Mushrooms from heaven

I admit, I have a big ol' soft spot in my heart for Cafe des Spores. For one, it was the first interesting restaurant that Gidon and I discovered in Brussels - just because we lived in the neighborhood at the time and walked past it late one night, when its windows were all steamed up and we spontaneously decided to stop in for a late dessert. It quickly became the restaurant we took all our visitors to - my parents, his parents, my brother's wife's mother, you get the picture. As if all those happy memories and meals weren't enough, Gidon proposed to me at CdS almost two years ago. So I definitely get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about the place.

But don't let my warped sense of reality sway you - Cafe des Spores gets good reviews from everyone, as far as I can tell. From the vegetarian perspective, you'll be looking at three main ingredients: mushrooms, cheese, and wine. How could you go wrong?

Cafe des Spores, despite the (witty) name, is probably more about the wine than the food. I'm sorry to say that I know ashamedly little about wine, but I can say that everything I've ever had there has been exceptional. As for the food, it's a small menu, with a half dozen starters and usually 3-4 mains, of which 1 is almost always vegetarian. So you don't have a ton of choice, but neither does anyone else, and everything available to you is guaranteed to be delicious.

Two starters have stayed on the menu since our first visit, and are mandatory every time we go: oeuf cocotte (we've had it with cepes and last week with truffles), and blondes aux herbes - delicious light caps with herbs and garlic, often served up in a little escargot tray. These two are scrumptious and absolutely non-negotiable.

Then we fill in around it. Last week we added some delicious cheesy teeny raviolis topped with (more) truffles, and for the main, we got the fondue for two: a wheel of melty Mont D'Or, topped with a plethora of lightly cooked mushrooms. Last week they were also offering some special wines of "natural fermentation" and I - again, knowing nothing about wine - really enjoyed the Vouvray they suggested.

For dessert, the mushroom inspired dishes have been really special - creme brulee with cepes, and cepes ice cream - but last week the desserts were mushroom-free, so we settled for a delicious tiramisu featuring calvados instead of coffee. Only people who knew me in college can appreciate the humor of my enjoying anything made with calvados, but this was good.

We've been trying to make a date there for the last two months but kept calling too late. CdS absolutely requires a reservation, even on a weeknight. There are not many tables and they only seem to do one seating per night. You'll be charmed by the decor - lots of sleek black wood with some pointed lighting, and an open kitchen taking up a good third of the floor space on the ground floor. The chef is friendly and it's a treat to watch him at work, especially from upstairs with an aerial view - but watch out, it does get hot up there.

There's a reason this place has practically a cult following in town. If I haven't convinced you yet, go give it a try and you'll soon understand.

Cafe des Spores
Chaussée d'Alsemberg 103
1060 Saint Gilles
Tel. 02 534 13 03
http://www.cafedesspores.be
Closed Sunday, and lunch on Saturday and Monday. Reservations required.

The Mysteries of Triskell

I am pulling myself back from the brink of blogicide! Weeks of not posting… mea culpa, mea culpa. I hope to have some good restaurants in store for you (and me) in the coming weeks.

Today, I want to talk about Triskell. Triskell can be hard to find, in the sense that it is very poorly labelled. But so long as you know the address, you are in for a treat. At the corner of Avenue Brugmann and Rue Berkendael, there is a charming Breton creperie: Triskell. For those in the know, of whom I am not one, Triskell is (if I have understood correctly) the symbol of Brittany, and containing an interconnected triad.

This little restaurant deserves special mention for the quality of its service. Smiles all around; adamantly and pleasingly un-Belgian. As for the crepes, they have that nice buckwheat batter for the savory ones, and for veggies you have some nice cheeses, mushrooms, tomatos and so on to choose from. There’s some lovely dessert crepes, and delicious cider to wash it all down. Plenty to make a veggie (and your non-veggie friends) happy. The setting is cozy with big windows and soft lighting; an excellent place to hole up during the dark, cold Belgian winter. It’s simple and straight-forward, and makes for a lovely night out.

