I want to catch up a little on some recent GPS (Great Pizza Search) pizzas. If you want the short version, don’t order pizza in Amsterdam! If you want the long version, keep reading…
Nebelatan Word of the Day
Agita (a-jee-ta) – Heartburn, acid indigestion, an upset stomach or, by extension, a general feeling of upset.
The word is slang derived from the Italian “agitare” meaning “to agitate.” (from https://www.rxlist.com/agita/definition.htm)
Agita can also describe the way Amsterdam pizza made me feel too!
Tulips in Amsterdam
On our way to Napoli, in late April, we spent a few days in Amsterdam, Holland (not NY…although there’s very good pizza in Amsterdam, NY…NY was first settled by the Dutch, not the Italians contrary to popular opinion!!!).
We’d been wanting to see the tulips (which were incredible!) and to have a little change of pace from Southern Italy. HINT – Holland is COLD in late April! I had to buy a stocking hat and gloves! The tulips are awesome!
Pizza in Amsterdam – Hotel Doria #1
We’ve all heard the saying,”When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do!” Well, Amsterdam is known just as much for its Indonesian cuisine as their local cuisine which consists of mini-pancakes, raw herring (yes, I tried…anything buried in a large dollop of mayonnaise is palatable) and Stroopwaffle (yum, hot caramel between two waffles)! That’s about it!
It didn’t take long to exhaust the “best” of local cuisine! And since we weren’t in Rome, I figured I’d act like a Nebelatan and eat pizza! We’re in the EU, how bad can it be? Right?
Funny thing is, that our hotel in Amsterdam, Hotel Doria (see link here), sat above a pizzeria! I promised my family that I didn’t plan that, but it’s a funny coincidence! Hotel Doria had both a walk-up, take away pizza store front, as well as a sit down restaurant.
The hotel was immediately adjacent to Dam Square on Damstraat (Dam Street) which is probably the busiest pedestrian street (although cars and motor bikes are allowed…but there a far more bicycles).
Damstraat is very reminiscent of Napoli during passeggiata except Napoli’s crazy passeggiata is only in the early evening while Damstraat is an ALL DAY LONG MASS HUMANITY CRAZINESS!
So, I paid a visit to the walk-up pizza station. It had been busy, primarily with high college students! Go figure!
I stood back from the pot smell emanating from the students, and I watched the guy (there’s no way that I could confuse this person with a true pizzaiola) aerate the pre-formed dough round with a spiked roller. When it was my turn, I ordered a cheese slice.
The dough didn’t look too appetizing. The color seemed off, more orangish than wheat tan, white. It’s Holland, so I guess I should have expected orange.
Despite its look, the crust did not taste too bad. It was thick! Little air. And heavy!
The rest of the pizza was pretty sucky!
There was no sauce at all! And cheese, too much AND the cheese didn’t really taste like moozedell.
It might have been one of the worst pizzas I’ve ever eaten!
Would I go back? No, but I did! It was just too convenient!
Pizza in Amsterdam – La Piazza (link)
The following day was our trip to see the tulips (and freeze our ass)! Once back in Amsterdam, of course I wanted pizza!
So, we went to La Piazza. This restaurant is adjacent to the Dutch Royal Palace on Dam Square. And, it’s website talks about their Southern Italy heritage. Turns out, that’s not the current owner which is now an Indian or Pakistani couple!
One might think that a restaurant next to where the royal family hangs out should be good. Well, no!
The Crust was tasty, but flat and no air pockets. As we walked out, I noticed the guy (again, hard pressed to call him a pizzaiola) rolling out the dough with a rolling pin! Rolling makes it easier to shape a round, but rolling pins push out the air and cause it to lose its texture.
The sauce was sparse, and it had no sauce taste that I could discern. It was heavily covered by salame (which is pepperoni in the USA) which also masked the tomato and cheese tastes.
The Cheese was not special.
La Piazza pizza is Meh, and I wouldn’t go back.
Amsterdam seems to not be a pizza town. Likely who cares here, they’re too stoned.
Pizza in Amsterdam – Hotel Doria #2
After another day of walking around Amsterdam, we had little desire to find a place to eat, so we settled in the Hotel Doria’s indoor Italian themed restaurant.
Despite my previous poor (I mean truly poor) experience with Hotel Doria’s pizza, I ordered a 10″ pie! I really can’t help myself. I might need to search for professional help!
Thankfully, this pizza was Better, but still not good!
The crust was thin in the middle and plump at the cornicione with a good chew although it lacked crunch.
It didn’t seem to have any tomato sauce. There was “redness” present, but no tomato taste.
This time, there was actually decent cheese that tasted nearly like moozedell.
The pizza was still Meh!
All in all, the pizza in Amsterdam was barely better than the mayonnaise slathered, raw herring!
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