The Sentinel Amsterdam vol 7-3 by Consultancy Market Media

vol. 7 #3 – 26 November 2013

The Sentinel Amsterdam

Integrity, heart, humour

CULTURE PERSPECTIVES LIFESTYLES TRAVEL OPINION REVIEW TECHNOLOGY ART FILM MUSIC TRENDS RECOMMENDED SPORT

feature

lifestyles

BRUGES: BEATING THE KING TO IT

BEER & COMMUNITY

in this issue

feature - p.04

perspectives - p.22

restaurant review - p. 48

Bruges: beating the king to it

Dam in 60 minutes! Rembrandtpark

Bruges: Patrick Devos

‘I am very smitten by the city and its residents’

‘One of the many green urban oases in Amsterdam’

‘Super food in very, very special surroundings’

trends - p. 76

sport - p.86

Café Westerdok

The trend train

The Gold Room

‘Good things that roll across or evolve within the city’

‘TV-reality shows based on just about any type of job’

city gem - p. 60

more lifestyles - p. 38

advertorial - p. 64

amsterdam city life - p. 89

Beer & Amsterdam society

Amsterdam Singles by Night

Bring back…!

star beer guide - p. 70

sentinel recommended - p. 72

spotted - p.82

Smiske Nature-Ale

Where is this in Amsterdam?

film - p. 75

health & well-being - p. 100

technology - p. 102

Room2c

Cover up

User interface

The Sentinel Amsterdam

E-mail: sentinelpost@gmail.com Website: www.thesentinel.eu Contributors: Sam van Dam, Dirkje Bakker-Pierre, Evelina Kvartunaite and Andrei Barburas

Editors: Gary Rudland & Denson Pierre Design, realisation and form: Andrei Barburas & No-Office.nl Webmaster: www.sio-bytes.tumblr.com Webhost: Amsterjammin.com

The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photos/illustrations that are subject to copyright. If you consider your copyright to have been infringed, please contact us at sentinelpost@gmail.com.

feature

Bruges: beating the king to it By Denson Pierre

There are so many layers to the history and sociology of Europe that you sometimes have to keep revisiting the continent’s highlight cities to even begin to approach a comprehensive impression. I had visited Bruges at the beginning of the summer for The Sentinel and promised myself and my contacts in its tourism and hospitality sectors that I would be back as soon as feasibly possible. Thanks to the Flemish Tourist Organisation and their partners in the city, I was able to return to top up my notes and photo impressions (some theirs). Given that I am very smitten by the city and its residents, I’m also including a little recommendation that you should also try Bruges.

‘A naturally romantic place’

feature

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A city that makes you want to share its lovelinessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

feature

The city’s compact nature and charm make it a naturally romantic place; everything is cosy, stylishly laid out and prepared, and within easy reach by foot. To explore the romantic allure of this ancient and almost mystical city, I was able to do this press trip accompanied by my wife. I felt, since the summer and my first visit, that Bruges was also a city that makes you want to share its loveliness.

yourself in the story and overall experience, they can make your hairs stand on end.

‘The complete and changing seasoning of the air’

At this point it is worth pointing out that if you are expecting an all-dancing, stroboscopic, house of horrors-like, Madame Tussaud’s or Efteling-style attraction, Historium is not the place to go. Do start your tour of the city with a visit there, however, as it offers the best foundation I can imagine for developing With just the one day and night scheduled in the city, I an appreciation of this deeply complex city in a truly decided to take my own advice about what provides the enjoyable and educative manner. It can also save you best value on a visit to this great city. The choices for many hours of neck craning and walking your feet to lunch and snacks are plentiful and of the highest blistered wrecks. For those unaccompanied by children, quality, so there was no problem grazing during the Historium appears to be the only means of access to the hour before we would start our tour, by taking an wonderful balcony overlooking one of old Europe’s educative visit to Historium. On pages 62-81 of more attractive and historically curious squares. Your Sentinel 6-13 I set out my thoughts about the tour also ends in the lap of the imposing Duvelorium; attraction and its excellently packaged manner of here lies a lot of Duvel and other brews farmed by one telling the story of this ancient city. What I did not of the world’s absolute top breweries. How much more mention was that some reconditioning work was taking thorough can a tour be for providing a better place at the time, which meant that my ability to fully understanding of certain aspects of Europe? appreciate the installation was restricted to no more than 75%. I can rest easily now, as I have learnt enough about this wonderful little city to know that there is so much What was missing and is now fully operational is the more to learn and enjoy there. Patience and time is complete and changing seasoning of the air, which is needed to allow it all to properly flow over me. Once meant to aid in transporting you back in time to one of more, I’ll be back. If you have not yet been, pencil it in. the more glorious periods of Bruges’ history; the As we made our way out the next morning, the new fifteenth century. Smell is arguably our second most powerful sense and to have the scents and aromas more king of Belgium came to town. Nice that we managed common to the time, professions and arts pumped into to beat him and his entourage to the pleasure and the air supply, while you are engrossed in the amazing hospitality of this particular group of his subjects. detail of the digitally recreated imagery and finery of Partners on the Bruges leg of our press trip to Flanders: the costumes, is enough to make you feel you are not www.ns.nl just time travelling but doing so while on a little www.cordoeanier.be holiday. Historium now also has well-concealed www.historium.be temperature control, wind and snow-effect equipment www.brugge.be in full working order and, at times, once you envelop

