Now there are some good sides to being an I.T Widow.  Only a few mind.  The long periods of neglect can be tough, even for a hardened old cow like myself :)  but despite being neglected for weeks whilst The Buik does his computer stuff in Finland or some other far flung country, there are times when you get rewarded for these hardships.
And that brings me nicely onto my next gluttonous meal. 
Blondie and The Buik were to entertain some of his colleagues from the U.S.  It's always a tough one eating out in Amsterdam with his colleagues.  For one, you have to make sure the food is up to scratch and the service is spot on.  Amsterdam is our home city and we should be embassadors to it.  So every time we have to eat out with them, we avoid anywhere that is 'gezellig', smokey, has bad service or bad food. 
And this is where Restaurant Sogno comes in.  We've been eating here for at least 5 years, both privately and with his colleagues.  It used to be called 'Bice' and is housed in the NH Hotel near Leidesplein.   Now there have been times when we've eaten with friends there - and the food has been 'patchy'.  But the times we've eaten there with his colleagues, have been utterly fabulous (that is probably because I, for once, dont get to see the horrendous bill)
One of the perks of being The Buik's wife, is that as he is Italian.  So it goes without saying that you'll always get a good table in an Italian restaurant :)  The Italians always treat their own very well :)
We started off with a very good Prosecco, not the cheap and nasty acidic kind, this could have rivled a good champagne.  We, or should I say I, then tucked into the bread basket whilst I pondered what would be adding inches to my thighs later on that night.
I could bore you all to death which each individual dish we ate.  I wont :)  The highlights were the following.  Trofiette pasta with a ragu made of duck and thyme.  Tagliatelle with Italian sausage and wild mushroom.  Potato soup with pecorino cheese and sage and tart made of some sort of cheese wrapped in parma ham with salad and a gorgonzola sauce.  Oh my god.  There arent enough superlatives to describe how utterly fabulous all those things were.  You simply have to try them before you die.  Especially the pasta dishes.  Divine, rich, beautifully cooked.  Everything that a good pasta should be.  Dessert came in the form of a hot chocolate pudding with a pistachio ice cream. GROAN.  Seriously.  I think this dessert is better than sex.  Now I am not sure how this reflects on the Buik's prowess, but that pudding is seriously fabulous.  I've had it every time I've eaten there and it's always been perfect.  Cooked on the outside and a gooey, runny river of chocolate goo in the middle.  GROAN GROAN GROAN. 
We finished it all off with home made Scroppino's (Prosecco, vodka and lemon sorbet) - the best in Amsterdam (I'm the official Scroppino and mojito tester so I know these things).  The boys had a very good Merlot grappa (they do a fabulous range of Poli Grappas) and we all waddled home very, very satisifed.  I forgot the wine.  How remiss of me.  We drank Salice Salentino, a red wine from Puglia which came in at under 30 Euros a bottle.  Very reasonable.  Well it would have been if we had just stuck to the 1 bottle (I stopped counting when the 3rd bottle was finished)

If you are ever in Amsterdam and want a fabulous Italian meal - the sort of meal you would eat on a special occasion, then this is the place to come.  Although I feel it my duty to warn you that the bill soon mounts up if you take 3 courses and wine/Scroppino/coffees.  Still, if you are not feeling the credit crunch, it's perfect.