Brussels dining

It is said that Brussels is a culinary destination but we cannot agree.

During a recent trip, we had several competent meals and found the reputation overstated and the typical Belgian dishes rather bland.

At Francois, a pleasing small restaurant in the old fish market section of St Catherine, we sampled:
a bouillabaise that was just plain
a large rabbit hind leg braised in the traditional beer sauce that was very tasteful
a lamb tongue appetizer, quite nice
the biggest and nicest surprise was the amuse bouche: half a dozen snails stuffed with green peppercorns presented with a metal gadget something like the old sardine can opener which was stuck in a wine cork and which the waiter insisted of calling " a snail spoon" quite a contraption. The snails were very nice indeed the peppercorn adding a lovely punch

At Aux Armes de Bruxelles, we found a large bustling restaurant, a little full of themselves, and we had:
Moules/Frites: a filling bucket of mussels in white wine sauce, tasty but no match for Caraba's, my standard for mussels. The Frites sure looked like they came out of a big frozen Oreida bag, though the waiter insisted that they were hand cut on the premises. Duck breast in a light tomato sauce with hints of rose petals, very very nice. Shrimp croquettes with a mushy texture and little virtue or taste

The Dames Tartines was a lovely surprise: a small restaurant near the Botanical Gardens, tastefully decorated with white walls and modern paintings (for sale). The lady who ran the room looked frazzled the entire time, perhaps overwhelmed by having a full house that evening, but capable and helpful with a no-nonsense air about her. The menu was focused of seafood: we had a Dorado and a Bra, both fillets wiht skin on delicately poached and served simply with vegetables. Although it is listed as serving belgian quisine, the menu did not include any of the traditional dishes including no moules/frites. The evening was particularly pleasant because we shared the meal with other members of our working group and got to chat outside the conference environment. Although we did not order an elaborate menu, the meal lasted almost 3 hours thanks to the lone lady caretaker of the house.


for our experience at La Taverne du Passage and Comme Chez Soi, see separate blog entries.