Dutch Cuisine
After landing in Amsterdam on the morning of July 1st, we all napped on the bus ride to our hostel in The Hague in attempt to postpone the oncoming jet lag for at least the rest of the afternoon. Partway through the day, on our first trip to Delft city center, we were greeted by the weekly market and the food that filled its booths. Many of them were filled with produce similar to what you might see in a farmers market in the US, but the prices were remarkably cheaper (this is a common theme among many groceries).
Me and a few people decided to try out a small corner fish market, and got a heaping plate of fried white fish and fries for under 6 euros, a price that is far cheaper than anything I’ve ever found in the US. the fish was great, and I’ve repeated the order several times at different fish markets, which are extremely common to find in eating areas in the Netherlands. One piece of Dutch cuisine that is quite commonly eaten at the fish markets is a pickled herring with (most of) the bones removed and the scales and skin cut off. Every time I visited the market I would see locals hanging the fish over their mouth, grabbing it by the tail, and then lowering it to be consumed. A couple of days ago, a bunch of students from Northeastern (myself included) took the dive and ate one a piece. Some were fans and ate the leftovers of those who couldn’t handle the fish. Although I was able to finish it, it was done so with a certain amount of force and I cannot say that I would order it again if I were given the chance. One of the best foods that I’ve eaten was at a burgers and fries food truck in the middle of the city square during the market. For a small price of 3 euro, I got a paper cone full of french fries topped with mayo, curry sauce, and diced onions. The combination of the curry sauce and mayo was absolutely phenomenal, and I’ve repeated it on a couple of other sandwiches since.
Later on that night, I experienced my first glimpse at finer dining in the Netherlands at an Italian restaurant in the city center of The Hague. The food was good, and not too expensive (most meals that I get at restaurants end up being less than 10 euro for the food), but when possible I still prefer to eat at the markets or make the food myself using groceries. Many groceries here are priced very low, and eating in is almost always the cheapest option. The main grocery stores, Albert Heijn and Jumbo, are stocked full of super cheap dairy products (yogurt, cheese, milk), deli meats, and bread (you can get a large loaf of sliced bread for 1 euro). Fruits and veggies can also be found for a good price.
Aside from the herring, I haven’t really tried any food that was out of the usual, but I am very happy with both the price and the quality of the food that I’ve been exposed to while here.
Vending Machine: Outside of a large tomato farm/factory, there were two small vending machines where you could pay 1 euro for a bunch of tomatoes!
Coffee at Presentation: Coffee has become a daily need over the past two weeks. Many places we go have machines that make single cups of coffee and even cappuccinos and chocolate milk.
Typical Breakfast: A typical Dutch breakfast consists of cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, bread, and milk (coffee too of course). Fruit is also often eaten with breakfast.
Apple Pie: This apple pie was served cold and bought at a commercial shopping area. Great pastries over here.
Doritos: Found these at the Amsterdam airport. Not sure why its called this but its just the same thing as cool ranch.
