Please note that since writing this blog post, Eten bij de Buurman has closed down
Please note that since writing this blog post, Rhodos has closed down
Please note that since writing this blog post, Tapas Plaza has closed down
“Why?” you’re wondering; “has she completely lost her mind?” Well, that last question’s debatable. But as for the why: last week I found myself performing every night in the Zaantheater’s “Zaans Vuur” show with my Bollywood troupe, Sahara Dance. And that’s why I was a) wine-free, and b) stuck in Zaandam every evening. Keen to make good use of my time, I decided to check out the local restaurant scene…
eazie
First-night nerves meant I went for the lightest, quickest, cheapest pre-show food of the week. (For some reason this just made me think of that Maltesers advert: “Chocolat? Before ze performance?”) eazie is what I’d call a wok bar: you choose your noodles (or rice), protein, veges and sauce from the counter, they all get chucked into a pan and voila – five minutes later a steaming bowl of stir-fry arrives. It’s not bad for €6-8, to be honest. But don’t bother ordering the soup – it’s cheap for a reason: there’s next to nothing in it. I didn’t have any of the salads, but they looked a lot heartier. Go for lunch, takeaway or a quick after-work supper; don’t go expecting to linger, even if you do have your laptop with you. The Wi-Fi wasn’t working when I stopped by.
Rhodos
A kitschy faux-traditional venue, Rhodos serves up typical Greek food for foreigners: i.e. everything comes with chips and mayo. My moussaka was reheated, but not unpleasant. The service was smiling and attentive – but then again, I find that service is generally much better as soon as you step outside the A10, and Zaandam was no exception…
Tapas Plaza
One evening, I was fortunate enough to be joined by the Honey Badger, who was busy sneaking in backstage to watch the show… His verdict on Tapas Plaza? “It’s no Madrid, but it’s not half bad!” (Actually, he probably didn’t say “half bad” because then he’d sound like a cockney, not a Deep South gent.) We ordered roasted peppers (simple but tasty), tortilla (warm and fresher than others I’ve had), grilled pork (a little bland and not much of a dish), and calamari (crispy and light enough). The waiter also did a great job of up-selling bread and aioli to us (we actually chose chips and salsa, but the American appreciated the attempt), but let me down by charging me for water. Ho-hum, you win some, you lose some…
Eten bij de Buurman
By far the nicest restaurant I ate at (but also the most expensive), Eten bij de Buurman’s waiters should probably give lessons in customer service to the rest of the Netherlands. Bread with aubergine caviar and olives appeared, as did a (free!) carafe of water; my coat was hung up, my opinion asked about my meal… which was Zarzuela, incidentally – a Spanish fish stew. It was full of tomatoes and even fuller with seafood – no wonder it cost €22! At the end, I complimented one of the waiters on the service as I left them a tip, which only served to encourage him: my coat was held for me, the door opened… it could have been 1920…
PS. In case you were wondering, on the fifth day I quit my career as a Zaanse dancer, headed back to Amsterdam and had a well-earned drink.
