Too bad. Saint Happiness would nicely complement Santo Bevitore.
Final meal in Rome, Trattoria Santo Palato. (With lingering travel disruptions from the internet outage we thought me might have to extend our stay and return to Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina.) Started with pomodoro âconditoâ (ripe tomatoes with salt, pepper, herbs and lemon zest), carpaccio of zucchini simply dressed with salt/pepper and olive oil, and oxtail polpette. All three were outstanding. We think we could recreate the pomodoro and zucchini, but certainly not the oxtail. Next up the spaghettone allâAmatriciana, also famous. Rich, umami laden and worth the trip by itself. Then calves liver and pork neck, both in rich reductions. Finally a pavlova with creamy goat milk cheese and cherries. A bit out of the way for us, but worth the taxi ride. (Perhaps one of the few meals we had without a cured ham?).
In general Iâve not been a huge fan of Rome, but this trip felt different - pleasant accommodations and having Spring Onion and Significant Other along certainly helped. Spring Onionâs dining choices were a big factor. Would be fun to come in April or October when the temperature is more moderate and tourists less plentiful.
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100 percent. Or even January, when hotel prices are down and thereâs a refreshing chill in the air.
And now I want all the pasta dishes you enjoyed with your family.
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Did you see the recent NY Times article about the best pasta dishes in Italy? We managed to sample three off the list.
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Impressed! Now Iâm off to read that NYT article about best pasta dishes in Italy (gift link below for anyone else whoâs curious too).
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Fair to say I drank in the entire experience and will continue to savor it for a long time.
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Update - return trip to Amsterdam, November 2025. We had such a blast celebrating my birthday last year at the Taylor Swift concert in Amsterdam that my Significant Other (SO_1) and Spring Onion (SO_2, jointly= SO^2) decided it was worth a reprise, this time Lady Gaga in Amsterdam. The lady puts on a SHOW.
We hit some old favorites (Helmelse Modder, Rijks, Lavinia) but added two new discoveries. De Kas is a vegatable-forward restaurant (not vegetarian) in a greenhouse in a park in southwest Amsterdam. They offer a 3, 4, or 5-course lunch menu, and you donât need to make a decision until after the third course. The last two are deserts; they also have a decadent-looking cheese cart, but we were too sated to venture there this visit. There were some optional âsnacksâ - we started with oysters and dish of grilled langoustine. There were also several rounds of amuse, so the first âcourseâ was our fifth plate. Bread service was excellent, a house-baked sourdough served with mushroom butter. Lots of the ingredients, including mushrooms, are grown in their greenhouse. The fall menu was game-oriented (pheasant, rabbit), and portions appropriately modest (meat as a condimentâŚ). We were warned to check for buckshot, so the pheasant werenât farmed. A beautiful, spacious room, SO_1 and I visited the afternoon before SO_2 arrived (from Venice where she is studying this semester). We tried to make a return visit to take SO_2 but sadly no openings. Very reasonable $$ for a Michelin star.
The other new discovery was De Plantage, adjacent to the zoo (ARTIS) and near the botanical garden. We made a rez here for convenience on the day we visited the zoo, but it was such a great experience we would make a special trip. The room is high-ceiling, almost the feel of a greenhouse, overlooking ARTIS. To start SO_1 and I shared (SO_2 had to return to class) a lovely potato/leek soup, served with chive, homemade croutons and a small pool of vegan cream laced with mustard. Beautiful and as delicious as it looked. Also to start a pork terrine served with cornichon and pickled onions, very savory. For mains we shared two tartines, âsalted meatâ with sauerkraut and cheese (reminscient of an open-faced Reuben) and smoked salmon with horseradish cream, beets, and a dollop of Dutch caviar. Both came with a small side salad of tender greens and bitter herbs. To finish, we shared the âHemelse Modderâ - heavenly mud, the term used to describe chocolate mousse (and coincidently the name of one our other favorite Amsterdam restaurants). Just a delightful lunch.
I wonder if SO^2 can come up with another Amsterdam concert for my birthday next year? We have two new places to take SO_2.
A footnote: our go-to hotel, the DoubleTree Centraal Station, remains one of the best places to stay in terms of location - itâs a great base for vitrually any trip around Amsterdam or the rest of Holland. However it does seem to be declining in some respects - the breakfast is a sad reflection of its former self, very little in the way of fresh fruit or vegetables, the prosciutto and smoked salmon are gone, bland pastries. And for several days breakfast was served in the upstairs bar due to a large group taking over the main dining room. The bar has one coffee machine for about 60 tables. During peak hours there was a ten minute wait in line for coffee. We utilized the hotel breakfast only for convenience on days we had time constraints - other days we enjoyed much more pleasant breakfasts at the Rijksmuseum cafe and at Lavinia.
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Such a beautiful place. So glad you got to enjoy!
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Youâve been? Itâs in a nice district we hadnât been to before.
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Yes, but itâs been years. I thought maybe we talked about De Kas briefly at the HO meetup? But then, I think a lot of things. Perhaps too many. 
Very memorable place.
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I donât even wanna know what you wore to this concert. 
In all seriousness, you might be the coolest dad ever. I can see why SO2 likes taking you (and SO1) to concerts.
Did you get the beet millefeuille again? Your and SO1's effusive reviews of that dish had me thinking about it long after our get-together.
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I need to know. Câmon, donât you need to know too? Question is if the answer will be revealed. 
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All black and big boots. Didnât feel like a sneaker sort of event.
People werenât so engaged with dressing up for Lady Gaga as they were for Taylor Swift. There were some interesting costumes though - one person had yellow caution tape wrapped around their head. Swift and Gaga both have deep connections with their fans, but Gagaâs connection seems more visceral and moving. Preconcert they posted comments (harvested in real time via a web site, and Gaga commented from backstage on some of them) on the giant screen. So many were from LBGTQ people who shared a common sentiment- Gaga saved their lives. Very moving. Born This Way is a powerful anthem.
King and Queen of The Netherlands were at the concert, but we didnât rub elbows with them 
. Leaving the Ziggo dome was another amazing experience + just walked out and boarded a metro, no lines. Imagine leaving TD Garden that way.
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Yes to the beet. Seriously, if youâve never had it, book a cheap flight to AMS and see if you can get a seat at the bar to order just that one dish. Weâve had it 4 times now (twice one trip) and it was amazing each time. You can order it a la carte so you donât need to buy in for the whole tasting menu.
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PS - SO_2 was decked out in vintage designer slacks, black with stenciled outlines of a castle and VERY tall platform shoes - Gaga would have approved.
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We also returned (multiple times) to our favorite cheese shop in the 9 Streets, De Kaaskamer. For a respite from tasting menus one day we had a picnic in our hotel room. A couple of Dutch cheeses and a luscious Belgian Le Herve du Vieux Moulin (the small cube in the center). A quick search on the web reveals Formaggio Kitchen carries it. Rounded the picnic out with some jamon Iberico and a house-made pork terrine.
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Drooling over here.
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