Café Brecht

A Little bit of Germany

I was recommended Café Brecht by an English friend also living in Amsterdam. She is an artsy person, in fact she studied Art in the same University city as I did but we didn't know each other until moving here. I expected something quirky with lots of character because I know the kind of places Steph likes and also from taking a look at the café’s website. As always, you cannot judge a book by its cover (and that is what a flyer/website/business card is to an establishment) yet the home page description got me excited and I couldn’t wait to step into the ‘Berlin style living-room cafe’ with ‘no forced trendiness yet timeless romance’.  It sounded like we would quite possibly be stepping back in time as well as crossing the German border- any historian’s dream. 

I am bit of a German lover too. I haven't really visited much of  the country, yet I have several close friends from there and it was a place I really wanted to try out... There are hundreds of tapas bars, Asian restaurants, French cheeses and wines, but I have never seen anything relating so specifically to the German culture apart from bierkeller! Kind of had to see what all of the fuss was about.

Finding the place was a bit of mission. Not because of the distance, it is actually only a 3 minute cycle from my house, but as a result of the inebriated state I was in when I walked past it at 3am. The following afternoon consisted of an unsuccessful wild goose chase trying to find it again. That night it was rowdy, buzzing and the vision of ‘timeless romance’ faded quickly away and was replaced with a carefree party spirit. Either is fine by me. The café became a mirage, a shifting image of a lost Germany that was literally impossible to pin down. Anyhow, reverting to the modern world I Google-mapped it and hey presto we arrived one Friday afternoon.

The inside was most certainly living-room style and the randomly picked Grandma sofas, cute coffee tables, long-backed chairs, swanky lamps and countless little touches completely reflected the owners adoration of everything old and German. We were sat next to a bookshelf full of German books and old maps; it was rather precarious almost toppling over onto our knees. I like bookshelves which look like people actually read the books on them! The ambiance was entire, everything in Café Brecht echoed its purpose. Even the brick work was coming off the walls in some places: Germany in economic crisis, post-WWII bombing, or they just couldn't be bothered to patch it up, I’m not sure, but I liked it!!

The menu as well as the walls were covered in quotes from Brecht’s plays, ‘so wie es ist, bleibt es nicht’ (it is as it is, it will not stay) and the owners’ love of Goethe and Man as well as Brecht was apparent. They say that ‘In Brecht we want to highlight Germany in a positive way because we believe the time is right for it. Regularly in Brecht there's something going on that in one way or another, has something to do with Europe and Germany'. If I was going to open up an English café in Amsterdam I would want it to be filled with the same love and passion as was ebbing in and out, up and down this place. I felt like we were on the set of a 1930’s style theatre production; Liza Minnelli could have strolled in at any time singing mein lieber herr or maybe even Daniel Brühl could have joined our table… just because he is German and HOT!!

My expectations were satisfied, this was a little bit of Germany in the middle of The Netherlands.

Getting back to what we actually ate there: the drinks menu was packed full of beer, beer and more beer- must have been why everyone was so drunk there the other night, another German typicality achieved. As it was a lunchtime visit I just had an apfelschorle. The food, however, was essentially non-German. Rather strange considering so much work had been put into creating an almost eccentric Germanic atmosphere. Instead they offered Italian flat bread, piadina's, with a selection of refreshing Mediterranean fillings. I had a healthy dollop of pesto, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves amongst roasted red peppers and courgettes. Nom.

It was such a nice change to the never ending cycle of Dutch Broodjes and toasties. I know that in Britain we typically eat a sandwich for lunch, but I am beginning to get pretty bored of the bready attitude here. There are of course some really interesting variations of the sandwich (The bar next to Café Krull in de pijp is amazing!!) but when venturing out for a spot of lunch I want to be slightly more excited by what a place has to offer… moan over, I still love Holland.

