A Sorry Food Culture

Put simply Holland doesn't have a food culture. Sure people eat, abundantly even. But when people's idea of a decent lunch is a cold piece of bread and a cut of meat and a slice of cheese, then you don't have a food culture. Not a rich one at least. People don't go out for lunch. People hardly go out for dinner.

Sure, Holland has its signature dishes, like boerenkool met worst, or erwtensoep. And there are plenty of restaurants and cafe's where you can eat. But all too often it's a French restaurant, or an Italian, or a Chinese... or McDonald's. All the real Dutch stuff is made at home. Not much more needed, but it doesn't fuel the appetite either.

And if you do go out to dinner in the Netherlands, it will cost you. Actually many other countries' upscale establishments are more expensive than anything the Low Countries can offer (try Tokyo), but you're not getting anything extraordinary for your Euro. Comparatively you can eat a better dinner for less money if you are not in the Netherlands.

Not that the Dutch need a food culture obviously. I mean, they're tall enough.