New! De Maaskantine in Rotterdam: Cajun BBQ with a view
At De Maaskantine in De Esch, Big Nate has recently started grilling the tastiest veal ribs, chicken and prawns for you. He also makes Louisiana crab cakes, jerk watermelon and creole fish boil. De Maaskantine is the new go to spot for Rotterdammers who love barbecue, Cajun food and soul music.
A wet, dark Saturday evening in October. We’re on our way to De Esch. Where is this place, anyway? I never come here, I live in West—what is this? And what terrible weather. Might as well follow the navigation; we’re getting closer to the water and see the little rowing club building. This must be it. We park and run through the rain and puddles to a row of brightly coloured containers. And then…
The sun comes out! A big tent, bright colours and lights, Shuggie Otis playing through the speakers, Big Nate behind his barbecue, cocktails and trays piled high with delicious shellfish, prawns, ribs and half chickens making the rounds. Woah. Why did I never come to De Esch again?
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- Big Nate achter z’n barbecue
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- Veel lol hier!
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- Bestellen bij de vrolijk gekleurde loketten
Where exactly are we?
At De Maaskantine, the new venture from Ruben Venema and Tjeerd Hendriks, known for WES and By Jarmusch. In the middle of the coronavirus crisis, they built this pop-up outdoor restaurant on the Maas from the ground up. Pretty bold, yes, but the two know what does and doesn’t work—and what the city needed: a soul food restaurant with beach-club vibes by the water. There’s plenty of Maas in Rotterdam, but this spot in De Esch had to be the one.
And who is this Big Nate?
The man behind the barbecue. Ruben and Tjeerd have known Nathan for years, and at De Maaskantine they’re giving him the chance to do what he loves most: cook Creole food and barbecue. Nathan: “You don’t see much of authentic Creole cuisine in Rotterdam anymore. Not much truly Surinamese food either—they’re all Chinese these days. Here, try my blueberry glaze that I put on the ribs. I make it from the dark dried plums we used to eat as sweets, in those blue wrappers—do you remember them?”
Well no, I’m from the North Holland clay, but go on.
“Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster in Harlem inspired me to truly choose Creole cuisine. He won a star with his southern comfort food. That’s when I thought: this has to be it.” Well, praise the Lord for that, because Nate’s Louisiana crawfish, crab cakes, Tennessee hot chicken, creole fish boil, cornbread and sweet potato waffles take you straight to the Deep South of the US of A. You can almost see the paddle steamers cruising along the Maas.
What absolutely must you try at De Maaskantine?
The Red Rooster Booster, Nate’s tribute to his hero Samuelsson. The perfect little chicken from the barbecue, prepared according to Nate’s secret recipe. The aforementioned veal ribs, just spicy enough and sweetened by the blueberry glaze. The grilled jerk watermelon: heavenly. And get a cocktail (or two, or three). The Dirty Pineapple with mango and rum, for example, served with a little glass of absinthe. Suddenly it doesn’t matter anymore that you’re sitting under a tent with rain blowing through it.
Oh right, it was an outdoor restaurant. What about winter?
De Maaskantine is open until December. Then the tent closes for the winter, reopening in March 2021 with a beach and a rooftop terrace, from which next summer you’ll be able to watch the sun set over the Mississippi—er, the Maas.
De Esch really is very close to West. I’ll be coming here often.
De Maaskantine, Plantagelaan 2, Rotterdam
Photography: German Domingo Villafane – Villadinamica
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