Haarlemmerstraat 102

Since the owner of this coffeeshop is Irish and named Derry, my first question was "Who's Barney?" Turns out that Barney was a king-sized kitty who came with the place more than 10 years ago. He's gone to kitty heaven but his name lives on in the best place I know of in Amsterdam to go out to breakfast the way Amercains do. There are delicious vegan, vegitarian and meaty breakfasts and lunches here, along with super deserts. The shop was just redecorated and it's full of organic, fluid shapes. The tables and walls are works of functional art. Barney's certainly includes some fine hashish - they did get second place in the 1998 Hashish Cup, but during the 1999 Cup they will be concentrating on what they do best: Grass. Over the last three years Derry has made alliances with some growers who work on contract for him alone. The pride these people have in their work shows in both the "King Kamayamaya" and the "Sunburst" that they provide to the shop. This also keeps prices as low as possible by eliminating a layer of middlemen.