de Quay

Quay to Go

Little Dutch. Little Indonesian. Lot of Gin.

By UrbanDaddy Staff ·
None 6 Photos de Quay
“Let’s go Dutch.”

Less romantic words have rarely been spoken. Especially on Cinco de Mayo.

Unless... oh. You mean de Quay, that dark little Dutch-and-Indonesian dining room in Lincoln Park that’s now open for your date-night-ing pleasure. (Slideshow’s here. Menu’s here.)

First, the food. Yes, it’s Dutch. And yes, it’s also Indonesian. Surely you remember that historic trading partnership. Well, those two crazy countries are still at it.

So this chef David de Quay—who spent his childhood summers in Amsterdam cooking with his grandmother—has harnessed these two great culinary traditions to bring you Oolong Amsterdam Frites with herb mayo and spicy peanut dipping sauce. Other things, too.

But what you’re mostly getting: a cozy, grown-up neighborhood place to get to know someone better over good gin. Start the conversation with an Amsterdam Sling. It’s made with genever, the native drink of Holland. See where it leads. If it’s to Belgian beer and flights of riesling, you’re doing just fine.

The rest of your night will involve trying to pronounce silly words like “rookworst” and “stroopwafel,” the latter being a traditional waffle wafer served with ice cream.

But only if you pronounce it correctly.

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