Restaurant Bla Bla

Every time I visit Rotterdam in the Netherlands, I try to stop by Restaurant Bla Bla for dinner. Bla Bla is located in the Delfshaven neighborhood, where I lived for a month last year when work sent me on special assignment. It is a strictly vegetarian restaurant that maintains a small menu focused on what is available fresh depending on the season.

When you enter the restaurant, the first thought is just how small it is. The restaurant is located in a tiny, narrow canal house. There are about eight tables on the ground floor and two more upstairs on a balcony, sharing the upstairs with the kitchen. It is cozy and intimate and very comfortable. The menu is written on a chalk board behind the small bar specializing in organic Dutch beers. Beware, there is no english menu, but the staff are more than happy to help explain what is on offer.

The menu generally consists of three main meals, each consisting of around eight courses. Each meal has a theme. When I was there last time, the themes were Indian, Mexican, and Dutch. All the food shows up at once, piled high on a plate. It is fun to eat around the plate, sampling each item and pondering what makes it so good. I would not hesitate to bring my meat eating friends to this vegetarian restaurant as the food is interesting, filling, and so very good.

I selected the Indian meal and it was a treat. The meal included samosa, tabouli salad, cauliflower with cashews, dal, salad, curried eggplant, basmati lemon rice, and poppadoms. It was excellent and filling. I have eaten in vegetarian restaurants all over the place but few are as inspired as Restaurant Bla Bla.

Two more reasons to love Columbus

Every time I come to the conclusion that Columbus is a boring place and that there is nothing new to discover, I am proved wrong. Folks, I have made two major discoveries this past weekend. Both can be categorized as important cultural institutions that help the general populace expand their horizons.

My friends Stefan and Liz invited me Saturday to join him in cheering on the Buckeyes in their crushing defeat of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. (side note….Golden Gophers? Can they be serious?). Little did I know that Stefan was going to bring me to Bob’s Bar, “The Cultural Hub of the Midwest”. Move over Columbus Art Museum, Ohio State, Ohio Theatre. Bob’s Bar is THE cultural hub.

After experiencing Bob’s, I have to admit there is a legitimate argument. It is one of the best bars I have been to in a long time. It reminded me of Valhalla in New York, except it was much cheaper and had a better, less sophisticated feel. We counted 27 beers on tap and over 100 bottled beers. The variety was very impressive and it was fun to try a couple beers that have been on my “Need to Try” list. On game day they even hand out some free pizza. We decided that Bob’s is now the official new hangout for our posse.

I have not mentioned it much recently on the blog, but I am departing very soon for Uruguay for the EY CR Fellows Program. As such, I owed it to my wife, Elly, to take her out for a nice dinner as kind of a goodbye / thanks for hanging in there / hope you do not starve while I am gone. Some friends recommended Dragonfly, a very ambitious restaurant that serves an all-vegan menu. I was very impressed and wish it was cheaper so it could be a regular part of my diet. It is certainly on the special occasion list now.

The food was beautiful, artistic, and delicious. We started the meal with a roasted eggplant appetizer for Elly and for me a pairing of two separate soups in one bowl. Both were excellent. To accompany the meal we shared a bottle of Plotzer Pino Grigio from Fruili, Italy that was perfect balance of crisp and clean. For the main dish I had the lobster mushroom, which is a mushroom with a taste and texture that certainly brings to mind seafood. It came over risotto with fresh brussel sprouts. Elly had a roasted mushrooms with a strong sauce heavily influenced by the fresh basil from the restaurant garden. For desert, we had cookie sandwiches with a chocolate mousse in the middle. I have never had mousse that would so good, amazing considering it is non-dairy. In sum, Dragonfly wowed us both and we left knowing we would be back again. I would feel comfortable sending anyone to this restaurant, even those have a hard time imaging a meal without meat as the center of the dish.