I have no trouble spending a cozy evening for hours with friends in a comfy outfit, hair in a bun, not too much makeup in a café around the corner. This time, a leather pants, silver top, high heels, lots of mascara, and hairspray were involved. Girls night out it was.
Amayzine redacteur Liesbeth Rasker, Sophia Tienstra, eigenaar beautyandthe.com and 101 Media Strategies and I had planned a cocktail evening. On the agenda was MOMO on Hobbemastraat and Izakaya (not open for long) on Albert Cuypstraat. At MOMO, we sat very comfortably by the window on low benches, enjoying the sight of everyone cycling by in the pouring rain. Our lovely waitress, with a ponytail that we were all terribly jealous of (and her hair was completely real, I asked), kept a close eye on us. ‘Another drink? And a bite? A bit of water?’ We were never without.
The bites were each beautiful to see and also terribly delicious. We ate raw tuna, sushi with asparagus and avocado, soft shell crab, crispy prawns, and oysters (between €12 and €24). Our table was therefore cozily full. Sophia has an allergy to carrots, lemon, and cow's milk. And you will be surprised; these three ‘culprits’ are in many dishes or drinks. But the service was very nice and took perfect account of it.
Liesbeth sipped on a Lychee martini. Sophia was addicted to the Tokyo Rose cocktail with gin, fresh raspberries, apple juice, elderflower, and rose syrup. And I ordered a Bellini (the favorite drink of Sylvie and me). There was a cozy busy atmosphere, many couples at the bar or business meetings. I really had a New York-ish feeling. And I love that.
Izakaya was waiting for us, so we wobbled onto our bikes for a spot at the bar. And that was absolutely not unpleasant, because we immediately had a bartender crush. Now let's hope Danny reads this. We didn't get a menu (they do have one), but we could indicate our preference for sweet or sour (and Sophia naturally pointed out her little handicap again. Danny didn't mind). I find sitting at the bar incredibly cozy. Especially to see how the bartender prepares your cocktail, but you also have such a nice overzicht view of the place. It wasn't very busy for a Sunday evening. But well, we then did get full attention.
Liesbeth has really never had such a delicious cocktail. She thought it was just like ice cream. Sophia got a Pornstar à la Danny. You know, with passion fruit and prosecco, but then different. I had something with gin, lemon, basil, and whatever. So dangerous, because it was just like lemonade, but godforsaken incredibly delicious. And what a beautiful restaurant. As if I was back in New York, open kitchen, nice ambient light, beautiful and friendly service.
We also shared our good intentions. And for me, that was to plan these kinds of evenings very often. Okay, okay, besides exercising and saving, of course. Because these are incredibly nice evenings, but a small wallet needs to come along.
