Amsterdam's wide embrace: in this city dedicated to tolerance, vegetarians feel right at home - Netherlands - includes list of restaurants and resources - Traveling Fare

Vegetarian Times, July, 1997 by Catherine Trevison

On our first jet-lagged morning in Amsterdam, we staggered down a cobblestone street near Centraal Station desperate for food. We found something like it -- a chewy omelet and some Wonder-toast, indifferently cooked by a stand-offish waiter.

Six days later, armed with local advice, we found the perfect veg-friendly hash house. Barney's Break-fast Bar was literally a hash cafe, where a menu of marijuana and a shot glass full of marijuana rolling papers squatted among salt, pepper and ketchup at the center of the table. We knew we were in for a novel experience.

We were relieved to see that our fellow morning patrons, like ourselves, were looking for food, not smoke. The friendly cook fried up a perfect soysage and a fresh, peppery mountain of mushrooms, onions and tomatoes before trying to help my husband send E-mail by the restaurant computer.

For hundreds of years, this crowded, watery city has been known as a tolerant refuge for dissidents -- the religious, the sexual and even the mind-altered. That embrace also takes in vegetarians -- any guide book will tell you that non-meat eaters are "well-catered to" by Amsterdam's large army of restaurants.

But if you want more than omelets and toast, you have to know where to look. It doesn't help that traditional Dutch cuisine encompasses everything from a mashed-together version of meat and potatoes to the raw herring and chopped onion slurped at canal-side stands. Fortunately, Amsterdam rewards determined seekers with outstanding vegetarian and vegan fare. From a grand cafe with an "Out-of-Africa" elegance to a place where dinner costs less than a weekly bus pass, the variety of offerings is impressive. As a bonus, English is so widely spoken that an American can navigate without ever cracking a phrase book.

Many travelers start exploring Amsterdam at Centraal Station, the palatial nexus of street musicians, drug pushers, bicyclists and the city's incredible network of buses, trains and electric trams. Amsterdam's public transport is clean, fast and jammed with tourists because it is so easy to use. Centraal Station is also the mooring point for a half dozen glass-top boat companies that skim herds of tourists along the postcard-perfect union of canals and 17th century architecture.

A good place to savor Amsterdam's Golden Age is Oibibio, a luxurious vegetarian restaurant fronted by tall windows that gaze onto the red brick arms of the station. In the ground floor cafe, patrons stretch out with newspapers and espressos, their back against dark-carved wood. Oibibio is a progressive pillar of this free-thinking town. At the back of the building is the owner's spacious department store that emphasizes organic goods, natural and recycled products and the affiliated bookstore holds classes in Eastern philosophy.

Although Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands in 1949, these immigrants left a permanent stamp on Dutch cuisine with the famous rijsttafel (rice table). A traditional version, with a shared bowl of rice or noodles surrounded by small meat, fish and vegetable dishes, is about $30 to $40 a person. However, a small number of restaurants offer a slightly cheaper vegetarian rijsttafel for about $25 a person. Tuan Besar, just three blocks away from Oibibio near the city center, has a friendly staff willing to explain each of the eight flavorful dishes lined up on a tabletop heater, including a skewered sate of crispy tofu drenched in peanut sauce; a salad of shredded white vegetables infused with the flavors of toasted coconut and garlic; and chewy, sweet strips of barbecued tempeh.

Equally unusual, but far less pricey, are the vegetarian meals served by the city's famous legion of squatters -- young people who "create" affordable housing (which is scarce) by moving into empty buildings without the owners' permission. The city government legalizes squatting under certain conditions, as a way to prevent housing shortages and discourage land speculators from keeping buildings vacant.

Some group squats run collective businesses, such as restaurants and bars. The money goes for the house, for other squats or political groups, according to author Joe Pauker, who lists several in Get Lost: The Cool Guide to Amsterdam ( Get Lost Publishing, 1996).

Although these restaurants sound like an unlikely venue for tourists, they offer an authentic slice of Amsterdam life. Be prepared for adventure in these friendly, off-beat enclaves: The cuisine reflects the progressive attitudes of the chefs. Unfortunately, squat restaurants have a permanence problem -- Pauker says eviction is a constant threat. Of four we visited, two were shut down, and another apparently demolished to make way for new construction. But the fourth, Voku (vegan Tuesdays, vegetarian Wednesdays) was almost too successful -- by the time we got through on their reservation line, they were booked.

While Pauker updates the restaurant listings of his guide on a world wide web page, the site (http://ourworld. compuserve.com/homepages/Get_Lost_Update _Amsterdam) is often down.