Noordemarkt and the Great Apple Pie Debate





Saturday mornings are my favorite time of the week in Amsterdam. Noordemarkt, a few blocks away, is the weekly organic and fresh food farmers' market, and there's something different every week. By now, I have my favorite stalls - the enormous mushroom stand with varieties I have never seen before, the cheese vendor where customers can buy from the front and back, the seemingly endless array at the herb stand, the bakery with multiple varieties of spelt bread, and the florist who offers advice on prolonging the lives of her flowers, which she treats like children she is sending out for adoption. Of course, there's also the fresh pasta stand with artichoke ravioli and the shop where everything is made with fresh raspberries. Around the corner is a more typical market for vegetables and fruit as well as housewares. I am laden with the week's bounty when I head home.

But no stop at the market would be complete without Dutch apple pie for breakfast. Most Dutch people swear that Winkel 43, which faces out on the market, has the best pie in town. Long lines snake around the corner from the cafe. I prefer Cafe Papeneiland a block away. See the top pie, which is from Papeneiland - how it has more apples and less crust than the bottom pie, which is from Winkel 43, though both are buttery! Papeneiland also offers higher mounds of whipped cream if you want it and you can imbibe spiced gluhwein later in the day. But you'll have to come to Amsterdam to find out for yourself . . . .


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