There are three cities that changed my life. No, four. The first one was Bucharest, where I moved at 15 and went to high-school. Bucharest was where I discovered life. The second one was Amsterdam, where I moved at 19 and went to university. Amsterdam was where I discovered friends. The third one was Florence, where I moved at 20 and worked in an Italian kitchen. Florence (and Tuscany) was where I discovered belonging. The forth one is Dubai, where I moved at 23 and started working. Dubai is where I am discovering myself. 

 

Today is the day to talk about Amsterdam. And friends. And memories. And food. And complain about the weather. 

 

Amsterdam is a city that you have a relationship with. First time around, you are infatuated with its small streets, canals, cafes, parks, goofy and artsy vibe. Then, once the infatuation goes, you start noticing little cracks in that perfect image you created - the wind, the rain, the cycling in the wind and the rain, the 0,50 Euros you pay to use the bathroom at Burger King or McDonald's, the groups of tourists constantly in your way. You want to break up. You leave. And then you come back and fall hopelessly in love with it. This time, with a much more open mind and heart, with a more mature vision. You take time to discover all its corners and hidden parks, to talk to street vendors, to browse through vintage shops and second-hand book stores, to just have a beer on the edge of the canal and stop. You learn to dance in the rain with street artists, how to not run from the wind but let it push you forward, how to go around the tourists and fell proud that you live in a city that they only visit. And, before you know it, you are Amsterdam and Amsterdam is you and, no matter how far you travel, you will always be Amsterdam and Amsterdam will always be you. 

 

Amsterdam has many things worthwhile, but funny enough food is not one of them. I say that because Dutch cuisine is not world famous. Is not French or Italian or Spanish or even British. But what Amsterdam has and can proudly call it "its own" is street food - fries with mayo, bitterballen, croquette, kaas souffle, sweets in "inappropiate" shapes and herring. It's the perfect food after a night out on the town and you either love it or find it terrible.

 

I happen to love it. I thought I have to wait months and months until I travel back to Holland to have bitterballen, but no. In the heart of Green Community, somewhere between the desert and the end of the world, when you nearly fall of the map is Vinkers Waffles. It's small, cozy, comfy, familiar, friendly, it's so Dutch and so Amsterdam. 

 

Vinkers Waffles sports only 3 tables inside and a few high chairs at the counter. My breakfast club took two tables, leaving a young Dutch girl sharing a table with a stranger and bonding over poffertjes. They seemed ok with it. Although the club was incomplete (for some people, Green Community is a whole different emirate. Others, just like to sleep late), we procedded ordering, not being able to hold back any longer.

 

I started my breakfast with homemade ginger ale, served with liquorice syrup. Liquorice is not really my cup of tea, but that ginger ale was exactly what I needed to wake up. Strong ginger taste, not a lot of sugar (awesome!) and a whole lot of lemon to balance out the ginger. It was gone in 1 minute and I could see others regretting their decision of ordering orange juice. 

 

If I had one faithful companion during college, one that could bring me comfort and peace, one that was widely available at all times, that was the tosti. Filled with ham and cheese and toasted to perfection, eaten with a mix of ketchup and mayo. The Dutch might not know much about food, but they do make the best tosti in the world. When I saw it on Vinkers's menu, I didn't have to think twice. Tosti it was. And a side of bitterballen. You cannot not have that. It is a must.

 

The menu at Vinkers is not large, but that's perfectly allright. My friends all went for the uitsmijter - eggs on bread. We need to have some serious, grown up food, before we dive into waffles, poffertjes, pies and pancakes.

 

When my toast arrived, I chose to block everyone out and go back a few years. I imagined myself sitting in the school's cafeteria, listening to the constant buzz and the occassional shatter of plates, smelling the youth, waving at friends, and preparing the ketchup-mayo mix for my tosti. Vinkers tosti is good because it took be back there. It was not burned (which is a big plus, it took me months and hundreds of tostis before nailing the timing) and the cheese was melting. It was exactly right. What I missed, but it is most probably not appropriate to serve in a restaurant, is when you press the tosti with the toaster so that the cheese falls a bit on the sides and gets burned. Yes, not many people would pay for burned cheese, I get that.

