Lost in the Rain in Amsterdam

We took the train from Schiphol airport to our hotel, the Doubletree Hilton which was right by the Central Station.  Pouring rain, arrived at 6pm.
We got a free drink because we are Hilton Honors members (thank you), and set out for the restaurant the waitress recommended.  Only problem, 60 minutes wait.
So we walked around aimlessly in the rain--he wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant (we were near Chinatown), I wanted to go to a local restaurant.  Finally - soaked I said, let's go here.  Glad we did. Found a local restaurant which was crowded so we sat in the back squashed next to other customers.

De Nieuwe Pilserij
Gravenstraat 10
1012 NM Amsterdam

Look at all the local food we ordered!  Did a quick Google search in the hotel on what foods to eat in Amsterdam--and found 3 of them here as appetizers!

Bitterball (fried balls of ham in a split pea like sauce), Gehakt balletjes (meatballs)

the anchovies smiled-reminds me of my childhood

little anchovies

David tries a local fish called Ton (like flounder)

here's the menu!

local split pea soup called erwtensoep

The fun thing was they turned on the big screen right by us 5 minutes before the Soccer Championship where Wales beat Belgium.  A local man sat next to us and had a coca cola.  We cheered like locals!  What a great local experience.