MEET MEAT, Bruselas

A mi entender, el 'argentino' Meet Meat merece una mencion particular en este blog, y ello por las razones siguientes:

1° Por haber dinamizado el a veces aburrido panorama gastronomico del barrio europeo, superpoblado de lugares sin encanto - y muchos de ellos de efimera existencia - en los que se sirven potajes de cualquier legumbre, de ensaladas 'déjà vu' y de bocadillos sin imaginacion.

2° Por haber fidelizado a un publico exigente y multicultural en poco tiempo (restaurante abierto desde hace un par de anos).

3° Por haber conseguido normalizar las especialidades argentinas como alternativa de calidad (el chef es antiguo alumno de la Escuela de Lausanne, Suiza) y de uso cotidiano en latitudes no siempre propicias para ello.

Y es que si por algo me gusta ir al Meet Meat, a parte de por la excelente coccion y calidad de sus carnes - incluida la hamburguesa o el pollo! - es porque me ha guiado hacia otra manera de entender los almuerzos de trabajo y de querer compartirlo con todos aquellos a quienes aprecio.

A nivel de la carta, y aunque todo lo que aparece en ella este bueno (o incluso muy bueno), al Meet Meat se va para degustar rib-eyes, sirloins, rumpsteaks y filetes de buey argentino - el cliente decide el peso de la pieza y la salsa que lo acompana, 'chimichurri' la mayoria de las veces - y, mas aun, para recrearse con el 'secreto iberico', que pido sin ni tan solo mirar el menu.

Entrados ya en los postres y bajo la atenta mirada de un cuadro en el que aparece el maestro Gardel, aconsejo acabar tan digno festival con el apoteosico 'tiramisu spéculoos', algo que, como todo vicio, te hace sentir culpable al tiempo que te engancha hasta la ultima cucharada...

Meet Meat es tambien un excelente lugar para adentrarse en el conocimiento de los buenos caldos agentinos (aunque la carta tambien incluye algun vino chileno, espanol y frances). Finca Bombal, Luigi Biosca o Mestre del Campo, todos ellos malbecs de Mendoza, son grandes ejemplos de ello.

MEET MEAT

Rue Stévin 124

1000 - Bruselas
Telefono: 02.231.07.42
Cierre : sabado y domingo.

Abierto de 12h00 a 14h30 y de 19h a 22h (horarios bastante estrictos!)

http://www.meetmeat.be/

Nota: 7.3/10

BRASSERIE DE LA PAIX (*), Bruselas

Fuente fotos: http://www.sensum.be/

Inaugurada en 1892, la Brasserie de la Paix nacio como pequena taberna informal a la que acudian los trabajadores del matadero de Anderlecht / antiguo mercado de animales (situado justo en frente) antes, despues, o durante las pausas de su dura actividad laboral.

Con el tiempo, la gestion de Nathalie Obbiet (hija de Roland et Jeannine Obbiet, que todavia corretean por la sala para prestar su ayuda), y la presencia del chef David Martin (Corte de la Reina de Inglaterra, chef adjunto de Alain Passard y del 'Jules Verne' de Paris, chef del restaurante del Hotel Meridien 'L'épicerie' de Bruselas y chef adjunto de Jean-Pierre Bruneau), el lugar evoluciono hacia lo que es hoy : una referencia absolutamente imprescindible dentro del panorama gastronomico de Bruselas y uno de sus lugares mas emblematicos.

El lugar guarda el encanto de las sillas de madera mil veces reparadas en las que un dia se sento una generacion que todavia no conocia los coches, otro dia la de las guerras mundiales, y al siguiente la de la exposicion de Bruselas del '58, hasta hoy; de la autenticidad de los platos blancos de brasserie, de un lugar en el que, como antano, los "annonces" transitan del comedor a la cocina (moderna y abierta al comedor) en voz alta y sin miramientos, de las cosas bien hechas, de la elegancia como traduccion de la mas desbordante simplicidad, de un servicio talentoso, profesional y conocedor del producto que tiene entre manos, de la regularidad y la calidad a lo largo de las decadas.