feature

‘Historium appears to be the only means of access to the wonderful balcony overlooking one of old Europe’s more attractive and historically curious squares’

feature

‘The new king of Belgium came to town’

classifieds

Je moet er geweest zijn.

classifieds

Authentic and full of surprises. That’s Mechelen. Hospitable and honourable. That’s the people of Mechelen. Come and experience the city’s urban charms for yourself.

photography © Milo Profi

Mechelen Mechelen

perspectives

Dam in 60 minutes! 22

Rembrandtpark

By Sam van Dam

perspectives

‘Ride through the many little alleys that make up the Jordaan’

red bikes, making them easily identifiable and giving native bikers a chance to avoid head-on collisions by making detours around them. I negotiate my way out of the maze of the Jordaan and follow the Kinkerstraat, which leads me away from the city centre and towards the western part of Amsterdam. Not the prettiest street, it does offer an overwhelming mix of oriental and occidental goods and foods that makes up for its appearance, which suggests that it must have been built in a rush and without the typical attention to detail and prettiness that makes our city so special. Snack bars and tiny boutiques line the street, the Ten Kate market beckons visitors in for a stroll along its many stalls and the locals parade in an interesting mix of western clothing combined with their non-Western, traditional gear. All colours and flavours are equally represented and this creates a vivid picture of the 176 different nationalities said to call Amsterdam their home.

I bike on and enter the Postjesweg, deeper and deeper into the wild West, from where the first treetops of the Rembrandtpark loom in the distance, like a beacon of rest and relaxation. People walking their dogs stream towards the same destination and happy dog noises blend with the chatter of the humans guiding them to their playground; kids on their tiny rides supported by their parents and the sun breaking through the clouds make for a nice scenario that fills my heart with joy as I enter the park. I follow the path that takes me on a Instead of following a straight line to my destination, I round-trip through the green goodness, looking at the go with the flow and ride through the many little alleys public art interspersed around the open fields or hidden that make up the Jordaan. There is so much to see; between trees, making me feel a bit like I am at an galleries, shops, bars and cafés dominate the scenery, outdoor museum. Graffiti adds its share of ‘modern art’, inviting me to stop and look at the many things they producing a nice combination of traditional works and offer or to sit down for a delicious meal or some drinks, ‘underground’ works that have not yet completed their but I hurry on, resisting the temptations. Street art long journey to respectability and acceptance by makes this part of town more colourful and I admire society. I cycle past a playground featuring a long wall the giant public work by the London Police on the wall that has been used as a giant canvas by a group of local of a house, while I navigate through the endless and international artists, expressing their love of network of tiny streets, turning my head left and right Amsterdam. The football field right next to this oversized piece of work is completely flooded by the to make sure I don’t miss any of the many beautiful autumn rains, producing a huge reflection of the details that make this part of the town so charming ‘masterpiece’ on display and adding an unintended and desirable. Groups of tourists trying to find their layer of coolness to the picture, once again proving that way to the world-famous Anne Frank museum are everywhere, either on foot or part of a fleet of yellow or life is art.

This time we take a trip to one of the many green urban oases in Amsterdam: Rembrandtpark. As so often, I start just outside the central station. My bike rolls past the big parking facility for steel horses and underneath the bridge to the Singel canal, where coffee shops await their daily quota of tourists looking for that infamous Amsterdam high. I enter the Brouwersgracht and feast my eyes on the pretty buildings and the canals crossing each other, carefully avoiding the debris of the many trees that were uprooted during the massive storm just a few weeks ago. A dog is patiently waiting by the side of the road for his owner, who is using one of the many public urinals that are scattered around the main streets of the city centre. Tour boats float by, carrying their cargo of visitors experiencing beautiful Amsterdam by water; highly recommended. Bikes swoosh along the narrow streets, pedestrians follow the paths and seagulls circle in the sky or fight with pigeons for food.

perspectives

‘Don’t miss any of the many beautiful details that make this part of the town so charming’

perspectives

‘Locals parade in an interesting mix of western clothing combined with their non-Western, traditional gear’ ‘Rotate 360 degrees to take it all in’

perspectives

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A vivid picture of the 176 different nationalities said to call Amsterdam their homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

perspectives

lifestyles

‘Better elements of ‘communal thinking’ from the colourful 1960s and 1970s have been left here’

