BEST WISHES MAG

A few months ago I started contributing for online magazine Best Wishes, a collection of city chapters where we share stories of creative people and their favourite places in town. I am in charge of the Amsterdam chapter and even though sometimes I am really struggling to combine my two jobs and finding time to arrange meetings with the people we feature, it is definitely worth the hard work.

It is really amazing to meet such lovely and interesting people. Most of them are entrepreneurs, artists, designers, photographers or illustrators and listening to their stories about how they made it to where they are now is so inspiring that after those meetings I always come home full of energy and ideas also about my own future.

One of the best parts of this job is also having the chance to discover new places in town, something that as you may have notice, is one of my biggest hobbies. Some of these people share this passion with me so I always end up knowing about this new coffee place that opened some days ago or this other hidden place.

If you are curious and want to know Amsterdam a bit more, you can always check my Instagram, where I share all my discoveries. And also head to Best Wishes and get inspired by these amazing people! There will be many more coming.

WINTER BARBECUE

I love wintertime. For some people, it sucks getting out of home covered by layers of clothes and stand the cold, the rain and even the snow. Me, on the other hand, I love it.

I found out about Simply Slow totally randomly. They are a community that creates small gatherings once a month and -lucky me- they were doing a Winter Barbeque that same weekend! Ok, I had roasted potatoes in a fireplace before and grilled marshmallows at a bbq one summer... but a winter barbecue? I had to try that.

The venue was a barn in the outskirts of Amsterdam where we learnt how to make bread (or at least, some of us 'tried') and had some wonderful food surrounded by cows and hay bales. We warmed up with some glühwein and soup and continued the feast with delicious grilled sausages. To end up, nothing better than hot chocolate, cookies and butter cake, which gave us strength to bike all the way back to Amsterdam in the middle of the dark.

What a perfect Sunday afternoon! You can see some more -and probably better- photos here.

CARAVAN

Sí, Londres otra vez. Y comida. Y cafés. Hace dos semanas volví para hacer un curso de latte art en Prufrock Coffee (no tengo fotos, pero fue genial), pero antes, había unas cuantas paradas obligatorias. La primera, en Caravan. Ya había estado cenando el año pasado y no fue hasta después cuando descubrí que además de restaurante, sirven (según algunas críticas) uno de los mejores cafés de la ciudad, que tuestan ellos mismos. Un hurra! Supongo que mi opinión no importa mucho, porque cada vez que voy, mi viaje consiste en atiborrarme a café y prácticamente todos me gustan en comparación con el café torrefacto que sirven en la mayoría de sitios en España. Pero sí, mi latte fue excelente. Y la comida y el servicio... un diez! Hablando de café torrefacto, ayer leí un artículo muy interesante de James Blick sobre el café en España. London again. And food. And coffee. I went back there two weeks ago to attend a latte art course at Prufrock Coffee (I didn't take any pictures but the class was great). But before that, I had some pending visits. The first one, Caravan. I had already had dinner there last year but it wasn't until after that I found out that they also serve one of the best coffees in town (according to some critics) and have their own roastery. Probably my opinion doesn't really matter since everything I travel there I drink coffee everywhere I go and most of them are tasty if you compare them to the torrefacto (high roasted) coffee that is served in almost every bar in Spain. But definitely yes, my latte was excellent. And the food and service... amazing! Talking about torrefacto, I read this very interesting article yesterday from James Blick about Spanish coffee.

MEAT LIQUOR

Antes de nada, siento la horrible calidad de las fotos. Estaba tan oscuro que tuve que utilizar el flash de la cámara (y eso que lo odio). Pero aun así necesitaba publicarlas para enseñaros esta increíble hamburguesa.

Me he vuelto adicta a las hamburguesas desde que vivo en Madrid. Es algo así como una moda ahora y cada vez se abren más y más sitios así. Cada vez que aparece un Top 10 en alguna revista me doy cuenta de que las he probado casi todas (y me siento un poco yonki). Así que, ya que casi he terminado el maratón de hamburguesas en la city, me veía obligada (por necesidad) a cruzar la frontera e ir a por otro Top 10. Y puesto que últimamente he viajado bastante a Londres, la elección ha sido fácil.

