Rome, Italy. 90 degrees, humid, hot, very little AC in the restaurant….yes, PERONI beer, ice cold!!!!!
Monthly Archives: July 2014
Johnny Kolsch Beer at Haesje Claes Restaurant
Here is an interesting beer in Amsterdam. Never heard of it and only saw a few reviews. I love the Kolsch on a warm day so I gave it a shot. It poured a cloudy dark yellow and had very citrusy flavors. Not overpowering. Describe it more like a Belgium than a Kolsch. Very drinkable and went well with the smoked fish apps.
The restaurant, Haesje Claes is a VERY traditional Amsterdam restaurant. I will post some further pictures later. But here is what the website says about the place……
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The restaurant was founded in 1974 and was initially comprised only of one building, however, in the course of time, the restaurant has expanded and now extends over six different, interconnected buildings. The name Haesje Claes originates from the Lady Haesje Claes, who was born in 1520, and was a daughter of a rich salesman. She was also the founder of the “Amsterdam Burgerweeshuis” (orphanage) formerly located in the Amsterdam Museum. The interior is comprised of paintings depicting scenes from the orphanage and many paintings and tiles in the restaurant date back to this time period. Haesje Claes alway’s a landmark when visiting Amsterdam.
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A Becaficco Venice, Italy
Let’s start with this…beautiful outdoor setting in Campo San Stefano. the servers approach immediately to serve you water and bread. (three types) Then, the Captain comes over to take your drink order and explain the all Italian menu to you. He spends as much time as you need for him to explain each and every item. He seemed genuinely happy to do so. He probably spent 7 or 8 minutes at our table just to translate the menu items. The food, exceptional. Just look at the pics, my descriptions could not do them justice. The beer, a simple birra alla spina (beer on tap) was the usual Peroni Nastro Azzuro, was a refreshing lager but as most know nothing special. Just great to drink on a warm summer night when they keep filling your glass when it is empty. (had 7 got charged for 4)
At the end of the meal you are given a lovely little carafe of Limoncello as you can see in the second picture. Now what is a guy to do. My wife hardly drinks and my niece is 13…so, when in Rome…..(or Venice). Yes, I drank most of it and then they brought me a glass of black Sambuca…Oh my.
We had two bottles of water but got charged for 22. It was an honest mistake, or they thought I wouldn’t notice after all of the drinking, and all of the wait staff laughed about the $110.00 charge for water.
What a great last meal in Venice.
Ristorante Al Covo- Venice, Italy
Pictured here with my friend Enrico from Torino, Italy at Al Covo restaurant in Venice. Not only was the food and beer delicious, but the service was beyond reproach. From the moment you are met byco-owner Cesare Benelli through the time his lovely wife and pastry chef, Diane Rankin asks about dessert, you are magically transported into a wonderland of Italian delicacies. Of course, we started with the raw fish platter including, sardines, sea bream, anchovies, shrimps and crayfish. I had the Adriatic Monkfish, “ugly, but delicious” as the waiter said. My wife and Enrico had the linguini with clams. My niece had a nice Tagliolini with Pesto. And then Diane’s desserts. Dark Chocolate Cake with spicy Chocolate sauce. Heaven for my niece.
Finally, the beer. They had the Baladin brands and we sampled the Nazionale and the Isaac. Isaac is a white beer with citrusy and apricot flavors. Intentionally cloudy and just 5%. The Nazionale, a beer that finally had hops in Italy. I couldn’t get enough of this beer all week. at 6.5% you must be careful, but none of us were driving so….
This is a MUST GO restaurant for all of the right reasons. Food, service and beer. Oh, and we also had a couple of nice glasses of Vino Locale.
All of rthe positive reviews on TripAdvisor and Zagat, are absolutely correct.