 

How the tosti took me back to school, the bitterballen took me back to the streets. Pipping hot, I wish one bitterball would be the size of a football ball. For those uninitiated in Dutch cuisine, the bitterball is a meat-based snack. Minced beef, salt, pepper, butter, parsley sometimes, rolled through egg and bread crumbs and deep fried, served with a side of mustard. Haute cuisine at its best. Vinkers's bitterballen were great. Soft and flavourful filling, perfect crisp and super hot. Tasting them is a bliss, even without mustard. I want an "all you can eat bitterballen" deal.

 

The uitsmijter are, simply put, sunny side up eggs on toasted bread, with cheese and ham and a side of tomatoes and pickles. Uitsmijter would not have been my first choice, I would have recommended the broodje gezond, arguably once of the most "complete" sandwiches in the world (cucumber, tomato, turkey ham, cheese and mayo). The eggs were runny and softened the bread, which was very nice to taste. Mix that with pickles for aicidity and you've got yourself a decent breakfast.

 

The reason why we all travelled to Green Community is the "waffle". Waffles are somehow Belgium by origin, although there is no such thing as the "Belgium waffle"; there is only Brussels waffle or Liege waffle. Anyway, Vinkers's waffle was served with powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and it was good and generous. The portion can be easily shared between two. The waffle was so tasty, even I ate a bit and I am not a big fan of waffles and chocolate-free desserts. It was sweet and fluffy and hot and golden brown and oh, so perfect! And the ice cream was melting and mixing with it and it was a dream!

 

My choice of chocolate-free dessert was the Dutch apple pie. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, my favourite apple pie (sorry mom!). Thetosti took me back to school, the bitterballen took me to the streets, but the apple pie took me to my apartment. Why is the Dutch apple pie so different than others, you ask. Well, I don't know. It might me the abundance of apples, of cinnamon or lemon juice, of sugar and nutmeg. It might be because it's served lukewarm, with whipped cream. For me, the Dutch apple pie is a celebration of apples, is a smile, a friendly hug, a kick in the ass when feeling down. And Vinkers's apple pie does exactly that. You cannot go to Vinkers and not have apple pie. You will regret it. Take my word for it.

 

The abundance of food doesn't stop here. Poffertjes with butter and sugar and Nutella were soon brought to the table. Poffertjes are a truly Dutch dessert, similar to pancakes (but not pancakes), fluffy, small and delicate. I love them served the traditional way - topped with butter (melting from the poffertjes' temperature) and powdered sugar. They are a calory bomb. Every time you bite into one, you quickly do the math: how many crunches do I have to do to cover for this? how many kilometers should I run?. But poffertjes are worth it. The portion is again quite generous so make sure you order them for sharing.

 

Although small and cozy, don't think Vinkers doesn't have style. Order a late and it will be served in a double-layered glass to prevent you from burning your fingers. Dutch are known for their innovation and "early adaptors" behaviour and I think Vinkers is no exeption from that rule.

 

If you are familiar with Holland, you will be pleased to know that original Albert Hijn products are available for purchase, as well as The Ruyter - breakfast chocolate flakes. I bought some! You can also buy a tea cups set, sporting the authentic Delft blue. And you can buy liquorice. 

 

But if you don't want to spend money and you fancy reading, have a look through Vinkers's bookshelf. Feel free to take what you like, but bring it back eventually or bring another book instead. That's what I am planning to do, since Book World refused my book supply due to lack of space. Sharing is caring. 

 

Amsterdam became my home, its food became my own. I took it for granted while living there, missing it while away. Fortunately, Vinkers managed to make me stop and reminisce. It took me to all the places I love, to all the places I called home - uni, streets, my apartment. It brought back fond memories of old friends, endless nights on the town, bottomless bottles of wine, laughs and cries, failures and successes, all set in a city as genuine and open as an innocent kid - Amsterdam.

 

So, thank you, Amsterdam for having me. Thank you for helping me discover true friends, for holding my hand on my path of growing up.

 

And congratulations Vinkers, for being able to take me back to a place I love. Thank you for bringing old memories back to life. It turns out that, without realizing, we were making memories that would last a lifetime.