Rijstaffel

Posted by baboo, March 9, 2007 at 9:06 PM

One of my most glorious meals ever, ever was the feast I had in Amsterdam in the '80s. I invited a woman from my hotel to join me. The fabulous rijstaffel turned out to be so much more than dinner. Even the acquaintance who joined me, this pleasant woman from my hotel with whom I'd nothing in common except gender (I was a 30ish arty NY type recovering from an affair; she, a 40ish blonde Southern CA babe recovering from an eye job), evolved into a boon companion. That long narrow table, the big bowls of rice surrounded by the myriad of little bowls bearing vegetables hot and sweet, beef satay, peanuts, and more....and gales of laughter, and lovely bottles of Heineken. (I'd never much cared for beer before.)

A friend found a little Indonesian place in the Turtle Bay area (on either 2nd or 3rd Ave. in the East 40s) shortly after I returned home, but the ambience was lousy, and the food just wasn't up to snuff. Does anybody know of an Indonesian restaurant in NY? In the US?

Has anybody made rijstaffel at home?

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