Beer & Amsterdam society By Denson Pierre

Amsterdam is by no means unique as a major settlement of people with interests as varied as their DNA is complex. What Amsterdam does have, which the vast majority of major cities do not, is a special, creative spirit. At times, it feels like some of the better elements of ‘communal thinking’ from the colourful 1960s and 1970s have been left here, permanently floating in the air.

up to the Facebook notification of an introductory session. I resolved to get to Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof at whatever cost, to see another example of the phenomenal peaking taking place in Amsterdam (and the Netherlands), with so many of the younger adult generation developing a proper and seemingly insatiable appetite and palate for quality and craftmade beer. It ought to follow that Amsterdammers (those embracing the spirit), given the opportunity, would attempt to learn how to brew beer to a level that, while still amateur, would hold no fear of making someone sick with a vile concoction. If you have a Just as Amsterdammers felt the first tingle of wintry air liking for beer, it seems a logical step to make some yourself that is good. against their skins and turned their clocks back to herald the long dim period, word reached me via one For an acutely nominal fee, the facilitators (they are a of my more culturally involved social (media) contacts stichting/foundation) introduced me to the most about a fantastic project being launched by another wonderful cooperative operation. It is situated on collective of cultural and creative agents within her municipal ground that the city administrators are only network. It was all about outdoor (beer) brewing for too glad to put to constructive and creative use, amateurs on a cooperative basis! Given all the time I instead of the more typical function for youths to have spent researching and writing about high-quality practice aimlessness. In taking on this operation, the beer, I welcomed this communiqué as some kind of foundation solved a couple of tiny social ease issues cosmic intervention about what I would like to share and, at the same time, opened the door to something with readers. that even they may have underestimated slightly, in terms of how much interest it has generated. Despite the inclement conditions on 6 November, The detail involved in the art of beer making in this which must have been due to the unusually disturbed more rustic and non-industrial manner is led by the weather we have experienced here recently, I signed

lifestyles

‘All about outdoor (beer) brewing for amateurs on a cooperative basis!’

mini-legend of a creative called Henriette Waal. I felt like I was in primary school all over again, as she is such a good teacher; right attitude, listens to the questions of those who cannot be expected to know anything close to the answers and then provides such supportive and encouraging responses that you just want to brew or do anything with her. Henriette is also a famous exponent of not just outdoor brewing but also the design of these interesting feats of engineering required to basically transform water, together with originally solid ingredients, into an intoxicant currently back on the front burner as the drug of choice for intelligent, young (and older) Amsterdammers. Just to make her even more of an urban, creative heroine to me, Henriette also prides herself on having mastered the techniques used in water purification. So, there you have it. Sometimes your beer dreams can come true at the end of a cycle journey or an even shorter run using public transport. I just hope the initiators are already busy planning for the increase in interest people will have in joining them on one of these 6-week courses (one fixed night per week), which ends with participants sampling their own personally branded stash of good tasting, self-made beer. It is a personal frustration to me that, despite my 25 years spent researching (well, drinking) top-quality

beer wherever I have been, or had access to imported varieties, I had never considered actually brewing beer myself. There is a tremendous divide between being a selector and evaluative reviewer of beers and brewing them yourself, but these people have made me deeply curious about the fun it must be to do so. I hope this arouses other Sentinellers’ curiosity as much as it did mine. Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof is a project by: Stichting young designers www.ydsite.nl Graphic and social designer Tobias Krasenberg www.tobiaskrasenberg.com Furniture designer/maker Sander Borsje www.splinters.nu Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof facebook.com/buurtwerkplaats.noorderhof photography by Arenda Oomen, Henriëtte Waal, Ralph Kämena en Jorn van Eck

lifestyles

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If you have a liking for beer, it seems a logical step to make some yourselfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

lifestyles

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Basically transform water, together with originally solid ingredients, into an intoxicant currently back on the front burner as the drug of choice for intelligent, young (and older) Amsterdammersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

lifestyles

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Arguments in defence of genetically modified agriculture are easily confusedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

lifestyles

restaurant review

Bruges: Patrick Devos 48

The power of plants

restaurant review

By Antonia Egon

The warm welcome is followed by an introduction to the kitchen by the passionate and experienced chef, showcasing the current crop of seasonal, local produce he works with, including a mesmerising pallet of differently shaped and coloured tomatoes grown by a local producer. The chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philosophy encompasses pure, organic, local and seasonal products, working from a basis of plants; this concept is mirrored by the illustrations in the entrance. As vegetarians, this is music to our ears, of course, and it felt a little bit like coming home. We were treated to a trio of lovely appetisers, combining parsnip crisps, a very intense pepper puree

