this weekend was a winner even before it really kicked off.

as announced, i checked out brasserie tot zo, which, lying right across on the other side of this epic bus depot adjacent to the student hotel, is just a two-minute ride from my homebase. i dropped a few details on the location here, but only now got to check out the new menu.

at owner and chef modjo rouzbeh’s suggestion, i tried the kabeljouw uit de oven met kraudensaus (yes, the menu is dutch only, a rarity in tourist-struck amsterdam). i have to say i am not and thankfully never will be a proper food critic as my respective vocabulary stops roughly at “delicious” – but this was delicious! i added a fruity sauvignon blanc and capped it off with a crème brûlée which the waiter set on fire. fun!

the only thing that is wrong with the place is the fact that for a friday night way too many tables remained empty. but rouzbeh is aware that it will need time for amsterdamers to take to this hidden gem, so expect tot zo to still be around when you visit!

saturday was gloriously sunny, and what are else you gonna do with a gloriously sunny saturday but browsing through stuff you will never buy anyways at a flea market and sitting by the water with a beer.

i checked the former at roest, an industrial area turned charming adventure park. the flea market was a first for them, but their agenda looks fantastic, and I will return for the warehouse weekender for easter. sitting by the water of course you can do pretty much everywhere in amsterdam, but i chose to bike over to the über-popular hannekes boom near the oosterdok.

good decision, too, as all the bliss was gone by sunday. time for indoor stuff, so i first met photographer / artist / vj / party wildchild martin c de waal at his studio (the ateliers at wilhelmina gasthuis, a former clinic, are open to the public every first sunday of the month; lunch can be booked with this) and heard tons of interesting stories about how the amsterdam underground scene has developed over the last few years. i will follow up on a couple of his suggestions.

soon enough, the weekend ended with two relaxed events at the student hotel: a jazz concert (every first sunday of the month as well) and a screening of the superhilarious bollywood exploitation flick “rowdy rathore”.

It was indeed a packed weekend, and i will try to be more concise the next time. then again, i might as well not as this week’s schedule is already filling up (“imagine” film festival kicks off this wednesday). see you around!

as always: check out my instagram for additional photos…