Bitterballen
This is a fried ball of dough that is typically made of meat. You are probably thinking.... doughly meat? I was a skeptic too. But I'm here to tell you this is THE BEST snack after a few beers. Online it says these are "meatballs" but it's really a crispy fried ball with creamy pate style meat inside, not the ground meat type of meatballs we are used too. It's hard to describe food in words so I'll just drop you a pic and tell you to definitely eat this. Eat it in street stalls, eat it in cafes, eat it late at night, eat it first thing in the morning. PS it comes with mustard for dipping and is generally cheap.
Dutch Apple Pie
I probably don't have to convince you to try this one - I mean look at it. The whipped cream on the side is full fat, legit cream. I should have taken a side shot to show you how thick this thing is. There are at least 6 layers of apple slices - this is like deep dish style. This is amazing with a cup of coffee. We ate this twice in the 3 days we were there and I might dream about this pie from time to time.
Snert
Yes, this is the name of a food. Yes that is cured ham beside it. And yes Amsterdam is heaven on earth. Snert is split pea soup with bites of sausage in it and I know how that sounds and how it looks but trust me when I say it's delicious. There are lists upon lists of where to get the best snert in Amsterdam. It has a cult following. If you are in Amsterdam while it's cold, there is nothing more filling and warming than stepping into a cafe for a beer and a bowl of snert (again, I realize this sounds ridiculous). Just suspend your thoughts for a moment and try it.
Stamppot
This hearty meal is definitely for the colder months. This is a traditional Dutch dish made from mashed potatoes, sausage, and served with a variety of vegetables. Kind of like bangers and mash in the UK but with some vegetables to make it healthy. You can see that mine came with an amazing brown gravy. You can share this with your travel buddy like I did (or not!) but let me say - I could have eaten this a few more times before we left. I can literally taste it as I'm typing - it's pretty memorable.
Stroopwafel
Everyone loves Stroopwafel, so much that United airlines has started serving them on their international flights instead of pretzels (thank goodness). These are thin wafers with thin caramel in the middle. These are traditional put on top of a warm drink to let the steam get them soft and gooey. Get a tin of these to take back as a gift for a loved one (and maybe another tin for you to eat while traveling).
Indonesian Cuisine
The Dutch colonized Indonesia. There are many authentic Indonesian restaurants where you can get a huge spread of food and it's really really good. Some of the restaurants are a little more upscale, and come with a higher price tag, so do your research! Most people get the rijsttafel which is a dozen small dishes that are shareable. We got something of a sample (this is only half the food!) and it was delicious. Considering we have never been to Indonesia, it was a treat.
I feel like Dutch cuisine isn't celebrated around the world. At least I had never heard of any of these foods. The Dutch waffle makes it to America but not much else. There are some surprisingly delicious gems in Amsterdam and throughout the Netherlands that deserve some attention - and an appetite!
