Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I am going to Amsterdam and Paris soon.
I have checked out Happy Cow and some previous threads here and have some ideas of places I want to check out. But I also would like suggestions from you guys.
What are your top choices for must go-to places?

thanks

I would say forget Amsterdam and head west to Rotterdam or Den Haag for awesome vegan eats. Amsterdam is kind of a disappointment for pure veg places. (But they have my favorite Ethiopian place even, called Adis Ababa, which is on the Overtoom. The dude who co-owns it is vegan, and he gets really excited whenever vegans go there to eat.)

Noooooooooooooo!!!!

I had just written a whole long post with suggestions, and safari ate it when I switched tabs. I'll try to recreate it.

I agree with lutin that Rotterdam and DH are better for vegan eats, but if you want to stay in Amsterdam, you won't starve. For warm meals, Golden Temple and De Bolhoed are ok. Nothing too exciting but they do know what vegan is and won't slip butter or cheese into it by accident. Terrazen is the only 100% vegan place in town, but the service is slow, the food is "meh", and I've only once gotten what I actually ordered there.

There are some decent non-veg options where you can still get a good meal. Lutin will disagree with me on this one, but Wagamama is fresh, fast, and flavorful, the service is great, they have a few vegan options and they're really transparent about their ingredients. They'll even give you a list of which items are appropriate for vegans and are happy to sub things like non-egg noodles for egg-noodles. Plus they have a vegan dessert (the coconut reita). And there are two locations right in the center of town (near Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein).

Also centrally located are Lunchroom Lef on the Wijde Heisteeg where you can get a hummus and grilled-veg sandwich or an avacado cream (dairy free last I asked) sandwich and a massive glass of juice. There's Sushi in the Taksteeg that has a number of veg options and where they don't slip hidden mayo into your cucumber or avacado roll like some other places in town. The people there are really nice and will even sub out egg if you ask. (I always get the veggie California roll without egg and they sub in pickled radish for me.) There are also a number of Maoz falafels around town, including the original one at the Muntplein.

A bit further afield are two locations of Cigkoftem, one of which is quite close to the Albert Cuypmarket if you're in the area. And my family's go to place where omnis, vegans, and picky 7 y.o. nephews can all eat happily is a Lebanese place on the Kinkerstraat called Beyrouth. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but they have a bunch of vegetarian (by default, vegan) options, including really yummy mezze. (Although, don't get the pre-planned mezze combo because they'll include dairy dishes. Choose a la carte.)

Oh, and the BioMarkt on the Weterinschans is definitely worth a visit for Cheesly, Sheeze, No-muh cheese, Wheaty and Redwood products!

And one of the grachts (Keizersgracht?) has a Soup n Zo (6-7 rotating daily soups, of which 4 are usually well-labeled as being vegan) right next to a kick asparagus chocolate shop. Regardless of what they say, their truffels are not actually vegan, but if you like dark chocolate bars, it's a good place to be.

Paris must-eats:

Gentle Gourmet. for a meal, but also especially for vegan chocolate croissants, flan, and other pastries. also, vegan crepes.
Un Monde Vegan. the vegan store. to buy Vegusto and Cheezly and snacks.
L'As du Falafel. to eat the falafel special. this is not optional!
Krishna Bhavan. for dosas and huge meals of inexpensive, delicious Indian food.
Restaurant Ethiopia. for the vegetarian combo.
Maison Kayser. for baguette and apricot bread.

there are a lot more, but these are my must-eats.

In Amsterdam, I really like De Boelhoed.

Betty's (in Amsterdam) is one of the best Amsterdam meals I've had, but you pay for the pleasure. worth it? yeaaaah if you have the budget! you should call ahead a day or two and mention that you're vegan though

or if budget is your thing, and you're in town on a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, go to MKZ. € 5,- for three courses of dining! it's not fancy, but it's fun. you also need to call ahead (I think by ~4pm on the day you'll be going)

and lutin mentioned it, but Soup en Zo is one of my favourite lunch-ish spots in Amsterdam. or if you happen by and Indonesian joint, tempeh sandwiches are great. my favourite is near(ish) to Amsterdam Zuid station at Gelderlandplein..but the odds of you ending up there are slim :P

OR now that I think of it, http://www.thai-bird.nl/ is near(ish) the centre of town and has some pretty forking killer Thai food at a decent price. as usual with Thai, specify no fish sauce to be safe, but otherwise pick from the vegetarian menu and have fun!

Sounds like I have some really great options. Can't wait to eat my way through these two cities.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions.