WijnSpijs

I cannot think of a better way to spend a drizzling Sunday afternoon than taking a culinary walk with friends.
The organizers of WijnSpijs had the brilliant idea to line up 7 great restaurants, cafés and bars to spoil 400 guests between 12.00 to 17.00 with their best wine paired with a small dish. Et voilà: the first culinaire wandeling — Pijp edition was born!
So you call up your friends, check who’s in, choose the order in which you want to visit the different places and buy your tickets (don’t underestimate this last step, the event was sold out quite quickly). There’s no guide that’s gonna take you by the hand and lead you from one spot to the other. Also the time management is totally up to you.
We didn’t spend so much time in the first two places since we had to find our own schedule. The downside of the concept is that it might feel quite ongezellig having to leave when you’re just about to getting cozy. But every new visit is exciting. You don’t know what wine and what dish you’re gonna get beforehand, so you get a lot of surprises.
Most places were able to serve the wine and food in a decent time. Unfortunately we had a half an hour wait at the bar of Boca’s. We didn’t even get a table. Another group of 5 guests who arrived after us however did and even got their food before us. We really had to earn these hamburgers.
Also Bar Americano as our last stop was rather disappointing. What they called risotto was just not. It was a rice dish with white asparagus. And it looked funny after the waitress gave it a final touch by generously grating pecorino cheese over the plates and table cloth.
All the other places convinced me with their delicious dishes and I also enjoyed most of the wines. The one they served at Bar Barrique was everyone’s favourite: Cuvée Licorne by Domaine des Aspras. These winemakers go the extra mile to give it a hint of cognac.
So do I have to be hard-​drinking to attend this tour?, I hear you asking. It’s definitely an advantage. Although the wines are paired with food you might get a little tipsy towards the end.