Organic burritos in the Kinkerstraat

I've always liked the idea of Mexican food, for one it is normally vegetarian and the meat dishes are normally just the veggie versions with meat added. It's also really tasty - nicely spiced with a variety of chillies. I've heard of and eaten at a couple of Mexican restaurants in Amsterdam, including Cafe Burito in De Clercqstraat, which has a great atmosphere. My Burrito on the Kinkerstraat have awesome burritos and they use primarily organic ingredients. They're really putting a lot into the sustainable side of the business - they have used reclaimed wood and low energy light bulbs. I don't think you can make a bigger environmental impact as a restaurant than using organic ingredients though. And virtually everything is!

As well as making it good on the environmental side of things, they also make some damn fine burritos. They are not expensive either - a basic burrito with rice, beans, salsa and cheese will only set you back €5.50 and is a proper meal size. You can also customize your burrito with different strength salsa or different beans. The best thing is that My Burrito makes their salsa and guacamole fresh every morning - nothing beats freshly prepared ingredients, something that a couple of Amsterdam snack shops I know could learn from. Of course if the burrito is not for you, they also do a number of other dishes (despite the name!).

A real Ikea alternative

Kringloopwinkels. Circlewalkshops. They are Amsterdam's answer to Ikea "purpose built landfill" furniture.

Essentially second hand shops, they are treasure troves of everything. Seriously, these places have it all. I've bought a toaster for 3 euros (admittedly the people at work have made me stop using it because they think its a fire hazard). No matter what you're looking for, there is a good chance your nearest kringloopwinkel has one. They have all sorts of furniture, from beds to whole lounge suites, sports equipment, stereo and kitchen equipment, clothes, books and bikes. If you need a board game for the last few cold evenings, they've got 'em, and if you are secret collector of porcelain figurines, welcome to your Aladdin's cave.

There is an association of kringloopwinkels called the BKN that bring together all the kringloopwinkels in the Netherlands, and you can find the nearest one on their website. The shops themselves are places that provide sheltered employment for those struggling to re-enter the workforce or that have physical or mental handicaps. If you are moving house and have old usable things, they will even come and pick them up for free. In Amsterdam, Pantar is one particular organisation working with handicapped people that works with the Amsterdam council. They have 3 kringloopwinkels and many contracts for labour intensive work (last seen repairing the landing lights at Schipol) . The other big kringloopwinkel organisation in Amsterdam is Juttersdok ("Beachcombersdock") who also have 3 shops, and sell computers pre-loaded with all the open source goodness you could want. What's the greenest computer, washing machine, windsurfer or tv you can buy? The second hand one of course! The 3 Pantas and 3 Juttersdok stores are on the Eco Amsterdam google map (link top right).

I often wonder at how you could furnish your entire flat from the streets before rubbish collection day. If you're too shy to carry off loot from the streets - try the kringloopwinkel, and you'll be supporting the social economy at the same time.

My money does good

"Mijn geld gaat goed."

Roughly translated as "My money does good." is the slogan of Triodos bank, one of the two 'ethical' banks in the Netherlands. I often think of the things I can do for the environment as I see them - buying organic food and clothes, recycling and taking the stairs instead of the lift (not that I always do this - I live on the 10th floor!). I think that often what is done in our name that we wouldn't necessarily choose to do if given the choice, has a much larger impact on the environment than what we can make conscious decisions about. With that in mind, it is great when somebody else's ideas and actions give us the opportunity to live more sustainably.

One of these ideas is ethical banking. The concept is pretty simple - a bank that goes beyond the standard 'printed on recycled paper' green-wash, and invests only in environmentally sustainable businesses. It's something that I'm sure most of us have thought about at some time - "I print my statements double sided and on recycled paper, but what is going on behind the numbers? I mean, nuclear power plants, weapons manufacturers, and the US government must get their money from somewhere..." It really struck me when I was watching 'Green' a documentary about palm oil and forest destruction in Indonesia. At the end of the film (and on the homepage of the website) the film makers list the companies and banks responsible for the deforestation, and include every major Dutch bank (yes, including ABN Amro). The good news is that these banks let you avoid these tricky end of month realisations.

I do all my day to day banking through Triodos, and have been very impressed. While they do not officially cater for English speaking clients, they have the most helpful staff I have ever encountered following 'on hold' music, and they are all very fluent in English. They do not have branches, so all banking is carried out online, and with only a couple of Dutch words you should be able to use the website without trouble (think of it as helping you learn!). I have a savings account with them and a 'betaalrekening' (current account - lit. 'pay account') which comes with a debit card. They don't do credit cards, but it is easy to link another credit card to your account. I've used International Card Services. If you don't already have a Dutch bank account, you will need to go to Zeist (where they are based, and a lovely day trip!) with your passport - it's probably a good idea to give them a call first. If you have a Dutch account, you can use the online 'switching over' service.

