Cafe De Klos

As a child, I spent about a week a year in Amsterdam. My father has always had a deep love for the center of the city, where we would stay at a small hotel called Brouwer, owned solely by a wonderful, quiet man of the same name. Back then, in the 80's and 90's, there was a lovely Dutch brown cafe called Sing Singel about a block from our hotel. Parts of every day were spent sitting outside the "Sing," watching passers-by in the shade of the tree lined Singel canal. As well, dinner would inevitably be there, simply for their version of the traditional Dutch spare rib dinner. Though the Sing Singel is now closed, replaced by a mediterranean influenced cafe called Singel 101, their spare rib dinner has been the standard that I apply to all the other ribs I've ever eaten. Nothing has compared.

Until now. About a year ago, while staying with my uncle's in Amsterdam, they introduced me to Cafe De Klos, a small and bustling brown cafe with only a few tables and a large, horse-shoe shaped bar (as it is so busy, usually one ends up eating at the bar.) They have a large menu, with all sorts of appetizers and different meat dishes, but the prize winner is the ribs. Served on a wooden cutting board/plate with a small dish of slaw and garnished with onions, you had better be ready for a meat feast, because this is not a "balanced" meal. Most people could easily be satisfied by sharing it with another person (as with my father, "Oh, I'll just nibble off of yours...) but I tend to try and eat the whole plate, it's so damn good. As with all good ribs, they are slow marinated, and this year seemed rubbed with a subtle curry - a detail I didn't recall from last year. They are then grilled to order on a gigantic grill in the back, put in front of you falling off the bone with a smokey, sweet and savory balance that carries you through to the last bite.

I've had a few other things at De Klos, mostly appetizers like escargot and pate, and they have always been wonderful. This may be the last brown cafe in Amsterdam that serves amazing Dutch soul food in an old world atmosphere, so give 'em your business! And order a kopstoot!