El año pasado hice mi primera incursión en este Top comiendo en Lucky Chip, que me encantó, no solo por la hamburguesa en sí (maravillosa) si no por el sitio: una furgoneta! Esta vez tenía unas ganas enormes de ir a Meat Liquor (buscadlo en Google Imágenes y decidme!) y comprobar si era verdad todo lo que había leído en las opiniones. Yo pedí la Cheeseburger y sí, es deliciosa, con ese sabor un poco ahumado de la barbacoa, ese queso fundido y el pan... Y la próxima vez iré a por una Dead Hippie: una hamburguesa doble con queso, salsa y pepinillos.

Pero el sitio tiene también varios contras, para empezar la falta de luz (aunque podría vivir con ello) y lo altísima que estaba la música, que hace que sea difícil mantener una conversación y, en mi opinión, disfrutar al 100% del sabor.

Aparte de eso también tienen una larga lista de cócteles. Nosotros pedimos el House Grog, que nos llamó la atención porque no sirven más de dos por persona. Imagináos...

Aun así, un must! Por cierto, suelen formarse unas colas larguísimas y no se aceptan reservas así que para no llevarse una sorpresa... mejor ir pronto o con tiempo!

Sorry for the bad quality of the photos, this place was so dark that I needed the camera flash. Nonetheless, I felt the need to post them so you could at least have an idea of how good this burger was.

I have been addicted to burgers ever since I moved to Madrid. There is some kind of boom now in the city and every time I see a Top 10 Burgers on a magazine I realize I have tried almost all of them (which makes me feel like I am some kind of junkie). So once I had almost finished the burger marathon in Madrid, I felt like crossing some borders and try another country's list. And since I have been visiting London quite often for the past 2 years, that city was the best choice.

Last year it was Lucky Chip, which amaze me, not only for the flavour of the burger but also for the location (a van!) This time I couldn't wait to go to Meat Liquor (I mean, search on Google Images and then tell me) and prove all those reviews that say that's the best burger in town. I order their classic Cheeseburger and well, it was delicious: the slightly burnt flavour of the meat, the melted cheese and the brioche. The next time I will try the house specialty: the Dead Hippie made of two patties, sauce, cheese and pickles. 

But some cons: the dark atmosphere (ok, I could live with that) and the super loud music, which makes it impossible for a conversation and (as a personal thing) also makes it difficult to really enjoy the food you're eating.

Apart from that, they also have a long list of cocktails. We tried the House Grog, which is limited to 2 serves per person... imagine!

A must, anyway! We were lucky to have an early dinner so we didn't have to wait, but there are normally very long queues and they don't accept reservations to take it into account!

BREAD BREAD BREAD

Como ya adelanté en el post anterior, nuestro desayuno en E5 Bakehouse merece un post entero. 

El desayuno es sin duda mi comida preferida del día, sobre todo cuando viajo. En casa no suelo pasar del tazón de leche con cereales, pero cuando salgo fuera, un café cae seguro y en este sitio tampoco podía dejar escapar la bollería.

Empezando por su localización, entre unos arcos debajo de unas vías de tren, E5 me pareció el sitio perfecto para empezar el día, alejada de las multitudes de una ciudad como Londres. Aunque se ha convertido un sitio tan popular en la zona que a media mañana se forman largas colas de gente que acude a comprar pan... o a mirar. Porque el punto fuerte de E5 es que puedas ver en directo cómo hacen todas y cada una de las delicias que después venden en el mostrador. Y que además puedas acompañarlas de un buen café (bien tostado y bien preparado, uno de los mejores, sin duda). O que si quieres, puedes apuntarte a uno de sus cursos y aprender a hacer pan tú también.