and some tantalising pickled vegetables. Our mouths were awash with these great tastes, accompanied by a delicate Prosecco, which perfectly emphasised the flavours of the vegetables used. This was only the beginning. What followed were some of the most amazing vegan dishes I have ever eaten. Instead of plants being an afterthought, it is abundantly clear that for this particular chef, plants are at the core. Gracing our table was a dish made from the same beautiful tomatoes I had seen in the kitchen earlier; a true feast of tomato and tomato flavours, fierce in colour, ranging from bright green to deep-red, and accompanied by a silky quenelle of avocado puree. Pure is the word and flavour is what it is all about. This was followed by a dish comprising an astonishing arrangement of mushrooms, the star being the porcini, accompanied by a vivid, lemony and sharp dressing, everything escorted by excellent white wines. Finally, we were treated to a combination of superbly prepared artichokes combined with a wide assortment of different flavours and mousses, a true delight on a plate. Throughout the meal we were kept supplied with delightful homemade buns of different flavours, accompanied by a luscious, soft, olive oil. The wonderful evening of dining was completed with what was a tastefully fresh combination of fruits, some marinated, some in mousse form, all pure and prepared in different, exciting and adventurous ways. An absolute recommendation for vegans, vegetarians, fish eaters and meat eaters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in short, food-lovers in general â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for a really special occasion: super food in very, very special surroundings, lovingly made and served with flair. Restaurant Patrick Devos Zilverstraat 41, 8000 Bruges www.patrickdevos.be

In one of the many quaint, charming streets that fill the centre of the utterly romantic city of Bruges is a street with the magical name Silver Street (Zilverstraat). Here we find a hidden treasure in the form of the restaurant of chef Patrick Devos. Housed in a historical monument of a building that dates back to around the year 1300, this fully restored art nouveau-style, former family dwelling is worth a visit in itself. Starting from the hallway, you have a space that is decorated with hand-painted, authentic illustrations of every type of edible plant you could ever think of. Walking through the place is a sensory journey, as you go from room to room and find each one to be an artistic high point of lovingly and uniquely restored decorations. You feel thrown back into an era of leather wallpaper, curved lines and made-to-measure craftsmanship.

restaurant review

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Walking through the place is a sensory journeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

restaurant review

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pure is the word and flavour is what it is all aboutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

restaurant lifestyles review

restaurant review

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;An absolute recommendationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

classifieds

Ĺ&#x161;wiÄ&#x2122;tokrzyskie - share the Magic

go to the website: swietokrzyskie.travel

classifieds

city gem

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Things that hide from you in plain sight hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

M CITY GE

city gem

‘The one I have enjoyed most, so far, in the history of this column’

Café Westerdok By Denson Pierre

A couple of Fridays ago, just as I was pondering a study tour of the city in search of two things: a quality beer that could qualify as a Sentinel Star Beer recommendation and an authentic space serving a range of potential star beers. With a little luck, I was also hoping to find that the people serving the beer knew something (anything) about these premiumpriced beverages. My ship came in when I received an e-mail from a close, trusted, beer connoisseur, highlighting an option in the west of the city, which she found to have an impressive, quality beer list. That night was made for cycling across town so we headed there. This city gem has to be the one I have enjoyed most, so far, in the history of this column. We arrived at Café Westerdok to countenance a family, who turned out to

In usual circumstances, this city gem would have found itself as a Sentinel café/bar review and would have received a maximum rating for what they do, how they do it, and the establishment’s other positive and interesting qualities. The owner prefers that word of mouth and good research be the ways in which this great place is brought to your attention. Just pretend you are on a treasure hunt. I am not rating or recommending Café Westerdok, per se, but I am saying most loudly that this is a screamingly great city gem. Now just go and find it. Café Westerdok www.cafewesterdok.nl

One of the many things I love about Amsterdam is that there are so many things that hide from you in plain sight here. Of course, I pride myself on knowing as much as I can about the good things that roll across or evolve within the city, but every now and then something simple and authentic pops up, backed by individuals who have committed to their job of being representative, which turns out to be remarkable.

run this establishment, and a bar full of customers, some clearly long-term regulars, along with many other young folk speaking the ‘new’ language of beer. Over the following three hours we were treated to the best service and welcome to an unfamiliar café that I have experienced for as long as I can remember. This might have been helped by the fact that I was there on beer reconnoitring business and, lo and behold, the proprietor turned out to be one of the most knowledgeable beer professionals I have come across. Our mutual appreciation escalated very easily into an advanced taste tour through some of the very finest and rarest of beers available anywhere in the world. In the great spirit of what hospitality used to mean, they even knocked up some fresh, hearty snacks to ensure a complete, balanced session of spiritually uplifting brews and edible nourishment. Sometimes you just stumble into no-frills hospitality paradise.

city gem

‘I was there on beer reconnoitring business’

‘Some of the very finest and rarest of beers available anywhere in the world’

advertorial

sATURDAY DECEMBER 14TH

advertorial

Yes we can!

