Fake Italian

I moved to Zeedijk more than a year ago, and for all that time, I've avoided stepping into the fake-looking Italian Pizzeria, because it did not look Italian and looked really fake.

Well, today I stepped in for dinner. Just for a change, I thought. The tables were decorated with plastic flowers, which only served to re-enforce my original impression, but when the menu came—what a surprise! I was 100% right: this was a fake Italian restaurant. In fact, it is a Turkish restaurant, but they found that the Dutch just wouldn't buy Turkish food, so they started selling pizza instead. Authentic Turkish food does survive on the menu (yes, they have shish kebab) and needless to say, I ignored the fake-Italian stuff (which looked really bad) and ordered the Turkish food instead. Despite the picture of a gondolier on the front window, the music inside was Turkish.

It is always nice to have one's expectations exceeded, and I do regret not coming in any sooner. The food is excellent, and a welcome break from kroketten, frikandel and peanut curry.