He oido bastantes veces aquello de que en Reino Unido no se come bien. Puede que en efecto, la gastronomía inglesa en sí no sea muy amplia o muy refinada, pero lo que la hace rica es el valor que se le da a los productos (a los productos de temporada, por ejemplo) y su adaptabilidad a la hora de coger influencias de aquí y allá. El pan es uno de esos productos que muchas veces se maltrata y por eso es genial ver sitios como este, donde además todos los trabajadores apenas pasan la treintena y pertenecen a una generación que valora lo artesanal, lo clásico, lo que está bien hecho.

As I said in a previous post, E5 Bakery deserved a whole post.

Breakfast is definitely my favourite meal of the day, specially when I'm travelling. At home I just have a bowl of cereals with milk but when I eat out, I always drink coffee and in this place I couldn't skip their pastries.

Starting from its location, in between some arcs under the train rails, E5 is probably one of the best places to start the day far from the most crowded areas of London. Even though it has become so popular in the neighbourhood that during midday you can see long queues of people waiting to buy bread... or just watching. Because one of the strenghts of this place is the fact that you can actually see how they bake all the products that they after sell at the counter. And in the meantime, drink a well roasted coffee. Or enrol to one of their courses and learn how to bake bread yourself.

I've heard countless times that English food is not good. English gastronomy (itself) may not be very wide or refined, but what makes it rich is the value that they give to each product (seasonal products, for example) and how they take influences from everywhere. The bread is one of those things that we often mistreat and that's why is great to see places like this one, where people who work there barely pass their thirties and belong to a generation that appreciates traditional ways of doing things and bothers doing things right.

FOODIE DAYS

Lunch at Wahaca.

The Garrison Public House. Perfect dinner at the perfect spot.

Favourite place ever that deserves a post apart: E5 Bakehouse.

We bought the meat for the Christmas roast at The Ginger Pig. Amazing.

The canal at Hackney.

Fin&Flounder, a beautiful fish store at Broadway Market.

Breakfast at The Coffee Works Project

Christmas dinner.

Homemade patties for Christmas breakfast.

Como siempre ocurre, mi último viaje a Londres se basó en comer y comer y comprar más comida para la cena de Nochebuena. ¿Pero hay algo mejor que pasar unos días de relax, salir a tomar desayunos felices (o hacerlos en casa) y disfrutar como los propios londinenses? Lo mejor, el contexto: Hackney.

As always, my latest trip to London was more a gastronomical trip. I have the feeling that the only thing that we did was eating and buying groceries for our Christmas dinner and lunch. But hey! What's better than a relaxed holiday based on going for delicious breakfasts (or making them at home) and enjoying life as a local? The best part, the context: Hackney.

SMALL WORLD CATERING

Último post sobre nuestro viaje a Amsterdam. De hecho, fue una de las mejores comidas y como muestra, ahí teneis la carta de sandwiches.

Small World Catering es un pequeño deli dirigido por un simpático australiano en mi barrio favorito, Jordaan. Hay algo que me encanta y que no suelo hacer en Madrid y es beber zumo durante la comida. Y parece increíble que, viniendo de un país que produce fruta de gran calidad, uno de los mejores zumos naturales que he probado jamás haya sido en este sitio.

Los sandwiches... caseros y simplemente espectaculares. Yo me dejé aconsejar por los camareros y elegí el de salami picante, pero el de calabaza asada era también delicioso.

No tuve oportunidad de probar el café (después de la comida, teníamos planeada la visita a Two For Joy) pero lo apunto en mi lista para la próxima vez, porque parecía bueno. Y no es de extrañar, Australia es uno de los países a la cabeza en el mundo del café.

Last -but not least- post about our trip to Amsterdam. Actually, it was one of the best lunches (there you have the menu if you want to see by yourselves).

Small World Catering is a small deli run by a kind Australian in my favourite district, Jordaan. There's something I don't usually do in Madrid and I love which is drinking juice during lunch. And it seems incredible that coming from a country that produces good quality fruit, I had to come here to try probably the best juice ever.

The homemade sandwiches are just delicious. I was suggested by the bartenders to try the spicy salami one and it was indeed great, but also the roasted pumpkin one was amazing.

