markets we had a great time walking through the Albert Cuyp Market. Lots of interesting food to try there (and some fruit and vegetables I have never seen before).

We also had great Indonesian at a place called Sampurna by the flower market in Amsterdam
http://www.sampurna.com/

We are not foodies but had some good meals and good beer in all those places. You might look at my Amsterdam report it shows our food and drink… www.rimerson.com

Rob

In Brussels, there is a street that has probably 125 restaurants on it. Early in the evening, there are touts out front that offer you deals to eat at their restaurant. Read: http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/13/travel/along-brussels-restaurant-row.html?pagewanted=all. We got a free glass of Champagne mixed with Kir. Lots of the restaurants sell sea food, especially mussels cooked in beer, onions and green peppers, and served with french fries.

Rue de Bouchers is certainly worth a visit but don't think I'd eat there. People out front trying to hustle you in and food is medicore at best. Reminds me of the bazzar in Turkey!!! Too many good restaurants in Brussells to mess with that kind of food.

Food! Glorious Food! ~~ amsterdam, bruges, brussles
Posted by: bjc280 on Mar 19, 13 at 11:31am

For glorious food stay out of the Indonesian places in Holland. They are the equivalent of Taco Bell, and smell just as bad.

In Amsterdam you might try the restaurant d'Vijff Vlieghen, the Five Flies. I ate there years ago. It is ancient and famous. I prefer the Luden on the same street, Spuistraat. It is more proletarian but has good food and good service. Further south at the Spui try the Cafe Luxembourg for lunch. This has been written up in travel journals. It is my favorite lunch place in Amsterdam. For a borrel (drink) in an ancient Amsterdam "brown bar" go in the Hoppe, also at the Spui. This place is full of friendly young business people after office hours and certainly some will give you good restaurant recommendations. Go in the side door, not the front door. The little bar across the alley caters to the literary group.

For me Brussels is spelled mussels. Same for Antwerp which I find a more interesting and friendly city. Brussels is home to the European Commission, an overpaid bunch of regulation writing bureaucrats. Thus you will pay more for just about everything there. On my last trip to Antwerp we walked around the Grote Markt inspecting menus and ambience. I forget where we ate but it was beautiful.

The best street food on the planet is at some of the mobile fish stands in Holland. My favorites are in Haarlem, especially the Lijnzaat wagon at the Boter Markt. Buy fresh raw herring and eat it on the spot with the locals. The monger cleans it right in front of your eyes and serves it with chopped onion. Delicious.

If you are going to be in Holland in winter you must try the native erwtensoep, a heavy pea soup with sausage in and bacon and rye bread on the side.

Dandoy for waffles in Brussels

Lavandula

Thank you everyone so so SOOO very much! My mouth is watering and my tummy is getting ready!

one of my FAVOURITE places in amsterdam was Van Dobben. absolutely DELICIOUS croquettes its a locals' delight, and was completely jam packed when we arrived for a late breakfast. a must-go if you like food and street food

Brussels: avoid the restaurants at rue des Bouchers in Brussels. A good restaurant is Le Vesmet at Place Ste. Catherine. The area around Place Ste. Catherine is full of restaurants. Much better than Grote Markt / Grand Place area.

Oops, the name of the Brussels restaurant is Le Vismet!

John is right on with recommending the Sama Sebo.

Every time I go to Amsterdam, I make it a point to go to the Sama Sebo restaurant. Authentic, not too touristy and certainly not overpriced.

www.samasebo.nl

BTW: I've been to Amsterdam more than 10 times, so that tells you how much I like the restaurant.

Lots of suggestions for beer and some for restaurants on this thread
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/looking-for-belgian-beer-recommendations.cfm