Restaurant As is situated in the former St. Nicolaas chapel on the edge of the Beatrixpark, south of the city center. Our taxi dropped us off in a desolate looking parking lot, but Restaurant As was anything but desolate.
Restaurant As was bright and modern. It was arranged in a spoke-wheel array of long communal wooden tables, with alcoves containing similar communal tables at the periphery. Many of the tables had bench seats. The décor looked more Danish than Dutch.
According to their website, "Restaurant As represents pure cooking. Demonstrating in a respectful manner that one organism dies to keep another alive. We serve an appealing range of dishes, largely shaped by nature." Shades of Alice Waters? Restaurant As chef Sander Overeinder trained at Chez Panisse. We visited Restaurant As on a Sunday night, when they feature a special menu, including pizzas from their wood-burning oven. Our waiter was friendly and helpful, but seemed more comfortable with the many locals in attendance. The four of us started by sharing a beautiful charcuterie plate, which included a skewer of smoked duck breast and yellow beets, chicken gizzards, pickled vegetables and a pumpkin spread. It was wonderful and didn't last long.
Charcuterie with various meats, Dutch cheeses, pickled vegetables and sourdough toast Marlene and I shared an orecchiette pasta with arugula and ricotta. It was addictively delicious.
Orecchiette with arugula and ricotta We also shared a pizza from the wood-burning oven. It was topped with trompette de la mort mushrooms, speck and Cevenne onions. The crisp crust was perfect; the pizza was perfect.
Pizza with trompette de la mort mushrooms, speck and Cevenne onions After partridge and hare and grouse and roe and more, Restaurant As was the pause that refreshed. We highly recommend it – at least on Sunday nights. Copyright © 2013 TwoForTheTable.com |