I didn't have the chance to try their coffee since we had a planned visit to Two For Joy after, but I will the next time. It looked good... nothing strange coming from Australia, one of the top countries in the world of coffee.

We couldn't help but biting the sandwich before taking the photo.

TWO FOR JOY

Photos: Laura Sanz

Cuando viví en Amsterdam la cultura del café aun no estaba muy presente. Aparte de Espressofabriek y la pop up store de Stumptown Coffee que abrieron en la agencia Sid Lee, no había muchos más sitios de referencia de esta bebida (entre estos sitios no incluyo cadenas como Coffee Company). Pero el pasado noviembre volví unos días de visita y para mi sorpresa, la ciudad ha cambiado un montón con la apertura de bares o tiendas que antes no existían. Uno de esos sitios es Two For Joy, un precioso espresso bar con dos locales en el centro de Amsterdam (las fotos son de Haarlemmerdijk).

Un sitio genial para disfrutar de una conversación, leer un libro o trabajar disfrutando de un buen café. Y para los que quieran tomarlo en casa, también venden sus propios blends.

Parece que poco a poco se van extendiendo y aparte de sus dos locales, su café puede encontrarse en tiendas como COTTONCAKE, junto al mercado de Albert Cuyp (una tienda con ropa y comida genial, por cierto!)

When I lived in Amsterdam, the coffee culture wasn't very extended. Apart from Espressofabriek and the Stumptown Coffee pop up store settled at the agency Sid Lee, there weren't so many more points of reference for this drink (and I don't include chains such as Coffee Company). But the past November I went back to visit a friend and, lucky me, the city has changed a lot and lot of nice shops and bars have opened ever since. One of these places is Two For Joy, a beautiful espresso bar with two locations in the center of Amsterdam (the photos are taken at the one of Haarlemmerdijk).

It's the perfect place for a conversation, reading a book or working while enjoying a very good coffee. For those who want to have it at home, they also sell their own blends.

It seems that they are spreading and apart from their two bars, their beans can also be found at stores such as COTTONCAKE, next to the Albert Cuyp market (a very recommended boutique, by the way! Their clothes and food are great!)

MY FAVOURITE COOK BLOGS

Todo el que me conoce sabe que soy una auténtica apasionada de la comida (no hay más que echar un vistazo a mi Instagram o a mis boards en Pinterest) y gran parte del tiempo que paso delante del ordenador se basa en ir de blog en blog y de web en web descubriendo nuevas recetas y sitios nuevos donde comer.

Estos son algunos de los blogs que visito diariamente, no solo porque las recetas que he probado son deliciosas, si no por la belleza de sus fotos.

Everyone who knows me a bit knows that I am a real food lover (just take a look at my Instagram pictures or my Pinterest boards) and most of the time I spent in front of my laptop is based on going from one blog to another discovering new recipes or new places to eat.

These are some of the blogs I daily visit, not only because the recipes that I've tried are delicious, but also because their photos are really beautiful.

101 cookbooks. Tras comprobar que tenía ya 100 libros de cocina, la autora de este blog decidió empezar a cocinar sus propias creaciones y a publicarlas en este blog. Desde entonces, ya se ha situado varias veces en el top ten de blogs de cocina anuales y su libro de comida ha sido bestseller.

101 cookbooks. After realizing that she already owned 100 cookbooks, the author decided to start cooking her own recipes and publish them on her blog. She's been many times on the food blogs top ten ever since and her own cookbook has been a bestseller.

Food and cook. Uno de los pocos blogs de recetas en español que sigo. Sus fotos transportan a paisajes como los de la campiña inglesa y aunque aun no he tenido oportunidad de probar en casa ninguna de sus recetas, son un placer para la vista por su genial estética y su buen gusto.

Food and cook. One of the few Spanish cookblogs I follow. Her photos take you to places like the English countryside and even though I haven't tried any of her recipes yet, is a real pleasure just staring at the beauty on her pictures.

