Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport Shy on Vegan Choices

Juicy Details Jetlag Fighter

If you’re a vegan traveling through Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, don’t plan on finding a lot to eat. At least in the two terminals cruised by Vegan Voyager (VV) while making an international connection in November, pickings were slim.

After arriving on a jam-packed eight-hour KLM sardine tin from Texas, during which a flight attendant informed Vegan Voyager (VV) that her pre-ordered vegan meal had for unexplained reasons not made it aboard, and after inhaling every last crumb of the snacks she had brought along, VV entered Schiphol in less than the best of moods.

Foolishly, she passed up a restaurant in the arrival area offering a small buffet with items like a zucchini-egglplant dish, a pepper medley, and roasted potatoes. 

The buffet that got away

This error on the part of VV might be attributable to distraction by nearby oddities such as a shiny grand piano available for passenger noodling, weirdly-shaped benches and chairs arranged around fake hearths with fake flames (think Dr. Seuss), an aqua massage machine where you climb into a big plastic bag so that you can stay dry while water jets out at you rather fiercely from a surrounding coffin-like metal tube, and strangest of all, a booth where you stick your feet into an aquarium full of guppy-sized fish who supposedly smooth your skin while nibbling off dead cells. (More on that phenomenon in a future post.)

A snooze with Dr. Seuss

In any case, all of the aforementioned were to be found before the security checkpoint. After the checkpoint, pretty much nada.

Except… While wandering through the surprisingly vegan un-friendly desert that happens to be one of the world’s most heavily trafficked airports, passing acres of shops that hawk dreadfully un-vegan wares like gourmet cheeses, herring, and foie gras, and of course all things tulip, becoming weaker and more grumpily anti-Amsterdam by the second… VV finally discovered… Eureka!  Oasis! A juice bar by the clever name of Juicy Details.

The Juicy Details oasis

OK, so it was just juice.  But it was really good juice.  VV chose an item called Jetlag Fighter, hold the frozen yogurt please, and could you add extra muesli (granola)? 

Requests honored, mouth delighted by the velvety blend of orange, strawberry, and banana peppered by bits of crunchy muesli, and anti-Amsterdam grudges rapidly melting away, VV ordered a second.

Much-welcome vegan choices

At five and a half Euros a pop (about U.S. $7.25), this wasn’t the cheapest breakfast ever, but it lived completely up to its name. Jet lag shrugged off, VV felt peppy and fortified, ready for the onward journey to Athens.

Dank je wel—a big thank-you to Juicy Details.

As for Schipol Airport management, here’s hoping you’ll encourage your concessionaires to add vegan options to their menus.

VV can’t be the only traveler who won’t partake of smoked salmon or little wooden Dutch shoes stuffed with cheese.

How about maybe a falafel stand?  Veggie burgers?  A pasta and salad bar?  All Schiphol's terminals are bound to have room for those if they’ve got room for the tanks of foot-nibbling fish.

Traveler's tootsies getting the nibbles

All text and photos by A Vegan Voyager - Copyright 2011