Ron Gastrobar in Amsterdam recently introduced a completely alcohol-free wine list. This is particularly convenient now, in Dry January. The Gastrobar celebrated its tenth anniversary at the end of last year. Reason for a visit.
In 2013, Ron Blaauw decided to 'give back' his two Michelin stars. He wanted to get rid of the chic, expensive image of six-piece cutlery and white-gloved waiters with cheese trolleys. He wanted to start cooking “straight from the heart” again: more accessible, cheaper, simpler, but no less tasty. In line with a new international restaurant style. Blaauw came up with the 'Gastrobar': from twelve o'clock in the afternoon 25 dishes for fifteen euros, suitable for lunch, drinks or dinner. That was indeed refreshing at the time: affordable food at star level, with casual Amsterdam flair. (The Michelin star was quickly returned.)
Some things have changed since then. Nowadays, half of the menu consists of ridiculously expensive cuts of meat (300 grams of ribeye for 105 euros!). Fortunately, there are also plenty of smaller dishes to share – although they no longer cost fifteen euros. But at its core, Ron Gastrobar is still the same as it was ten years ago. With the same graffiti art and disco music, still sports commentary as the soundtrack in the men's toilet and the taste profile remains predominantly sweet – a bit ordinary, but tasty.
There are still good snacks and dishes on the menu. Such as the super tender sticky sweet frog legs with Szechuan and Thai basil, or a Dutch new one like maki sushi rolled in nori with a wafer-thin sweet and sour shallot in between and some lime zest on top. Truly gastronomic is, among other things, the strangely satisfying scallop flan with perfectly stir-fried fresh spinach. And the charred pointed cabbage with a clever combination of fruity-spicy North African harissa and fruity-sweet umami-rich Japanese miso. A little tofu cream under the meaty cabbage adds a bit of dairy flavor but keeps it vegan.
The most beautiful gastrobar dish is and remains the 'onion martini', a stiffened onion consommé with foam of Comté and a parmesan cracker on top, in a martini glass. This is a brilliantly satisfying dish: French onion soup meets fondue meets the tastiest Alpine cheese toastie – kept in check with a bit of acid and lovage. I want to curl up like a cat in this glass and lick it clean from the inside, purring loudly.
Amsterdam flag
At the same time, the Gastrobar has also lost some shine. Serving spare ribs on 'smoking' dry ice is what we call retro, and half a slice of sour bomb with an Amsterdam flag is very poor as an appetizer. What's worse is that the beautiful slices of wagyu on the steak sandwich are drowned in some kind of chip sauce and that the lentils with pieds de mouton and Gruyère sauce are so salty that they give you palpitations after three bites.
The 'surprise egg' dessert – which should be the showpiece: the gastrobar's logo is an egg – is unfortunately no longer what it used to be. The milk chocolate egg – on a deep-fried vermicelline held in place with a mound of flaky pastry cream – is filled with a pale dandelion cream and a gelatin flubber from which mandarin liquid oozes. It all doesn't come together.
But we also came for the non-alcoholic wine list with twenty options. That was a response to growing demand, Blaauw says in the trade magazine Misset Horeca. “We prefer not to call it a trend (…) we see it as a development that is permanent and that we would like to start working on immediately. This way we really make it a party for everyone,” said Blaauw in the catering trade magazine. I think the chef-entrepreneur has a good sense of the spirit of the times.
It is known that there are excellent sparkling alternatives available. 'Regular wine' is more difficult because there are no bubbles to mask the irrevocable loss of mouthfeel with the alcohol. Alcohol gives viscosity. Wine without alcohol therefore always feels 'watery' and there is nothing you can do about that. With de-alcoholization you always lose some of the aroma. But the pinot gris from 'Ohne Kater' definitely still has enough aromatic qualities, even somewhat tropical canned fruit without being sweet. And it does exactly what you want from wine: it moves with the dish: the onion martini is a bit appley, while the harissa miso from the pointed cabbage pulls out more pear. The chardonnay from Eins Zwei Zero is a bit tighter with apple blossoms and a hint of inflatable crocodile.
Red proves more difficult. Kolonne Null's tempranillo is really not tasty, dusty and stale. The merlot from Giesen is nice, but the aromas are less identifiable than those of the white wines. What also works, funnily enough – with a piece of meat, for example – is the Gnista 'Italian style'. That is not wine, but a berry drink from Sweden: sour, stiff with clear notes of licorice, pine and gin. It therefore offers body, tannins, fruitiness and aromatic complexity – the same qualities you look for in a red wine.
The Gastrobar was once new. In the meantime, we see more such concepts – Blaauw itself already has five gastrobars in different flavors, from Bloemendaal to Laren. The original location has lost some of its vibrancy over time and, like everything in the catering industry, has become considerably more expensive. But if you navigate the menu smartly, you can still have a reasonably affordable, very nice culinary experience, at star level, in a cheerful Amsterdam atmosphere. And with his non-alcoholic wine list, Ron Blaauw is again a bit ahead of the pack.
#onion #martini #good