Amsterdam Singles by Night ‘Dinner dating! Enjoy a delicious 3-course menu while dating’

By Denson Pierre

This concept is of course reliant on attendees understanding the sway of Amsterdam’s adult and solvent socialising scene. Attendees will need to be pre-registered per the Du Cap email address: singlesbynight@ducap.nl for clearance and each person will be greeted and checked-in on arrival and entry by hosts and hostesses.

At the heart of Amsterdam’s new ‘West End’ entertainment district we find the people of Du Cap going not just ‘old school’ but ‘real school’ on December 14 premiere a Singles Party concept! Du Cap is a large and cosy space recently refurbished to suit the Mediterranean ambiance and tastes borrowed from Provence. The party is programmed with those between the ages of 25-49 in mind; the single generation who ought to know that it takes physical effort and social skills to be able to meet the classiness they surely desire. Now, this is a party, so there will be a lot of music; good music. The monotony and emptiness of house music will be absent as it will be all about fine grooves from the 1960s to the present. Tunes to make you sing, groove or even bust a move on the dance floor.

This can only be fun and maybe even become the beginning of your new love story, based on real life. Internet dating is not real life.

What can you expect on the evening? - Dinner dating! Enjoy a delicious 3-course menu while dating - Flirt coaches - Tasting bar with treats such as love shot cocktails & ice cube cocktails - There is more but we will keep you in a bit of suspense!

Registration - € 37.50 From 19:00 – 00:00, December 14@ Du Cap. singlesbynight@ducap.nl

There is no great surprise in realising that, in an Amsterdam which is so heavily attached to its high-speed internet access for all that you find so many of the once tangible and real joys have gravitated into the online space. Among these transplanted zoological pleasures is that of people meeting in safe and exciting social space to assess the attractiveness, sniff the pheromones of and give themselves the chance at actually making real contact with another. This can easily be with someone whom it just might turn out to mean the beginning of a fine friendship, or even steamy romance.

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amsterdam city life

: K C A B G N I BR DIVISION OF FLAVOUR By Denson Pierre

It could not have slipped anyone’s attention that there exists in Amsterdam today some sort of general pricing for prepared and served food, which typically bears little relation to the very divergent experience, both of the food and the actual dining outing, in establishments across the city. It appears that something has been lost in the education of proprietors, who seem to take customers as being purely suckers and charge proper restaurant prices for meals prepared by nothing more than cooks (not chefs), often in the least appealing surroundings and in shambolic kitchens (this comes over in the food).

soaring comfortably at prices between €13 and €20 a hit? Yes, it comes with chips and a few green leaves but potatoes are pretty much a glut product in the Netherlands and, unless you are somehow turning Kobe beef out of your kitchen, it is bordering on criminal to charge anyone this kind of price; tourist or local. It seems only the sensible ethnic eateries are on to the wisdom of most other major cities, which dictates that – unless your establishment turns out dining experiences that incorporate brilliant levels of service and fantastic food, prepared by exceptional artists of originality, in a dining area with some kind of quirky characteristics or at least comfortable and designed to make an impression fit for dining, accompanied by selected and classy drinks (not bulk-purchased wines and beers) – you should not be a hospitality industry fraudster. Price, as we know, acts as a control on the minds of the uninformed who can and simply want to ‘afford it’. But integrity should be part of the motto of every foodserving establishment in Amsterdam. All of you proprietors should look at your price listings, be honest about your place in the unavoidably hierarchical prepared-food market and adjust things to be fair to Amsterdammers. We are not stupid and can certainly count. You will give present-day reviewers a whole lot less to moan about if your pricing does not offend in the first place.

Bring back an Amsterdam where, on a cold Tuesday evening, a typical Amsterdammer can easily consider Just about every solvent and educated Amsterdammer popping out for a flavoursome and nutritious dining and watering experience, without feeling like it has is aware of the difference between what they can cost the equivalent of a few hours work from a paying expect from a snack bar right up to a Michelin-starred restaurant. Why, then, are we faced with the ridiculous job. We know how to find the proper restaurants but we also want to eat with you, as long as we don’t feel situation where, in just about any establishment, you have unhealthy but classic favourites, like hamburgers, abused.

