{"id":2059,"date":"2016-10-21T11:01:04","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T09:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=60619"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:08","slug":"those-tables-were-pulled-from-the-rubble-of-the-bombardment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/10\/21\/those-tables-were-pulled-from-the-rubble-of-the-bombardment\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Those tables were pulled from the rubble of the bombardment\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ow. Your critic makes his first error as he enters. De Pijp is not a pub, he learns. It\u2019s a restaurant, which started in 1898 as a beer shop. You can have a beer, as long as you order a steak or some fish \u2013 a bit expensive, because decadent \u2013 as well.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how it works in De Pijp, a little piece of heaven for every fan of the corps<\/em>. The place is infused with tradition, bursting with the nicest details. See the long wooden tables \u2013 \u2018three of them were pulled out of the rubble of the bombardment\u2019 \u2013 where punters sit together, spitting out peanut shells onto the ground, and all the ties on the ceiling.<\/p>\n

Pijp tie<\/h3>
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These ties are from fans who are desperate to own a \u2018Pijp tie\u2019 \u2013 only two thousand were made. The rule: don\u2019t ask for one, just donate your own tie and hope for the best.<\/p>\n

Another ritual: every evening at 9.00 p.m. on the dot, the staff, mostly \u2018venerable\u2019 RSC members, have a beer. As they drink, they dribble the beer out of their mouth. Newbies catch the drops on their ties; the older ones can keep them dry.<\/p>\n

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God knows what that\u2019s all about. But it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n

As are all the stories. The waiter knows them by heart. He talks about how De Pijp used to be a pocket of resistance during the Second World War. One time, a German general came to eat here. The chef apparently chucked sand into his mussels. The general was never seen at the restaurant again.<\/p>\n

De Pijp is not corps<\/em> property, but it does have close historic links with the members. Most of the punters are former members. You can hear it at table. There the punters \u2013 suited and booted \u2013 talk about \u2018career tigers\u2019 and tennis matches. Also heard: \u201cHe\u2019s quite nice when he\u2019s not drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initiation<\/h3>
<\/div>

And: \u201cAll the uproar will pass. The initiation used to be much worse, now there\u2019s much more supervision. Now Youp van \u2019t Hek writes a bitter article and that\u2019s it.\u201d And then onto another subject. \u201cWe mustn\u2019t make it bigger than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the atmosphere is good in such an historic venue where the kitchen is situated between the long tables. Under dimmed light, your critic is even offered a half eaten dessert by his neighbour. He refuses, but small talk is easy at such a huge table.<\/p>\n

Nothing should change at De Pijp. Not in 2016 either.<\/p>\n\n\t

More reviews<\/h2>