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Le Pigeon Noir                                      Toucan sur Mer

 Tags : Restaurant Brussels - Restaurant Belgium - Gastronomy Belg

Brussels specialities

Chip stalls As chip-lovers go, Belgians adore them beyond all reason. They eat them at home or when dining out in restaurants. But nothing can replace the chip stalls, known as ‘friteries’, which are dotted about the city. There aren’t as many of them as there used to be but there’s nothing antiquated about the success of those slightly greasy bags of chips. You order whatever quantity of them you want. Then comes the matter of seasoning. Purists want them salted, but sometimes agree to the addition of mayonnaise or pickles. Globalisation has diversified and multiplied the types of sauces as fast as hot cakes sell: there really is one to please all tastes.

Shrimp croquettes Prawn croquettes have a texture that’s both crisp and soft, and they make first-rate starters in restaurants. The recipe for these delicious bites is a secret jealously guarded by some establishments, which have been making them for generations, and it is particularly good in some places. The prawns, preferably from Ostend, are coated with breadcrumbs, then garnished with lemon zest and fried parsley..

Mussels  The mussels are from Zealand, a fact which has never bothered anyone. And neither the Spaniards nor the mussel beds have the slightest chance of deposing the hugely popular 800 or 1200-gram pan. The only damper is that the rising prices of our mussel have increased the cost of this extremely popular dish to levels (almost) enough to spoil your appetite..

"L'américain" with chips In France and the English-speaking world, it’s known as steak tartare, in Belgium, ‘filet américain’: minced beef, which, to be good quality, must be hand-chopped with a knife and mashed with a fork. The added ingredients vary depending on the chef. It must be served with chips (or French fries). At Villa Lorraine they’ve elevated the preparation to a new class by incorporating truffles into it..

Pralines As an ambassador for Belgium, that king of pleasure – chocolate – appears adorned in all its glory in the shop windows of the craftsmen of chocolate-making. Lined up like trophies, the famous “pralines” (individual filled chocolates) can be found in every display window, whether in the form of “manons”, with “ganache” (chocolate cream), praline, marzipan or nougatine filling, or even raised to new heights with pieces of walnut or filled with hazelnuts. Master chocolate-makers have also ventured into more exotic ranges, deliciously combining the flavours of different teas, cardamom, ginger, violet or jasmine with the chocolate. These little delicacies are there to be enjoyed as a subtle pleasure and choosing one of them in a little box is always tantamount to one of the nicest moments of gustatory anticipation there is.

Waffles  They say that these have always been one of the most popular delicacies and are to be found on every street corner. But that’s no longer the case, unfortunately. Nevertheless, the so-called ‘Brussels’ waffle, served warm, has kept the halo of its decoration: sprinkled with a little sugar, it is then covered with quite a thick Chantilly cream..

The "caricoles" sellers There were a lot more of them too, with their barrows, half a century ago. It’s nice to find them again, in almost every commune, at the markets. They’re called “caricole” sellers, though they sell two types of shellfish. “Caricole” is the Brussels name for the winkle: cooked in quite a peppery court-bouillon. They are making way, among the mobile traders, for another type of gastropod, the whelk, which we call the sea snail (it’s bigger than the land snail), cooked in quite salty water. It is, as we recall, mainly women who are in charge of these barrows, which used to be mobile. Now they’re more often to be found attached to a single point of sale.