what to do.

Above: Flevopark today.

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There's a nice new beermaker in town, de 7 deugden, and wanting to tell the hypothetical you about that reminded me that I have a friend coming to visit soon, which reminded me again that I should re-start paying attention to what the good things to do in town are.

Back when we first moved here and all of our friends were still childless so they had time/money/irresponsiblity enough to come and visit us (seriously), and we used to have this document we would give them called "shit close to the shop". It was a semi-comprehensive list of every good address in town we knew, organized by whether or not it was close to our record shop or close to our apartment.

Since my tour guide instinct had been reawakened, I'd been thinking about this document and lamenting its loss, when plotseling I just accidentally found it like 8 minutes ago while I was doing something totally unrelated.

So, here it is, thoroughly in the process of being revamped, since it's mostly 6 years old. My goal is to have it full of "only places I would happily go right now, today".

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shit 
close 
to 
the 
shop 


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LEIDSEPLEIN
blauwe theehuis freaky blue spaceship in the park, good in sun

soup en zo, nieuwe spiegelstraat 54 tasty soups, salads to go, a bit $$$

maoz falafel, leidsestraat 85 cheap and wondrous and as spicy as you can take it
cafe de spuyt, korte leidsedwarsstraat 86 newish beer place
a taste of culture, korte ledsedwarsstraat 139, terrible name but supposed to be great chinese food, open late
eijlders, korte leidsedwarsstraat 47 old-school bruin cafe, worth a beer

de zotte, ramstraat 29 great music, better belgian beer selection and good eats
de klos, kerkstraat 41 bar/cafe with good steaks
sumo all you can eat japanese, but supposedly good 

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RED LIGHT/ZEEDIJK/WATERLOOPLEIN

lastage very well-reviewed french, haven't been yet, expensive

de engelbewaarder the real jazz bar (music on sundays), decent food
brouwerij de prael newish microbrewery with weird but good ambience

sluyswacht old-ass cafe/bar mostly useful for terrace
new king good but comparatively expensive chinese

lokaal ‘t loosje cafe/bar on nieuwmarkt, good peoplewatching

bird above-average thai

greenhouse coffeeshop

vijaya good indian

latei breakfast
staalmeesters not-very-cool cafe with decent food, open holidays
nyonya malaysia express zero atmosphere, good malaysian

de tokoman my favorite broodje pom 

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DAM/SPUI

het schuim art bar, kind of an odd vibe but i like very much
van kerkwijk cafe/restaurant, good people, above average food

gollem they have every beer

in de wildeman quiet old great bar with interesting beer
belgique more great beer
de buurvrouw late, usually fun bar
the minds another late bar that ron usually drags us to
nes-cafe seedy as fuck but good beer and weed-friendly, til 03:00 wkends
‘t gasthuis student bar/restaurant, edible food, kind of a last resort
vleminckx best frites in town sold through a hole in the wall
lanskroon real stroopwafels


UTRECHTSESTRAAT

vooges nothing special, but OK for a drink and a bite

JORDAAN

de kat in de wijngaert good bar, good breakfast
de oranjerie evening bar, decent steaks
't arendsnest great local beer
singel 404 nearly legendary sandwiches
de doffer open very late for drinking
sound garden punkish but friendly bar with nice terras in back 
patisserie mercan my quintessential turkish pizza
cafe de tuin tweede tuindwarsstraat 13 pleasant dark bar
la perla real italian wood-fired pizza
la oliva interesting and expensive spanish tapas, heard the service is "below average", which for amsterdam is scary as shit
fraiche great, subtle, sophisticated, affordable, relaxed American prix fixe menus
som tam excellent thai takeaway, best thai i've had in town
yam yam pretty good pizza

WESTERPARK
nassau our default bar/meeting place in good weather
westergasterras calm terrace in the park
pont 13 boat eating off in nowhereland
marius my favorite restaurant in amsterdam, u gots to reserve
gouden reael atmospheric little bar near marius, don't know about food

OVERTOOM/WEST
l'affiche sweet little bar with nice terras
fenan klein afrika best eritrean/ethiopian in town

kashmir lounge coffeeshop
tomatillo edible burritos, not cheap
kismet good turkish, no atmosphere but cheap
toko suriya decent surinamese, i like their sopropo
planet rose real jamaican, haven't tried yet
lab 111 i spend a lot of time here b/c of work, stick with apps
gollem proeflokaal good beer/wine/food
in de baars tapas in the BoLo
riaz good surinamese, comparatively pricey but decent ambiance


EAST
brouwerij 't IJ great local beer and terras

cafe kadijk indonesian eetcafe, small, expensive menu but supposedly great
frank's smoke house great little takeaway smokehouse with one table
maxwell cafe all around nice pub, w/quiz on mondays, strangely good bitterballen
comfort caffee italian eetcafe
wilde zwijnen good basic homey cooking
't wethoudertje biological snackbar/patat stand, have heard mixed reviews
delicatessen tiny music venue/gallery
kaiko sushi
the taco shop american people making edible tex-mex burritos, good pork


GETAWAYS
de jufferen lunsingh, westervelde
de kop van 't land,  dordrecht

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