A Dutch-less Birthday
For my 25th birthday, I was told that I should come up with something I'd really like to do on that day. I thought about it all day Saturday ( last Saturday ) and came up with Amsterdam. You see, I've always wanted to go to Amsterdam. Technically, I was there on a layover, broken shoulder and all, on my way back home. Technicalities aside though, I still really want to go there.
SInce I wouldn't be able to be in Amsterdam for my 25th birthday, I thought that the next best thing would be to be treated to a Dutch dinner. I made this suggestion to my friends, the wish was accepted, and we started to look for a Dutch restaurant for Sunday night.
First, I didn't realize that the Dutch are as known for food as we Canadians or the Americans are. They've got pickled herring but that's about it. Their cuisine is heavily influenced by the people that they've colonized. So, on top of stealing the resources of their former colonies, they took their cuisine as well. It turns out that the Dutch are most influenced by the Indonesians.
Second, from all of NY's tens of thousands of restaurants, I found exactly one Dutch restaurant. Once I got an out-of-service recording for the restaurant's number, I re-read the article that i had found about the place and realized that it was written in 1998. Between then and now, the restaurant changed hands and names and then officially closed. So, no Dutch food for me.
Desperate and annoyed, I started to pick restaurants randomly under the "International Eclectic" category. I struck out with my first pick, but lucked out with my second, or so I thought.
Cut to later that evening, at around 6:45...
I get out of the subway only to realize that I'm not too far from the Holland Tunnel leading to New Jersey. I wasn't as surprised by that part as I was by the fact that the neighborhood was almost totally deserted, apart from the many cars heading into or out of the city. Usually, you can count on NY's streets to be alive at that time of evening.
I then walked to the restaurant, which was tucked away in an even more deserted area. SInce everyone was late, I sat on a bench outside, waiting for them and the comments they were going to make about the location. They didn't disappoint.
Two of the girls called me from different locations, telling me that they were scared because they were lost and there was no one to give them directions. I directed them from my cell, with a map supplied by the waitress. One guy didn't read the updated email that was sent to him, so he called me from the now-closed Dutch restaurant. The others, including Josh, made it there safely and without getting lost, but we had a good laugh about the location.
The food itself was fine. Let's just say that I wouldn't return there even if the restaurant was conveniently located in Times Square. Despite this, it was a great evening spent with friends, celebrating a quarter-of-a-century on this Earth.
SInce I wouldn't be able to be in Amsterdam for my 25th birthday, I thought that the next best thing would be to be treated to a Dutch dinner. I made this suggestion to my friends, the wish was accepted, and we started to look for a Dutch restaurant for Sunday night.
First, I didn't realize that the Dutch are as known for food as we Canadians or the Americans are. They've got pickled herring but that's about it. Their cuisine is heavily influenced by the people that they've colonized. So, on top of stealing the resources of their former colonies, they took their cuisine as well. It turns out that the Dutch are most influenced by the Indonesians.
Second, from all of NY's tens of thousands of restaurants, I found exactly one Dutch restaurant. Once I got an out-of-service recording for the restaurant's number, I re-read the article that i had found about the place and realized that it was written in 1998. Between then and now, the restaurant changed hands and names and then officially closed. So, no Dutch food for me.
Desperate and annoyed, I started to pick restaurants randomly under the "International Eclectic" category. I struck out with my first pick, but lucked out with my second, or so I thought.
Cut to later that evening, at around 6:45...
I get out of the subway only to realize that I'm not too far from the Holland Tunnel leading to New Jersey. I wasn't as surprised by that part as I was by the fact that the neighborhood was almost totally deserted, apart from the many cars heading into or out of the city. Usually, you can count on NY's streets to be alive at that time of evening.
I then walked to the restaurant, which was tucked away in an even more deserted area. SInce everyone was late, I sat on a bench outside, waiting for them and the comments they were going to make about the location. They didn't disappoint.
Two of the girls called me from different locations, telling me that they were scared because they were lost and there was no one to give them directions. I directed them from my cell, with a map supplied by the waitress. One guy didn't read the updated email that was sent to him, so he called me from the now-closed Dutch restaurant. The others, including Josh, made it there safely and without getting lost, but we had a good laugh about the location.
The food itself was fine. Let's just say that I wouldn't return there even if the restaurant was conveniently located in Times Square. Despite this, it was a great evening spent with friends, celebrating a quarter-of-a-century on this Earth.