Those two dudes

Sorry for the radio silence - we've been off in Ireland on vacation, and wow can they cook! To all those people who wondered what we were thinking being excited ahead of time about the food, we can now say that indeed, we were right and they were wrong. That said, it was the fish that was spectacular, so I'll save my thoughts for another blog. To be fair, there were a good number of vegetarian options to keep us happy on that front too.

But back in Brussels, I was off to I Due Signori, a lovely Italian place near Square Montgomery. It was a business dinner, which was nice for me since the prices were a bit higher than I would normally spend, once you add up the many courses that you are expected to consume.

We started with an amuse gueule that was already 2/3 vegetarian - some aubergine and some courgette. If you don't like looking at the slice of meat that consistutes the remaining third, they will happily bring you a plate without it.

Then it was time to review the menu, at which time they plonked a dish of truffles onto the table worth about $10,000 - just to tempt us.

After that it was on to starters. I had a cream of tomato soup that was short on cream even though it was quite nice. There were other typical Italian starters that got good reviews around the table (tomato/mozzarella salad, minestrone soup). On to pasta: what I should have eaten was the linguine with truffles. They were onto something with that little temptation while ordering, and I wish I had succombed. The waiter (who is apparently formerly of Villa Lorraine) dresses all the dishes at the table, and on this dish the truffles get grated onto your pasta while you watch. Yum. However, I had opted for cannelloni which was tasty but not special. Dessert was a delicious heart-shaped fondant au chocolat that I would happily have again - not overly sweet and super-melty on the inside. Others at the table did the more typical Italian pasta-course-followed-by-fish-or-meat-course, which I would recommend to the fish/meat eaters out there since it all looked well prepared and I think would make the whole meal more filling.

All in all, a nice ambiance, helpful staff (a rarety in this town), and good food = a good place to add to my list.

I Due Signori
60 bd. Brand Whitlock
1200 Brussels
Tel: 02.733.5954
www.iduesignori.be
Mon-Sat 12-14.30 and 19-22.30
Reservations recommended - they filled up on the Wednesday night we were there.