On the ground in Amsterdam, a certain phenomenon has reached a kind of socioeconomic crisis point. We are already mourning the loss of Johannes van Dam even more deeply (sorry to pretty much every one of the plague of waste-of-time bloggers on food and dining out in Amsterdam). As a classic sampler of fine cuisine, one thing that he always reflected in his evaluations and ratings of Café-Restaurants, Petit Restaurants and fine dining establishments was the guilder or euro price-to-quality ratio. As a respected reviewer, this evaluation would encompass all aspects concerning the art of peddling prepared food and accompanying drinks.

star beer guide

Star Beer

star beer guide

The Sentinel Star beer guide By Denson Pierre

Smiske Nature-Ale

(7.0% A.B.V.)

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It is simple, tasty, enjoyable and attractiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 71

Cute and creative, this is another micro-brewed Smiske Nature-Ale is brewed by Brouwerij Belgian beauty, which looks, sounds and Smijse, Driesleutelstraat 1, Oudenaarde, tastes like good traditional thinking and Belgium. planning has been undertaken before introducing its goodness to an unsuspecting public. Smiske Nature-Ale is not overly complex in taste but the fun and appreciation to be had in enjoying the art work, funny name and the challenge it is to pour this double fermented beer without causing a huge head is all worth it a few times over. A star beer as it is simple, tasty, enjoyable and attractive.

recommended

Cafe Kostverloren 16/11/13

ENDED RECOMM

We find the best, most fun, most typical, exciting, or local favourite restaurants etcetera in Amsterdam and bring them to you; an easy way to feel like a local. Connoisseurs Delight

To be seen and tasted

Butcher’s Tears Brewery and tasting room. From ears to mouth to tails. Karperweg 45 Amsterdam www.butchers-tears.com

Cafe-Restaurant Du Cap A spacious and tasty helping to the Mediterranean vibe within Amsterdam’s new ‘West End’ entertainment district. Kwakersplein 2 Amsterdam www.du-cap.nl

Molly Malone’s An Irish pub as it should be and a home away from home! Cosy, friendly, and with its very own character! Oudezijds Kolk 9 1012 AL Amsterdam www.facebook.com/pages/ Molly-Malones-Amsterdam/ 293030997411277

recommended

To be seen and tasted

Fun, Drinking & Music

Cafe de Toog 1890’s grandeur fashioned into Amsterdam-West, grand, brown cafe-restaurant-cool. Classy drinks and meals. Nicolaas Beetsstraat 142 hs Amsterdam www.cafedetoog.com

Parck Great fun, beautiful people and simply the best bar food in town! Overtoom 428 Amsterdam www.cafeparck.nl

Mulligans Irish Music Bar Amsterdam’s best address for live Irish music: Five (5) nights a week! Check our agenda for upcoming sessions. Amstel 100 1017 AC Amsterdam www.mulligans.nl

To Be Seen and Tasted

Connoisseurs Delight

To Be Seen and Tasted

Cafe restaurant Edel Cafe restaurant Edel is the perfect place for lunch, dinner or to simply enjoy a drink. Edel is a unique place in Amsterdam. Postjesweg 1 1057 DT Amsterdam www.edelamsterdam.nl

Incanto A restaurant with a classic Italian kitchen. Venetian chef Simone Ambrosin is known for his pure and simple style of cooking with great feeling for nuance. Amstel 2 Amsterdam www.restaurant-incanto.nl

Café Kostverloren Café Kostverloren is a contemporary cafe offering the cosiness of a saloon, an open kitchen and the intimacy of a living room. The large terras is great for sunny days. 2e Kostverlorenkade 70 Amsterdam www.cafekostverloren.nl

Fun, Drinking & Music

Connoisseurs Delight

Neighbourhood cosy

Café Oporto Café Oporto is a traditional Amsterdam ‘brown cafe’. Welcoming tourists and regular customers alike, they offer televised sports, wiﬁ and a wide range of reasonably priced beers and spirits. Zoutsteeg 1 1012 LX Amsterdam www.cafeoporto.net

Planet Rose The ﬁrst Caribbean restaurant in the Netherlands, specialised in Jamaican cuisine. The menu features a daily changing selection! Nicolaas Beetsstraat 47 Amsterdam www.planetrose.info

Zest Zest is ﬁne food, warm atmosphere and classy drinks with regular semi-acoustic (live) music and DJs (Thursday to Sunday). Amsterdam’s newest and freshest! Bilderdijkstraat 188 Amsterdam www.facebook.com/clubzest.nl

Fun, Drinking & Music

Connoisseurs Delight

Fun, drinking and music

Bax A cosy and friendly local café with a focus on special or interesting beers and good quality food. Open 7 days a week with a professional kitchen offering a lunch and dinner service. Ten Katestraat 119 Amsterdam www.cafebax.nl

Café Rose Red You will not see and sample a better selection of the very best of European beer elsewhere. Cordoeaniersstraat 16 Brugge www.caferosered.com

Gollem Gollem’s Proeﬂokaal, Gollem and Gollem II represent the best addresses serving the fullest range of top Belgian, Dutch and international beers in Amsterdam. Overtoom 160-161 Amsterdam www.cafegollem.nl

To be seen and tasted

spotted

Where is this in Amsterdam?