ASN is the other ethical bank in the Netherlands. Until recently they only did savings accounts, but now do a normal 'bankrekening' with a debit card. You can also open an ASN account online.

Finally, if you're stuck deciding between which one of these banks really is the right one for you, this might make it easier: the Triodos debit card is more green and has trees on it while the ASN card is light blue with a jumping Orca on it.

Happy new beer!

I come from a rather warmer part of the world than Amsterdam, and so am very lucky to be able to drink a cold beer on a warm day for about 8 months of the year when I'm home. This does however leave 4 months where inevitably one switches to red wine or whisky as ones tipple of choice. With a much longer and colder Winter, the ever industrious Northern Europeans have thought of a handy solution to this. Winter and Autumn "bok" beers are quite a bit stronger and darker than their summery friends. So while you might be in the middle of a post festive season detox, there are a couple of delicious beers waiting for you despite the cold weather.

For an environmentally conscious beer, the Ij Brewery (or Brouwerij 't Ij in Dutch) is based in Amsterdam and makes a number of delicious, fully organic beers. They have a number of seasonal beers like the Ijnde Jaars (a Dutch play on "Years end") available from November to January, the Paasij - March to May, and the Ijbok - September to November. Not only are the beers organic, they are delicious. Besides the seasonal beers, for summer I would recommend the Ijwit (a wheat beer), and in Winter the Columbus (which at 9% volume, packs quite a punch - but takes the edge off the cold nicely!). As an alternative to the pilsner (or Plzen - the most "normal", lightest beer), try the Natte, a little more tasty and a year round winner.

While the beers are available in more and more places in Amsterdam, the brewery also has a bar. It is a great place for a drink, with a good sized terrace which can be quite crowded on a sunny Sunday afternoon! The bar is open every day from 15:00 until 20:00 and serves some snacks - including a cheese made from sheep's milk. In a perfect example of reusing, the sheep are fed on the malt dregs from the brewing process. The brewery and bar are located to the East of the city centre, and you can spot them from a distance as they stand directly below the highest wooden windmill in the Netherlands. You will of course find them on the Eco Amsterdam map as well (see the link in the top right of the blog).

If you're really interested in beer, you can even do a tour of the brewery on Friday's at 16:00 or by appointment. I'd recommend this over the mass produced "Heineken Experience" ANY day! If your local bar doesn't stock this organic beer, they may have another, try asking for organic beer whenever you order - you may be surprised by a beer you haven't tried before, have an interesting conversation with the bartender or at the very least, show that there is a demand for beers that are brewed with the planet in mind.

Organic fast food

In South Africa we call them Slapchips (and pronounce it like you're Dutch - slupchips), but they're known as fries/frites/patat/chips/french fries/pommes/freedom fries, you get the idea. By whatever name, I love these things, and have been eating them for a while. The first I can remember came with a decidely beefy burger at the Fish Hoek Spur, and from there the memories range from proper slapchips (slap meaning limp, nothing about a food fight...), drenched in vinegar at junior school sports days, to thick chips fried in fishy oil at university to the discovery of pommes rod weiss (chips with tomato sauce (ketchup?) and mayonnaise) at the ice rink I worked at in Berlin. So having eaten them for a while, and even fried them at the ice rink, I consider myself a fan.

It was therefore with a large dollup of joy that I discovered (or was shown) a stall selling organic chips at the Nieuwmarkt. They were, to put it mildly, special. Made from fresh potatoes, sliced and fried in front of you. Unfortunately the Nieuwmarkt stall is not the topic of this blog - the stall, sellers and chips disappeared - apparently they didn't have the correct licence to sell food at the market - doh!

BUT, enter Natuurlijk Smullen, a totally organic fast food store in Bos and Lommer. Not only do they make the most kick ass chips, they also do a delicious veggie burger (omnivores fear not, they do cook meat as well). The veggie burger is really the antithesis of the modern fast food burger. Don't get me wrong, this is no poncy gourmet burger with strange lettuces and fancy rolls. It is a bog standard burger - veggie pattie, iceberg lettuce, slice of tomato, pickle, mayonnaise and tomato sauce. But every ingredient, besides being organic is fresh and natural - no shredded lettuce here. It also means it doesn't hold together like the frisbees they sell at Macci D's (which I think are used as polo balls in some countries) - get it in both hands and after the first bite it'll begin to break apart into its constituent parts. This, for me, is ideal - my eating pleasure is normally equal to the mess I make during the meal. And believe me, there is a lot of eating pleasure to be had here.