Triskell
Avenue Brugmann 150
1190 Forest
Tel. : 02.347.04.39 (Reservations not required but not a bad idea)

Shanti time

How many times have I thought about trying Shanti, only to wuss out, thinking it was too far away when there are so many good restaurants just a stone’s throw away from home? This past weekend, we boldly headed all the way to the ULB area for a quiet dinner at this vegetarian (really pescetarian) restaurant.

The décor definitely deserves a comment: fresh blue walls, plants and candles everywhere. It’s eclectic and comfortable and really has a lovely ambiance.

I stayed veggie, starting with a truly delicious salad topped with melty chevre. The dressing balanced out the flavors well, and things were off to a good start. Gidon opted for fish patties that were crispy and satisfying.

We switched gears to Indian for our mains. The vegetarian version for me – dahl, mixed vegetables, rice, raita, chutney, a papadum, and a deep fried banana. The last point seemed out of place but I’m no expert on Indian banana consumption; as for the rest it was a nice Indian concoction but next time I will probably leave the Indian food for specialty Indian restaurants and try something different chez Shanti. Gidon had some tandoori fish that was very nicely spiced and worth another trip. His also came with a papadum, rice, and more of the same chutney, which disappointed us both although he got a little more worked up about it.

Shanti doubles as a bio store so we’ll have to time our next visit for when that is open. This was one of the few vegetarian venues in Brussels that we hadn’t tried yet (not sure there are any left, actually), so I’m pleased to say that it ranks with the other few out there – very well.

Shanti
68 Ave Adolphe Buyl
1050 Ixelles
Tel. 02 649 40 96
Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner

Made to Mesure

On Fridays I work from home, and I’m ashamed to admit that I often forget or can’t be bothered to make lunch. For now I’m trying to make lunch dates to ensure that doesn’t happen, which gave me a good excuse to try out Midi Sur Mesure, a salad bar at Bascule that I’ve passed many times on the tram.

If you’ve ever been to New York City, you know these joints: start by choosing a type of lettuce or pasta as your base. Pick and choose the ingredients, which are priced individually, and top it all off with a choice of dressing. The guy behind the counter tosses it up in a big bowl, adds up your total, and poof! Lunch.

Of course, in New York, being as it is America, the portions are a wee bit bigger than what Midi Sur Mesure offered. Even though I got several toppings – rucola with boiled egg, parmesan, croutons, and mushrooms – I definitely wasn’t full at the end of it. And naturally those toppings start adding up before you notice it. This one cost me about 7 Euros; believe it or not, some things are actually cheaper in New York.

To their credit, the salad was fresh and tasty and I still love this concept, but isn’t there anyone who can bring the price down a notch so I can get a real meal? And my message to whoever achieves this challenge: franchise.

Midi Sur Mesure
Two locations:
51, rue Archimède, 1000 Brussels
13, avenue Legrand, 1000 Brussels
Monday-Friday, 11h30-15h. Delivery supposedly available but I’ve never tried.
http://www.midisurmesure.com/FR/midisurmesure.html

(Thanks to Sarah for that scrummy salad photo!)

From Italy to India

This past weekend found us at two restaurants, at quite different ends of the culinary spectrum. Saturday night we went to A'mbriana, an Italian place in Uccle that other blogs and reviews online seemed fond of. Sunday night, we were kindly invited by the Hindu Forum of Belgium to a Diwali celebration at Krishna, an Indian restaurant in Overijse. Very different, and both very lovely. Let me elaborate:

A'mbriana: I'll be honest with you: there aren't many vegetarian options. The husband and wife team who run the place did do their best to try and accommodate us with all our weird eating habits (we can only imagine what they were saying about us in the kitchen). While the ordering process was a bit laborious, once the food started arriving, we had nothing to complain about. Some nicely spiced olives and crusty bread to begin, followed by a fish amuse bouche that we had to turn down for the shrimp (us: "what kind of fish is this?" Waitress: "It's good."). On to the entrees - a plate of marinated salmon and basil, flavors all very well balanced, and one of the specials - fried cepes. Three letters for you: y-u-m. For the mains, I opted for canneloni, which was basically pure cheese and pasta and might have benefited from some spinach or tomato. Gidon went with another special, a baked cod with vegetables. Short on starch but tasty. If you can stand the limited options, or if you're out with a non-vegetarian, this is a good way to go (although I can't vouch for the quality of the meat dishes).