Answer to: sentinelpost@gmail.com

room2c

Room 2c film Capricorn One (1978)

By dpmotions

“There is nothing left to believe in”. Before Assange and Snowden started blowing whistles, we had Elliot Whitter. This classic government conspiracy-plot movie leaves you wondering, even today. Elliot Gould and James Brolin star in this fun drama built around the first men to set foot on Mars.

Deadly Pursuit There are sufficient interesting turns to keep you watching this chase-thriller. Firmly in the category of ‘my patch vs your patch’ and ‘city mouse vs country mouse’, Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger and Kirstie Alley (slim version) take on the beautiful British Columbian mountains and nature with a cold-blooded and clever murderer too close for diamonds.

By dpmotions

(1988)

trends

The trend train ‘Jump on to the latest trend train without ever looking back’

By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre

The media are unusually trend heavy; they move from one craze to another and can’t wait to follow each other into the latest hype, and the next, and so on. TV channels are practically falling over each other to jump on to the latest trend train without ever looking back; if something is new, it must be better and better is where they want to be, even if it really isn’t. Well, the train just moves too quickly to think about it. The odd jobs reality show trend is one that started a long, long time ago with shows like Deadliest Catch, which simmered for years. Then there was Whale Wars and all of a sudden there are TV-reality shows based on just about any type of job that is mildly interesting or different. There’s one show with old, boring guys with beards making a living in the mountains, there are at least four cliff-hanger-heavy series about (mostly inexperienced) people looking for gold in odd and uninhabitable places, like the Amazon or the Arctic sea (the star in all of these is usually some big, crucial machine that breaks down every ten minutes). Then there are at least three shows about truckers that I can think of: Ice Road Truckers, Shipping Wars and Outback Truckers.

In addition, there are about a zillion shows that are a bit of a mutated form of reality shows featuring people doing their actual jobs mixed with programmes like Flog It or series that have something to do with auctions or trading in second-hand goods. Fixing up cars or buying and selling houses could make you a star, also working in a junkyard, being a policeman at an airport, making a living as a lumberjack, doing something in a hospital or even being a beat cop means you could easily become famous overnight. There is absolutely no ambition or intention to be original in any of these programmes and no shame involved in practically and literally copying each other’s concepts. When one channel does a show on a pawnshop, the others aren’t far behind. When, for instance, there is a successful series on anything, you can bet that there will be a similar show covering the exact same subject but with the words Extreme, Hardcore or Wars in their title. As long as something sells (i.e. gains plenty of viewers) it means there can be more and more of that same type of programme. This lasts just long enough until it is time to move on to the next, and the next, and so on. I guess this is inherent in something being a trend. As soon as you follow one you lose your originality.

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JC Tours

health & well-being

Cover up By Evelina Kvartunaite

Since the Netherlands has stepped over into daylight saving time, I thought it would make sense to look into other joys that the autumn and winter seasons bring us. Usually, they are marked by random complaints about the rain, wind and cold but I would like to offer an alternative viewpoint by saying that there is no bad weather, just bad clothing; and too little immune resistance!

multivitamins you were procrastinating over all summer or simply get extra Echinacea, in the form of tea or herbal tablets. If you get the feeling that you are coming down with something, make sure you infuse yourself with vitamin C and add a bit of zinc and magnesium. Little things do count! Become friends with your body. Exercise Even though cold weather creates more moments for comfy slouching on a warm sofa, make sure you take time to exercise, even if it means taking stairs or walking instead of taking the elevator or public transport.

So, here are few tips for you all to stay chirpy and healthy, even while dealing with less sun and more rain:

Avoid infections Wash your hands – it’s that simple. Cook everything thoroughly and avoid very crowded places.

Cover up Be sure to wear proper clothing and it’s always a good idea to layer. You don’t have to turn yourself into an onion but make sure you have extra scarf or an extra jacket/jumper you can easily put on or remove.

Smile and stay happy It is proven that a positive attitude is a great way not only to have a great day, every day, but it also energises your muscles when you smile. This releases endorphins and the best part is that it’s contagious!