Whilst waiting for the food to arrive, I spotted a huge pile of board games sitting on the piano in the corner. I absolutely adore places that accommodate this semi-pretentious, geeky yet funky fun pastime. The bars and cafes at Hyde park corner in Leeds used to be like that, we would drop by for some nachos and play cards at the same time- how cool and hip we were ;) Café Brecht was getting to be a very nostalgic trip indeed! In the end we decided on scrabble to feel intellectual. This was the result:

All in all it was a very lovely lunch. There were no chairs outside which was a bit of a shame for taking profit of long sunny afternoons, and I can’t comment on the evening side of the café apart from they certainly seemed to be rockin’ away when I wandered past it in the early hours! It would be awesome to check out the events too, which include poetry, drama or concerts according to their website.  If you want a German-Europeanesque experience you should certainly get on down to Weteringschans 57 and find yourself in this unique front room!

Curious and cute, just another fine example of the little treasures tucked away in Amsterdam.

http://www.cafebrecht.nl/index.php?id=1

Jo*

Hagelslag: choccie breakkie

Sprinkles anyone?

Basically a big box of chocolate sprinkles- Hagelslag is the food which makes me truly believe that the Dutch are tall and incredibly beautiful umpa lumpas that escaped from Charlie’s chocolate factory.`

If you open a Dutch kitchen cupboard you will find a children’s wonderland: milk, dark and white chocolate hagelslag, then vanilla, raspberry, mixed fruits, strawberry flavours, all in different shapes, sizes and colours. The list is endless. This Dutch treat belongs in a Disney film or fairy tale and it is not reserved for children only, oh no, this is normal adult grown up food too.

Hagelslag are chocolate or fruit flavoured sprinkles that are typically sprinkled over butter covered bread or toast and eaten for breakfast.  We may think of chocolate sprinkles as a tasty accompaniment to ice-cream or to decorate a cake with yet these Dutchies, big and small, munch on this for their breakfast , and as I have seen in a few Dutch households, for a snack throughout the day.

Little digression… a few months ago I sent my sister a packet to try. She is a sugar lover and I thought it would answer her prayers for a high glucose start to the day, nonetheless she only uses them for making hot chocolate à la hagelslag (not even sure she has attempted the correct usage). Interesting. She made me some of said hot chocolate and I honestly haven’t tasted anything so awful ever, at all. She filled about 1/3 mug with the sprinkles, added milk and then put it in the microwave. It had a disgustingly sweet, silky texture with a grainy not-quite-melted hagelslag lumps running through. I had a couple of sips and threw it away. Sorry Sis!! I guess that is one way of using the chocolate bits… who is to judge, hot chocolate made out of sprinkles or chocolate sprinkles on bread??

Back to the slag, my first impression was of slight horror. I think the main issue was with the sheer amount of sprinkles that were needed to cover the bread to eat an authentic breakfast: I felt like a naughty child opening presents on Christmas morning before everyone else was awake. This was a fantasy, something I would not have had at home!!

It was good, in fact surprisingly moreish and I ate at least two slices for breakfast for a couple of days running. Since living with a French family though there has been no hagelslag in sight (their sweet toothed start to the day bizarrely stretches to eating scones for breakfast- that is another story though!) so I found myself buying a packet to feel Dutch and to relive that crumbly but smooth, sickly and mischievously gratifying chocolate sensation. I am heartily disappointed to say that the little Albert Heijn encrusted box is still sat in my cupboard- not sure I am totally a sweet-breakfast convert yet. Yup- eggs and bacon it is haha ;)

 I am glad to say that I am not the first to be bowled over in dismay though…. My friend Petra’s brother arrived in The Netherlands and on the first morning with his host family he was so shocked to the core at the hagelslag sight, he called Petra for advice. She was confounded also (she lives with Frenchies comme moi) and told us all excitedly on a post-school session coffee that her brother was extremely worried about the health of these kids…. Ahh the humour. It is just one those Dutch things.

Some Facts

• ·         ‘Hagel’ can be translated into English as ‘hail’, which explains the name-shape of this interesting breakfast stuff.
• ·         It was first made in 1936 by Gerard de Vries for Venz, a Ducth company made popular by said treat.
• ·         English speakers may call them sprinkles or hundreds and thousands, in French they are known as nonpareils or dragée. Wikipedia knows everything.
• ·        Traditionally in the Netherlands, blue hagelslag are served up in celebration of a a new baby boy and pink for a girl. It sounds very cute and I hope to see this for real one day.

Enjoy your breakfast’s guys!!

Jo*