You can find Natuurlijk Smullen on the Jan van Galenstraat at number 78 (it's also on the Eco Amsterdam map - top right of this blog), interestingly across the road from the Alber Heijn that sells the most organic food in Amsterdam - they (a mother and daughter team) have clearly done their homework. The only down side to the store is the décor, I'm not quite sure what look they were going for, but they haven't got there yet. If it bothers you though, you can of course get the food "to go", and the Erasmus Park is just down the road. Being awesome, they are very okay with you bringing your own container for the food - nice.

Important to note is their Wednesday special of paying for two portions of chips and getting 3. I am setting myself the task of seeing if it is actually possible to eat three portions by myself - I'll report back in the comments of this blog.

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Posted by Glen Tyler

Free ping pong!

To immediately veer away from the enormously consumerist nature of the first post, I thought I'd talk about something free. Table Tennis was a sport thought up by Victorian English people who were apparently bored a lot of the time. Every now and again in Victorian England, it would do something very unexpected, rain. Now when you are wearing about 10 kilogrammes of cotton and woollen clothing, wet is not something you want to be. This of course means lawn bowls, croquet and tennis are off, as well as the cucumber sandwiches and tea under the tree.

While it was raining, the Victorians looked around for something else to amuse themselves with. And when you can't play tennis outside, hell, play it inside. And thus the birth of table tennis. Originally played with a pile of books as a net and a champagne cork or ball of string and a couple of cigar box lids, table tennis has come a long way. Not only is it now an Olympic sport, it is played widely throughout Amsterdam. You can of course play it in a sports hall (or even with a whole lot of other people in Overtoom 301 on Tuesday evenings from 9pm onwards - recommended!), but I think the best way to play it is in a park on a sunny afternoon. Preferably with a sneaky beer in hand.

The two European cities I have lived in - Berlin and Amsterdam - both have many of these concrete outdoor tables. I think the best ones in Amsterdam are in Saraphati Park, but I would of course love to be corrected! They can get quite busy on a Saturday afternoon, as there is a hard-core of older gentlemen who play there, but they are very friendly, and very good. They'll happily give you a game, and probably a lesson! On top of the table and net, you'll also need a ball and paddles (unless you happen to roll with a handy stash of champagne and cigars...). Paddles and balls can be bought at any Intertoys store - click "Toon meer filialen" to see more Amsterdam store locations. I've added three table tennis locations to the Eco Amsterdam google map: Saraphati Park, one close to the Albert Cuypstraat and a third in Rembrandt Park. The last location brings me to what I hope is self-evident by this point - if anybody ever names a park after me, it BETTER have table tennis tables in!

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Posted by Glen Tyler

Late night organic shopping

I love eating organic food, not just because I think it's healthier, but more because I think it gives the environment a better deal. I would love to grow my own organic veggies, but the housing situation being what it is in Amsterdam, I have struggled to find a place to grow and I don't know of any Dutch equivalent to the allotment system.

Ultimately this means I am restricted to buying my food from shops. I'm definitely not a fan of all the plastic packaging that "normal" grocery stores like Albert Heijn inevitably sell their organic food in, and I just feel more at home in a shop that sells predominately organic food. This takes me to shops like Organic Food For You and the Natuurwinkel as well as many smaller independently run shops. The problem I find with most of them is that they close really early - 7pm at the latest. This is fine for planned shopping, but what about picking up some organic beers and snacks on your way to a party or summer evening picnic (I realise mentioning this as winter creeps in is a bit cruel!)?

There are two shops I've found that stay open a bit later than most, and are also open on Sundays - bonus! The first is the Organic Food For You store at 129 Vijzelstraat which is open to 9pm, seven days a week. The second is the Biomarkt which is behind the Rijksmuseum at 133 - 137 Weteringschans (this is the road the trams run along on the Central Station side of the Museum's Plein) which is open until 8pm everyday, except Sunday when it closes at 7pm.

I've added both of these shops to the Eco Amsterdam map which you can access via the link at the top right of the blog.

I'd also like to put out a quick Whoop Whoop as this is the first Eco Amsterdam blog post! Expect loads more eco awesomeness :-)

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Posted by Glen Tyler, organic maniac