Ribs, glorious ribs!
Hot french fries, and coleslaw …
I had another TweetUp (meet-up with friends from Twitter) last night, meeting with pinkypie, ROtotheD, Pamcakes, and Melissa, a friend of pinkypie’s. We’d gone to Stairway to Heaven last time we all got together, and this time we went to Broadway American Steakhouse Restaurant on the Oudegracht. Our goal? Ribs. Pammy had been before and said the ribs were actually quite good, so we were hopeful. That hope was not in vain. The ribs were surprisingly good! As good as the ones G and I used to make? No, but really, how could they be. 😉 They more than satisfied my rib craving — or maybe they’ve just inflamed my craving. Either way, we’ll definitely be going back, especially once the weather is warmer and drier and we can sit on the terrace right there on the canal.
We probably could have sat outside last night. The day was sunny and surprisingly warm, getting up to 17C! It seemed like all of Utrecht was outside last night, with every restaurant and café’s outdoor seating filled to the brim with people enjoying the warmer temperatures. It really was a gezellig evening — friends enjoying each other’s company, laughter ringing out, and the glow of table candles lighting the evening in a rainbow of colors.
We did eat indoors, but it was still fun and an interesting setting. The restaurant is in one of the canal-level/below street-level spaces where the interior is filled with curved walls creating a cave-like atmosphere, without the dampness or dreariness. They had the walls painted with scenes from Old Hollywood, including a mural of Laurel and Hardy.
The pictures aren’t that great, but that’s because they were a last-minute thought as we were getting ready to leave. The rest of the evening was taken up laughing, eating, and generally have a great time. Most of us also got “doggy bags”, since the portion sizes were also American. What you see in the top picture is the ribs that I had left and brought home for my lunch today. The dinner also came with patat/frites (French fries) and we got some cole slaw to go along with it all. Even the cole slaw was excellent, although we partly attributed that to the use of Dutch mayonnaise. All in all, it was a great night with great food and great company. Can’t wait to do it all again!
A Flamingo in Utrecht 
Hey, maybe you should plan a blog-up with the readers of your blog 😉 Have walked by the American Steak House numerous times but never actually went there. The ribs in the picture look delicious… we’ll probably head to the ASH this weekend…
A blog-up! I’ll have to keep that in mind! Since the restaurant is right by Hema, I’ve seen it so often, but really didn’t expect much, but they really do a good job with the food and it’s a nice place to dine, indoors or out. A pleasant surprise!
So… ribs AAAAAAAAAAAND doggy bags? I must check this place out!
Heh. I was so relieved when they didn’t look at me weird when I asked for the rest to go. It’s definitely worth a visit!
That first photo is just beautiful! LOL I can not believe you got a doggy bag! they never give those out! loved the photos you took.
Yesterday was so fantastic! I went into our back patio area and cleaned up a ton of dead leaves from last year! lol I hate raking.
What a fun time you had!!!
You can order food to go there, so I guess doggy bags aren’t really an issue for them, since they’re used to packing up the food anyway. It was the three Americans at the table who had ribs left over and didn’t want to waste them, so we were determined to get the rest to go!
I’ll probably be raking and sweeping our terrace this week, especially is the warmer weather (and today’s sunshine) continue.
So that place is American style? I have seen it a million times over the years and wondered.
Glad you had a good time- I love eating/drinking outside on the grachts! It’s a very certain feeling, huh? MMMMMMM!
It is pretty American style. They even offer foil-wrapped baked potatoes as an option. The food really was quite good and a pretty straight version of American classics. I’d been hesitant before, but they really did a good job. Still, probably not much in the way of vegetarian options.
But yes, bring on the gracht-side dining! It really is such a special feeling.
HA..looks like many places I know here:-)(the plate of course)
But the restaurant..that’s another story! I love the interior..when my hubs BF defended his PHD in Utrecht several years ago, his party was in one of these kind of places…it was my first time there and I was in love with the architecture!
One of the great things about the restaurants here is the fact that they’re often in buildings that have so much history already. One of the pancake restaurants here in town is in one of these same buildings and used to be a money printing place.
Those ribs look so good. Is this place only in Utrecht or do they have it else were too?
They really were good. Unfortunately, I do think they’re only here in Utrecht. Not that it’s necessarily that far away!
Yummy ribs!!! I was so glad that I had the leftovers. I hate them the next day for dinner! We definitely have to go back, but first – Dim Sum!