The gourmet's guide to Europe

All the hotels and the Kurhaus at the Dutch Brighton are controlled by one syndicate. The restaurants of the hotels differ somewhat in the quality of their cookery ; and a Dutch friend tells me that when he is at Scheveningen he dines at the restaurant of the Palace Hotel or that of the Kurhaus for choice, and he has a good word to say for the cookery at the Hotel d’Orange. I have eaten a simple but well-cooked meal at the Cafe de la Plage, which is below the Kurhaus Terrace, and which at all hours of the day and evening is full, during the season, of merry company of all classes. The principal club at Scheveningen has rooms at the Hotel d’Orange ; and there is a small but merry 172 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe club, the Deli, at which baccarat is played for low points. The golf course of nine holes is on the dunes. There is a club-house and links for ladies. When the season is at its height there are concerts at the Kurhaus, and a French company generally plays in the theatre. A circus and a variety theatre are also to be found in full swing. The Kurhaus Bar and cafes are the refuges for those who look on the small hours as reasonable bed-time. Amsterdam The Restaurant Riche is managed by a Frenchman, and the cuisine is French. It is necessary to order Cafe Riche, dinner in advance, and it is well to be 81 Rokin particular. Under these circumstances an excellent dinner is obtainable. There is a cellar of good wine, the burgundies being especially to be recommended. The Restaurant van Laar, in the Kalverstraat, Van Laar, 3 has a celebrity for its fish dinners, Kalverstraat and excellent oyster suppers are to be had there. The Amstel Room in the Hotel de 1 ’Europe is Amstei Room, well spoken of, and there are scores 2 Doelenstraat Gf cheap restaurants where the food is above the average of such places. In summer the large theatres close and the smaller houses are the only indoor places of amusement, for the larger variety theatres also close their doors. Holland 173 There are concerts in the Zoological Gardens, but on what nights it is well to inquire, for the days vary according to the season of the year. In summer a band plays on Friday evenings in the Voridel Park. Rotterdam The Stroomberg is the restaurant at Rotterdam for which people who know the town stroomberg, 2 have a word of praise, and the restau- Westniewland rant on the first floor of the Hotel Hotel Coomans, Coomans is much frequented by the 12 Hoofdsteeg Dutch themselves. From the Cafe-Restaurant Fritschy on the Noordereiland, the big island in mid-stream, Fritschy, a very fine view of the town is Noordereiland obtainable. The two principal theatres of Rotterdam are not open every night of the week, but on an average three evenings. There are three variety theatres, and the performances at these are generally good. There are concerts in summer on Tuesday and Friday evenings at the Zoological Gardens, and at the Officers’ Club in the Park there are concerts on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. For these lastmentioned concerts it is necessary to obtain tickets of admission to the enclosure. GERMAN TOWNS The Cookery of the Country — The Rathskeller — Beer Cellars — Dresden — Munich — Nuremberg — Frankfort-on -Main — Diisseldorf — The Rhine Valley — Homburg — Wiesbaden — Baden- Baden — Ems — Aachen' — Hamburg — Kiel.