Pllek, Pink Flamingo and Picnics – the 3 Ps of summer dining
Please note that since writing this blog post, Pink Flamingo Pizza has closed down
The list of restaurants I’ve eaten at lately and still haven’t reviewed is getting slightly out of hand… Right now, there are at least a dozen, and that’s not counting the places I was too hungover to remember and/or were only selling beer and bitterballen because of the World Cup. I’m sitting here in my home office desperately trying to think of themes that will tie a few of these venues together – a red thread that will allow me to kill several foodie birds with one stone. I’ve found one – it’s not very creative and it’s a bit tenuous, but it’ll have to do. Some days finding an angle is like pulling teeth…
Three top picks for al fresco dining in Amsterdam
Embarrassingly, I only discovered the ferry that runs from Tasmanstraat (which is literally a 2-minute bike ride from my house) to NDSM-werf about a month ago. Before that, I had to join the blood-pressure-raising shambles that is The Back of Central Station, which meant I very rarely ventured north unless I really had to. This discovery has been life-changing, not least because it has led me to Pllek.
Pllek is a charmingly weird place made up of metal containers and a man-made beach. I won’t bother describing it in detail because I’m fairly confident that literally everyone else has made it there before me.
The service situation is a little chaotic, and you can expect plenty of drunk students on sunny days making you feel old and boringly responsible, but don’t let that put you off. The food is actually pretty darn good. Try the chorizo with chimichurri and a bottle of cold rosé: summer on a plate. For mains, we ordered a hanger steak with ratatouille and potatoes dressed in pesto, and the vege option of a ricotta-stuffed courgette flower with a quinoa and aubergine salad. Both were top notch, and we only sank about €60 into dinner and drinks for two.
And now for something completely different. Pink Flamingo Pizza is on the Gerard Douplein in the Pijp, which makes it a perfect spot for sitting outside people watching. It also has the craziest pizzas you’ll ever taste – bar none. I’m talking about Thai curry pizza, bacon and chutney pizza, Moroccan chicken tagine pizza – and all with equally crazy names: the Ho Chi Minh, the Obama and the Macias, respectively. And yet, despite the fact that this really shouldn’t work, it kind of does. There’s something oddly moreish about the fragrance of lemongrass and Thai prawns in among all that cheese and tomato. Or the gentle spice of pineapple chutney on a slice of Canadian bacon. Don’t ask me how or why – just try it.
But if you really want to make the most of the summer’s al fresco opportunities, then a picnic in the park is the only option. I rarely tend to do this because a) I have no picnic hamper, and b) despite spending hours gathering together food and drinks and cutlery and crockery, I always seem to forget something and end up needing to go back to the house five minutes after sitting down. Cue the Midtown Grill, which has come up with a genius solution…
Bloggers’ Picnic – courtesy of the Midtown Grill
The Midtown Grill is part of the Marriott Hotel, which is barely 50 paces from the north entrance to the Vondelpark. This summer (from 18 June until 1 October), they’re offering picnic bags for €22.50 per person that you can order as late as one hour in advance. I was invited to test out the concept with a group of bloggers, and I think I wasn’t the only one to be completely won over by it. More than €20 may sound steep for a picnic, but when you break down what you’re getting it’s an absolute bargain: hearty sandwiches, Caesar salad with their signature steak (cut into sensible picnic-able strips), hand-cut crisps, cheesecake and fresh fruit, not to mention a bottle of wine, two bottles of water, a blanket to sit on, and of course all the utensils you need to make the most of your luxury picnic. You pay a €40 deposit on the swanky rucksack itself, which you get back when you return the bag to the Midtown Grill at the end. Like I said, genius.
Oh, and use the promo code “picknick2014” for a 10% discount when you order. I’m thinking of treating myself to another al fresco picnic this weekend to celebrate…
