Would you like something to eat or drink?
At the end of 2015, food editor at large Marjan Ippel slipped her wish list for food into the shoes of producers, hospitality entrepreneurs and municipal officials. (Read it here) Among other things, she asked for pressed table linens and more elegant dishes than the dripping chunks of meat on a piece of cardboard at food truck festivals. What has come of that wish list by now? An interim report.
Wish 1
Let’s put it this way: That I don’t have to graze in the mud with an aching back among the strung-up pigs on a piece of cardboard. And that my food also looks just a little more appealing than road kill fresh from the highway, laid out on that particular piece of cardboard.
Update
The New Elegance is on its way. Damask napkins, table linens, graceful yet comfortable chairs—they’re ‘allowed’ again. Just like elegant dishes. And now that it is finally permitted on the streets, street food is voluntarily moving indoors again. To serve the same basic food on a slightly higher and more elegant level—with tables and chairs.
More and more street food is moving indoors.
Wish 2
After the indoor wine, champagne, sherry, coffee, G&T and cider bars—and the vermuteria—now all of this in outdoor bar form too. Any time, any place, anywhere.
Update
Hmm, even after a wonderful Indian summer, I have to conclude that those outdoor bars aren’t really getting off the ground. When I cycle through the city, I see people everywhere hanging from lampposts, jumping over fences and using benches as balance beams. And of course I spot the occasional private BBQ party or outdoor afternoon tea picnic. But in terms of outdoor food and drink in a hospitality setting, very little is happening. Apart from, for example, this fair-weather bar.
Hallelujah! Tea is finally The New Water.
Wish 3
The (city) park as an edible open community garden with picnic benches and public BBQs, vegetable, pick-your-own, bee and beer gardens, tea and coffee pavilions and (once again) outdoor bars.
Update
In this case, no news is also not good news…
Wish 4
Tea houses, tea salons, tea suites, tea speakeasies and tearooms. In British colonial style. In Chinese style. In Hong Kong style. In Japanese style. In Indian or Tibetan style. In Moroccan or Turkish style. You name it. With savory food instead of sweet.
Update
Hallelujah! Tea is finally The New Water. Formocha Comfort Food & Tea in Amsterdam has been serving onigiri and other savory bites with Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese tea since early 2016. In a stunning setting, T’s began serving its chai, iced tea or wellness tea in wine glasses to a diverse audience that same year. Café Couture connects tea with health, presented in a designer tin. And I haven’t even mentioned the rise of tea cocktails and afternoon tea. Yes, afternoon, not high. And that goes perfectly with plenty of savory food.
Conclusion
I’m not dissatisfied. We still have three months of 2016 ahead of us. And who knows, perhaps those outdoor bars will appear on the ice after all.
Text: Marjan Ippel