Krishna: the Diwali celebration meant that we were on a fixed menu Sunday night. We were also eating with a bunch of people who knew Indian food a lot better than we did, which was a real treat - for one, because the food was nicely spicy without even having to ask. We started off with some fried cauliflower with yogurt sauce. The menu featured a beautiful dal (lentils), aloo sag (potatos and spinach), mixed vegetables, rice (with a strong clove flavor), and puri bread. While I can't speak for the menu you might get on a regular night, based on this meal, I can only imagine you'd be pleased.

A'mbriana
Rue Edith Cavell 151
1180 Uccle
Tel. : 02.375.01.56
Closed Tuesdays and Saturday lunchtime

Krishna
Brusselsesteenweg 312
Overijse
Tel. : 02.688.04.99
http://www.krishna-restaurant.be/
Open evenings only except Sundays

Wagamama goes Belgian

Let it be said: I love Wagamama. I discovered it in 2001 while studying in London and quickly became a frequent visitor. When I found myself back in Brussels, each trip to London provided more opportunities to head out for some tasty, reliable Japanese yumminess.

Sunday night, Gidon took me to dinner in Antwerp. When our original plans for kosher food fell through (we're in the middle of a Jewish festival and although the restaurants could have been operational last night, they were mostly closed), we started wandering around, scouting out the options.

Lo and behold: Wagamama appeared like a mirage. I could barely believe my eyes. Jumping for joy, we headed in, got our table, and ordered. I'm very sorry to say that much of the joy ended there. Gidon ordered Salmon ramen, I wanted Yasai katsu curry - they were out of both. Of course in my case, they only informed me that they were out after they had accidentally served me the chicken version of my dish, meaning I watched Gidon eat, and then my food arrived, and he watched me eat.

In the end, he opted for a noodle dish but was disappointed to be lacking on the protein front. We split edamame with chili/garlic salt (hadn't tried that before) and some vegetable dumplings, both as good as I remembered. I ended up with tofu/veggie fried rice, which was passable fried rice but not worth a trip to Antwerp.


I don't have a problem with the general Wagamama philopsophy that food arrives as it is prepared. Normally this means that all the food comes out piecemeal, generally quite quickly, and I never mind what order it comes in. But the service Sunday night certainly left something to be desired - like a trip to London.


Still, it is hard to hold a grudge. I have a soft spot in my heart for Wagamama, and if they open a branch in Brussels I'll be more than happy to give it another go. Maybe in a few months' time I'll get my hopes up again and even give the Antwerp branch another chance. They do offer their same nice selection of vegetarian choices, and I can usually count on a good meal there. Let's just hope Sunday night was a fluke.


Wagamama
De Keyserlei 15
Antwerpen
Tel. 032349980
http://www.wagamama.be/
Open seven days a week: lunch, dinner and in between

Parrots and Pitas

Before heading off to the first of my Bozar chamber music concerts this year, my friend and I spent an hour over dinner at Le Perroquet. For the vicinity of the Sablon, you can't beat it for price. Maybe Pain Quotidien provides some competition in that department, but while PQ has nice ambiance, you really could be anywhere in the world when you're sitting there. At Le Perroquet, you are unquestionably in Brussels.

Tables are crammed in to this food and drink joint, with a smattering of tables outdoors on the sidewalk. Le Perroquet is crazy for pitas - hot, cold, stuffed with everything under the sun, and - get this - a little leaf tells you when one is veggie. And they actually seem to get what that means, so there are no leaves next to pitas garnished with bacon, or shrimp. Not that I've had everything on the menu, so they could still prove me wrong.

They also splash out on a couple of salads and pastas, but with three pages of pita combinations, that's what most people come for. I went for a hot one last night, goat's cheese with some nice basil and tomato. I think I would probably go for a firmer cheese next time to get more of the meltiness of heating it up. But it's best not to over-analyze. That's not why you go to Le Perroquet. So grab a seat, grab and sandwich, and bon app.

Le Perroquet
Rue Watteeu 31
1000 Brussel
Tel. 02 512 99 22‎
Open 7 days a week - can you believe it?