Boost your immune system. It’s always a good idea to start taking those

– ‘Look into other joys that the autumn and winter seasons bring us’ –

health & well-being

– ‘Make sure you take time to exercise, even if it means taking stairs or walking’ –

– ‘It is proven that a positive attitude is a great way not only to have a great day, every day, but it also energises your muscles’ –

technology

‘My brain activity was not altered by the panic around me’

User Interface The birth of a crisis

By Andrei Barburas

Crisis: small word, weird decisions, big consequences. What do you do when something goes horribly wrong but you have no idea what is happening? More importantly, if you are not in control of the situation, when will it get back to normal? Recently, I attended a conference on Cyber Security and Cyber Terrorism, which heavily focused on large enterprises and large disruptions to both public and private services. One of the sessions was on Crisis Management and the presenters were kind enough to explain the line of thinking during a crisis. Of course, when something has already gone wrong, it does not mean that the decisions made afterwards are correct or that they are of any help to the situation at hand. About a decade ago, when I was still living in Romania, a medium-sized earthquake hit close to Bucharest. The vibrations were strong enough to cause everyone to scramble, running outside the building in which I was. While trying to catch up with the exodus, I suddenly realised that I had forgotten my cigarettes; back then, it seemed the logical priority and I went back to pick them up. Was this the right choice? Looking back now, not really. Was it a priority? Then, yes. Now, 50/50. The reason I still consider it 50/50 is because I did not panic because of the earthquake. My brain activity was not altered by the panic around me or even by the

possibility of an aftershock or an even bigger earthquake. I had to make an almost instant decision whether to retrieve my cigarettes or not; whether it was worth it or not. The risk of earthquakes in some parts of the world is quite high and going back to the Crisis Management session, the following hypothetical question was asked: “What would you do if the electricity went down all of a sudden and did not come back after a normal period of time?” What would you do? What would you expect to happen? What decisions would you make? As you might expect from yours truly, I asked “What if a solar flare hit the Earth and fried all the electronics around you?” The odds of that happening are very low but not impossible. Anything containing an electronic chip would be pretty much dead. Incidentally, I just did a search on Solar Flares and, apparently, the sun fired off its strongest solar flare of the year roughly 24 hours before I wrote this article. If you are reading this, then we dodged a bullet. So, here’s your homework: you wake up one morning but the alarm didn’t go off. You pick up your phone to see what time it is; dead. You get up to make coffee; coffee machine doesn’t work. You try to turn on the light; nothing happens. What are the first three things you would do?

technology

‘“What would you do if the electricity went down all of a sudden and did not come back after a normal period of time?”’

‘Apparently, the sun fired off its strongest solar flare of the year roughly 24 hours before I wrote this article’

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sport

The Gold Room 86

By Denson Pierre

I never thought I would use such terminology related to football but competitors in the FFG-CL seem to be enraptured by an existential crisis brought on by the exceedingly perplexing opening phase of this season; its inconsistencies, weird results and players whom master managers have been tracking and have gone on to invest in, but who seem to have already disappeared into the black hole of their own reputations. We must be fair on such players, of course, given the eternal injustice in professional football, where players are recruited based on being scouted doing certain things pretty well in certain positions on a football pitch, only for the manager and technical staff at their new Premier League club to ask them to do rather different things from different starting positions on the pitch. All manner of psychological stress kicks in, causing a cascade of reports of inability to settle and limp performances in a league where high energy and proper toughness are prerequisites to being successful.

whenever he is denied space and time to shimmy, twist and flick, dart and angle a killer pass, he simply looks like a passenger. Premier League professionals have already studied his form and, increasingly, he is being made to appear peripheral in matches. Of course, with his overflowing bag of tricks and a good shot, chances can emerge over 90 minutes but Ozil may not be the player to dictate games in this league. One has to wonder why he fell away at Real Madrid, where Luka Modric, someone tougher and more able to drive a very good team forward, is currently playing in the position Ozil was expected to occupy. The Spanish league is easier on skill players than England, so I hope to be proved wrong and that Ozil does a Bergkamp and toughens up with great speed, rather than turning out to be the most over-hyped purchase by a Premier League team since Torres.

Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur): as a Tottenham fan, living in Amsterdam and occasionally catching Eriksen’s performances at Ajax and in international competitions over the years, I did not understand why Spurs bought him. As a fan of football and certainly someone wishing the best for Spurs players, I still must say I hold little hope of this The following two players feature in a couple of master professional becoming consistently good at Premier managers’ teams but I have niggling doubts about their League level. What we have seen from Eriksen is not adjustment and settling in but simply his level. He is long-term prospects in the full glare of the Premier lightweight to the extreme and, unlike the other League. technically gifted ex-Spurs and Ajax-moulded professional, Rafael van der Vaart, does not possess an Mesut Ozil (Arsenal): could it be that I am the only football lover who has tracked this player, watched him exceptional goal threat. This means his marking of play at domestic, European and international level, and ‘space’ in wait for a ball breaking to him, so he can apply an Ajax-flick or another feeble pass, will only usually found him to be ineffective and lightweight continue. Should Eriksen end up being a key influencer when it most matters? Ozil has an amazing array of skills and a touch one obviously has to be born with but in this game, I will be the first to fly over to London to offer him my congratulations.

sport

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