A degustar sin ambiguedades entradas especialidad de la casa como los 'Croustillants de pieds de porcs Basque désossés, à la moutarde' o el 'Chaud-froid de boudin Basque poêlé et tête pressée'.

En cuanto a los platos, merece caer en la tentacion de la 'Blanquette de jarret de veau de lait de Corrèze « Tradition / Evolution', el 'Filet pur de boeuf Simmental de Bavière', el 'Filet de selle d'agneau de La ferme de Belle-Vue, Alexandre & Véronique Dupont, tartufata', la 'Echine de porc pi noir du Pays Basque, chez Pierre Oteiza au jus de cuisson' o el 'Poulet Pattes noires des Landes « Label Rouge » rôti au foin en cocotte'.

Tratandose de una brasserie, el 'Filet américain préparé en salle' es siempre una opcion segura y acertada.

En relacion a los vinos, la Brasserie de la Paix cuenta con 120 referencias y una filosofia dificil de encontrar en algunos restaurantes actuales laureados con estrellas Michelin : margenes modestos, el precio de una botella siempre debe permanecer proporcional al montante de la cuenta.

http://www.lapaix1892.com/

La Brasserie de la Paix ha recibido, entre otros, los siguientes reconocimientos:

- Mejor brasserie del ano 2008 (Gault & Millau)
- Grand de Demain Bruxelles (para el chef David Martin), Gault & Millau 2009
- 1 estrella en la Guia Michelin, 2009.

BRASSERIE DE LA PAIX
Rue Ropsy-Chaudron 49
1070 Bruselas (Anderlecht)
Tél. : +32.2.523.09.58
Cierre : sabados, domingos, y todas las noches excepto la del viernes.

Nota: 8/10

L'EPICERIE FINE DE LA SENNE, Bruselas

He aqui una tienda de comestibles (épicerie) gourmet ubicada en el centro de Bruselas que conoci hace poco gracias a mi amigo Marco.

El lugar, de toque informal y desenfadado, propone una cocina belgo mediterranea de corte sano y con estilo.

En su carta no faltan las sopas del dia, las quiches, los tortellini, los antipasti o las lasagnas, todo hecho en casa y con cierto carino.

Las estanterias de madera que rodean el espacio y que le confieren un estilo rustico y acogedor sobresalen por la cantidad y la calidad de los aceites de oliva, de los vinagres, de las mostazas, de los vinos y las salsas para aderezar los platos de caza, asi como por las conservas, las pastas y las especias, todo ello a la venta en el mismo establecimiento.

Servicio atento, joven, natural, y con ganas de hacerlo bien. Degustaciones periodicas de cualquier cosa buena. Posibilidad de encargar cestas. Ideal para antes de un espectaculo en l'Ancienne Belgique.

L'Epicerie Fine de la Senne

Rue du Bon Secours 4

1000 - Bruselas

http://www.epiceriefinedelasenne.be/

Nota: 6/10

Fuente foto : http://noisette-et-renard.over-blog.com/

LA BRANCHE D'OLIVIER, Uccle, Bruselas

Fuente fotos : http://www.sensum.be/

Hacia muchisimo tiempo que no disfrutaba tanto en un restaurante. Y es que la experiencia del pasado sabado en 'La branche d'olivier' dejo tan precioso recuerdo que mis papilas gustativas tardaran en olvidarlo.

Situado en el limite sur del barrio de Uccle (Bruselas), al lado de la reserva natural de Kinsendael, 'La branche d'olivier' (propiedad de Pascal Grare y con Jean-Claude Demurger en la cocina) es una brasserie gastronomica acogedora, de aspecto calido, y de servicio atento, agradable y dispuesto a ayudar.

