I've visited many sites, and what's confusing to me, is why they all recommend to make sure to have "Indonesisian" fare, seems to me it would be danish(?). To me, that means some sort of asian dish, any suggestions of good but not over-priced places in and aroud Amsterdam? I already know about the roasted mackeral in bread, and being in Florida what's so special about the advised orenge juice there? Thanks.P.S. I like to go where the locals go.

Read up quickly on the history of Indonesia (a quick Wikipedia should do the trick), and you will understand why Indonesian restaurants are big in the Netherlands.

hit the Broojde stands for real typical Dutch food to fill in between meals - frikandel, frites mit sauce, loempia, nasi bami, etc.

The rijstaffel is famous in Holland - brought from Indonesia when it was a Dutch colony it is literally a 'rice table' - rice at its centre then a mind-boggling varieties of concoctions to put on it and of course meat.

Not cheap however.

Cheap eats - head to the department stores and up several levels to their cafeterias - self serve but traditional Dutch fare and inexpensive vis-a-vis restaurants.

Keuken van 18?? is a famous restaurant that is very cheap and serves Dutch meals like from the 1800s - in heart of town on Singel i believe. Quite an experience.

This page won't explain the history but you'll get some recommendations and some food information.
http://tinyurl.com/7wdtm

(from Virtualtourist.com)

Danish? What would Danish have to do with either the Netherlands or Indonesia?

You absolutely have to try the Riistafel in Amsterdam. And yes, there's a huge bit of history behind it that you might want to look into.

Dutch cuisine beyond that isn't all that inspiring, though I do like pea soup.

As for the oragne juice, is suspose you're talking about Dutch juice, not Floridian.

Dutch orange juice is ubiquitous at breakfasts, etc and is very thick.

But buy it in a cafe and you'll pay about $4-5 for the tiniest glass you can imagine.

Orange is however the national color of holland and maybe that's one reason it's popular.

Most supermarkets like the Albert Heinj (sp?) in Amsterdam have really nice take out stuff from their delis, etc.

FeBo anybody?

the first thing i have after touching down at Schiphol is a Heineken, no matter time of day

the second thing i head to once in Amsterdam is FEBO and get a frites met mayonnaise!

(Fey-bow i think) and there on virtually every corner in Holland it seems

virgi: Roasted mackeral in bread? where did you get that from - raw herring with onions in the Dutch fish dish!
Rijsttafel has been explained to you. However as a solo traveller you cannot really enjoy the delights of a full rijsttafel. Good Indonesian is expensive. Most Chinese restaurants are also Indonesian so willhave a small selection of Indonesian dishes, and maybe even a mini rijsstafel for you, but it will not be as good one from a good Indonesian.
Albert Heijn is the major supermarket and has good stuff for lunch, as doae La Place (in V&D).
Patats met mayo, or a patat oorlog is the thing to go for.
You could also try Erwtensoep, or Snert (thick pea soup), een Uitsmijter - fried egges with cheese, ham or beef on bread, boerenkool met worst (curly kale with smoked sausage).
Have a look at www.haesjeclaes.nl/ - they have a good range of stampotten which are very Dutch!
Never heard of people enthusing over Orange juice in Holland - are you not getting confused with the national colour?

patat oorlog?

hetismij - please explain Dank u

Virgi,

I will be leaving for Amsterdam on October 29th, and have compiled a list of restaurants (with descriptions) by "sections" for lack of a better word, within the city.

We don't eat expensive cuisine, nor exotic food.

If you want the list, please let me know, and I'll send it to your e-mail address.

PalQ Patat oorlog (war) : now sometimes called Patat vrede (peace). It consists of pata with mayo, and usually curry saus, ketchup, stae suace and raw onions. One or other of the sauces can be left out, but it always has the raw onions, mayo and satesauce.

It is called a patat oorlog because it looks like a battlefield......sorry but you did ask

I_am_kane, I'm interested in your list, if you don't mind. My email is [email protected]. We are going spring 2008.

Thank you, Julie

Julie,

Absolutely. I'll send it now. Let me tell you though, it's a Word doc and formatted with two sections on each page. I cut each section smaller to fit on a 5 x 8 index card (front & back). I hold the cards together with a binder clip and stick it in my handbag.

You will have to re-format it (including the size font you want), if that doesn't suit you.

Dear 1-am-kane: Yes-Yes-Yes and thank you most greatful I will be there betweenOct 18 & 23, or a few days after, depending. My e-mail is [email protected]. I have never been there, but so far ALL the suggestions I copied to take with from PalenQ have been most valuable you may want to check pQ's replys for consideration- PQ's saved me money on travel tips,(train), places to go,& most recently where to eat. I look forward to your list & hope I can repay likewise,somehow. Thanks.

Dear hetismji: I will definitely TOUR (browse through all the floors on Haejse Claus restaurants. I checked out the site, and it's way above my comfort spending level the department store cafeterias is more my speed, but I will get there and look as a sight-seeing activity.

As far as the roasted mackeral wrapped in bread,I thought it sounded strange to but it was on one of the Amsterdam info sites , as a street-fare, along with suggesting the meat with egg on top thing.That's also where I found out about the indionesian (sp) food. you'll see when you get there, as I will. P.s. good tip ( checked them out) follow some of PalenQ's remarks.

Virgi,

I will send you the list now.

I_am_kane, I got it & the format is fine. It fit on the Word Doc. as 8x11 letter size paper - no problem.

Thanks so much for your help. I will stick this info with my trip planning for next spring. Big help; will save me lots of time!

Thanks again, Julie

You're welcome, Julie. Glad to help.

i_am_kane,

This forum is all about sharing. Can't you paste the list into this reply box so we can all see it? Thank you.