Mama Mojo — Restaurant in Haarlem

Bib Gourmand! Best meal at the best price in my 10 day Holland trip was at Mama Mojo's!

Sandwiches to lust after with a comforting vibe. I could eat here every day (yes, I went back daily after discovering this gem in Haarlem). The stewed beef sandwich brought me back to grandma's cooking; She fed hungry lumberjacks in Canada who demanded fresh and flavorful food. (Hungry lumberjacks are scary)

Capping off the experience was a flight of pickled (preserved) creations made with local ingredients and a mix of subtle and surprising (wow) tang. I arrived after the lunch rush on my last day and the chef had time to describe each item and chat with me. As suspected, she has a wealth of top tier training and experience. This unexpected mini food tour was an experience I'll never forget.

It's a small cafe with little tables and locals talking jovially. Not a place for loud, demanding people. Be kind, enjoy, and soak up the experience. Worth going out of your way for! (And you can grab jars of pickled goodies to take home)

*Bib Gourmand is a Michelin Guide award recognizing outstanding food for a moderate price. If I could, I would make this award official...

First, the bread pudding (today with pear) is absolutely outstanding. If that was all I'd had this'd be a solid five-star review. But, well, I had other things. I had the pickle flight and the prawn mousse sandwich. The flight was mostly delicious and clearly explained, and I liked most of them. The sandwich....was disappointing. The problem was the bread, the main part of my meal. It reminded me exactly of the toasted baguettes at most banh mi places back home (Calgary, Canada): over toasted. Dry. BRITTLE, almost inedibly so. The toppings were also not that good- beautiful and photo-worthy but not much depth of flavour. Now all that said, I'd absolutely return for the bread pudding and maybe for the pickles, but that sandwich just wasn't good. It also took a confusingly long time to reach my table. Now this place is doing good things in an absolutely minuscule space but given how long my sandwich took (about 30 minutes), I expected...

I needed some soul food this afternoon - a yummy sandwich and I knew just the place to go to for that. Mama Mojo's. Snuck away from the crowded streets, so still an insider place where the owner sticks to her values of quality above quantity. Today I had the 'Smoked chicken Breast (Spicy). Warm, tasty, brimming with scrumptious ingredients and more juicy, warm chicken in there than I have had in any other sandwich. And all held together in a warm crunchy bread roll. A small cozy place, where the owners passion for what she does can be tasted in every bite. And I felt so much better...