What Katie Ate. Hace tan solo dos meses que publicó su libro de recetas con muy buenas críticas. Y no solo por sus deliciosas recetas, si no porque sus fotos están entre las mejores.

What Katie Ate. She published her cookbook only 2 months ago and the reviews are really good. And not only her recipes deserve them, her photos are some of the best.

My New Roots. La chef y nutricionista vegetariana Sarah Britton es quien se esconde detrás de este blog premiado numerosas veces. Colabora entre otros, con el famoso restaurante Noma y aunque algunos de los ingredientes que utiliza son difíciles de encontrar en España, sus recetas no decepcionan. Para los que quieran descubrir más a fondo la comida vegetariana, es un blog imprescindible. Y para los que no estén tan convencidos, tienen la opción de probar con los Meatless Mondays de Martha Stewart, que también colabora en el blog.

My New Roots. The brain behind this awarded blog is Sarah Britton, a nutritionist and vegetarian chef. She also works together with the famous restaurant Noma and even though some of the ingredients she uses are difficult to find in Spain, the recipes won't be disappointing. For those who want to know more about vegetarian food, it's an essential reading. For those who aren't 100% convinced, they can start with the Meatless Mondays by Martha Stewart, who also writes on the blog.

Smitten Kitchen. Recetas sencillas, sin complicaciones pero deliciosas, esa es la base de este blog de New York. También ha publicado recientemente un libro que pinta muuuy bien.

Smitten Kitchen. Simple but delicious recipes, that's the idea of this New York blog. She has recently published her first book and looks so good!

THE APARTMENT

Photos: Laura Sanz

Las buenas iniciativas siempre son bien recibidas y si son bonitas, más que mejor. Sigo el trabajo de Better Es Mejor desde hace un tiempo (seguidlos en redes sociales si no os quereis perder una parte de las cosas geniales que pasan en Madrid) y con cada proyecto van ganándome un poco más. Por las ideas por las que apuestan, su estética cuidada y por el amor que se ve que ponen a todo lo que hacen. Así que The Apartment ya prometía desde antes de verlo con mis propios ojos. Si no me creeis, echad un vistazo a la web.

The Apartment es una pop up store navideña que reúne a muchas marcas locales pequeñitas en un piso precioso de una de las zonas más bonitas del centro de Madrid. Desde las flores de Sally L. Hambleton a los longboards artesanales de Buddywood Custom Made, pasando por los estampados de Mi Clo o los diseños para niños de los encantadores de Ninetonine, entre otros. Y en la cocina, para entrar en calor, los riquísimos cafés de Toma Café y los dulces de Real Cake, perfectos para disfrutar en el patio rodeado de los muebles de Rent A Garden.

Tenía especial interés por ver en directo los productos de Real Fábrica Española y la ropa de Yellow&Stone, pero cada habitación me descubrió nuevas marcas alucinantes y al final... ¡me quedo con casi todo!

Volveré y repitiré muchas veces. Y los que queráis hacer lo mismo... ¡tenéis hasta el 6 de enero!

Good initiatives are always welcome, specially if they're pretty. I have been following Better Es Mejor's work for a while now and they keep on surprising me with every project (you can follow them through Facebook to see a small part of what's going on in Madrid): the ideas they go for, their nice aesthetics and the love that goes into everything they do. So The Apartment looked promising even before seeing it through my own eyes.

The Apartment is a Christmas pop up store which gathers a lot of local and small brands in a beautiful flat located in a very nice area of Madrid. Going from Sally L. Hambleton's flowers to the handmade longboards by Buddywood Custom Made, the prints by Mi Clo or the children products of Ninetonine, among many others. And in the kitchen, the great coffees of Toma Café and the sweets of real Cake, perfect to enjoy in the courtyard surrounded by the furniture of Rent A Garden.

I was specially interested in seeing the products of Real Fábrica Española and the clothes of Yellow&Stone but seeing what was going on in each room made me want almost everything.

If you want to visit it, it will be open until the 6th of January. I'm definitely coming back!