Cafe Verlan Appetizers

mignonette

condiment made from minched shallots, cracked black pepper, and vinegar. tangy, acidic, slightly peppery.

Yerseke oysters

Yerseke is the oyster capital of the Netherlands (also known for its mussels)

Oyster no. 4 from Yerseke

Can be served with mignoette (4.5 euros) or with champagne buerre blanc (5.5 euros)

champagne beurre blanc

lit. “white butter,” a classic French emulsified sauce. It’s made by reducing champagne with shallots until it creates a syrup. Then, it’s whisked over low heat with cold butter to create a rich, velvety sauce. Often paired with seafood, fish, or poached poultry.

Sourdough bread

6 euros. From Stadsbakkerij As, which is a bakery in Amsterdam Oost. It’s traditional sourdought bread—so just sourdough starter, water, and salt. Served with yeasted butter, which gives it a sort of nutty, roasted flavor.

Oeuf mayonaise

7 euros. Classic French bistro dich. Hard-poiled eggs, cut in half and topped with a mustardy mayonnaise. Served with smoked eel.

Mushroom parfait

9 euros. A smooth, savory vegetarian spread, made of mushrooms. Umami taste. Sort of like a paté. Served with a brioche, and cornichon.

Chicken & waffle

14 euros. Served with caviar, maple syrup, and hot sauce.

Charcuterie

14 euros. Includes ham ibérico, chorizo, and salchicon.

Íberico

It’s a premium, air-cured ham from black Iberian pigs. It has a rich, nutty flavor, and melts in your mouth. It has very intense mat, and will often be called “four-leged olive oil.” It’s aged for 15 or more months, and served raw and thin.

chorizo

A pork sausage from the Iberian Peninsula, with a deep red color and a garlic/pepper flavor. It gets its color from pimentón, which is smoked paprika. It’s quite savory and smoky, and can be sweet or hot.

Salchichón

Another dry-cured sausage, made from lean pork and fat, seasoned with black-pepper, garlic, and nutmeg. It has a firm texture, and a mild, savory flavor from peppercorns. Unlike chorizo, it doesn’t use paprika.

Blini

10 euros. Russian yeast-leavened pancakes. They have a spongy texture, and are slightly tangy. Served with crème fraiche, and fish eggs.

Cheese beignet

10 euros. Served with parmesan mayonnaise, and pecorino. Savory fried French pastry puffs, blended with grated cheese.

Chicken liver parfait

13 euros. Served with brioche and apricot mustard. The parfait blends chicken livers, fried onions or shallots, garlic, herbs (thyme), butter, and cream. It has a silky texture. May have a layer of clarified butter or jelly.

Langoustine toast

14 euros. Seafood dish with sweet langoustine tails, boudin noir, and Piment d’ Espelette.

Langoustine

Also known as scampi, Norway lobsters, or Dublin Bay prawns. They’re small, and orange. They have a sweet, tender, white meat. Common in the North Atlantic.

Boudin Noir

Traditional French blood sausage. Made from pig’s blood, fat, onions, and seasonings like thyme, parsley, and nutmeg. It has a smooth, creamy, sort of earthy consistency.

Piment d’Espelette

A red chili pepper from French basque country. It’s very mildly spicy—a bit less than cayenne. It has a sweet, smoky, fruity flavor.