Sus platos, perfectamente ejecutados tanto a nivel de contenido como de presentacion, destacan por el frescor y la altisima calidad de los productos utilizados, generalmente de temporada (ciervo, setas, caza en general, caracoles, calabaza, etc.), por la intensidad de los sabores y tambien por la sencillez elegante que respiran.

Merecen una mencion aparte platos como el 'filet pur boeuf avec girolles', 'le pot-au-feu aux coquilles de St. Jacques et aux poissons', 'le filet de biche' (acompanado de una manzana rellena de granada, verduras y 'stoemp').

Todos los postres, absolutamente todos (y eso que yo prefiero el salado al dulce!), estan deliciosos, empezando por la 'tarte très chocolat', siguiendo con 'la tarte tatin faite maison' y 'la dame blanche' y acabando con la especialidad de la casa, un 'café bruxellois' (hecho aqui con 'glace aux spéculoos' y no con moka).

La carta de vinos tiene verdaderas joyas, sobre todo en forma de pequenos grandes Bourgogne. A descubrir.

Como dicen los belgas, el restaurante 'vaut bien le détour'!

Nota: 7.8/10

La Branche d'Olivier
Rue Engeland, 172-176
1180 Bruxelles
Tel : +32 (0)2 374 47 05
Ouvert de 12h à 14h 30 et de 19h à 23h.

Fermé le samedi midi et le dimanche.

BELGA QUEEN, Brussels

Source photos: http://www.belgaqueen.be/

Whereas some people will say that Belga Queen is a chic, pretentious and superficial restaurant obsessed to show off but where you can indeed get the same Belgian traditional food as in any brasserie in a hidden neighbourhood, others will say that this original restaurant was absolutely necessary to give Brussels a new shed of light to the town's contemporary food scene.

Whatever the truth is however, the fact is that Belga Queen, the former Hôtel de la Poste and Crédit du Nord building reshaped by acclaimed designer Antonio Pinto (sometimes Belga Queen is better known by its designer than by its chef!), has the ambition to be an ambassador of the food and drinks made in this country.

More than that, the place offers fresh and good seafood (écailler), nice (Belgian) wines and good Belgian specialities (many of them cooked with national beer).

However, from all the good things I have learnt in this restaurant, I have to highlight the (re)discovery of the smooth but tasteful "coquilles de Saint Jacques", a delicious starter that I have spotted in most of the menus of modern French and Belgian restaurants recently.

The place is quite noisy and the toilettes hide a (nice) surprise, but Belga Queen, where the service is quite attentive and the clientele is quite diverse, is as nice for a dinner with friends as for a business lunch or a cocktail in the basement bar in a more romantic mood.

Belga Queen has a brother restaurant in the Belgian city of Ghent. Antonio Pinto has recently designed "Midi Station", a new, modern, contemporary restaurant in the South of Brussels.

http://www.belgaqueen.be/

Rating : 7.3 / 10

Belga Queen

Rue Fossé aux Loups 32

1000 Brussels

Tel. +32.2.217.21.87

LE GRILL DU VIEUX BOITSFORT, Brussels

It is with great pleasure that I went to 'Le Grill du Vieux Boitsfort' (opened in 1993) again after my first visit 4 years ago, when I was there for a business dinner and I left with the expectation to go back again and pay more attention to the food, the service and the place.

This 'brasserie bourgeoise', which is placed in the middle of Boitsfort - a green neighbourhood that really looks like the central square of a small village - is a convivial and welcoming place whose very Flemish-like rustic decoration seems to have been directly pulled from 'Flamant', the famous furniture store (big white counter, elegant brown and orange painted strips on the walls, etc.).

The place, run by restaurateurs Philippe and Nadine Gillet (runners of other restaurants such as Au Vieux Boitsfort, Mamy Louise and Table de Mamy), and who were once awarded with a Michelin star, prepares classic, somewhat foreseeable brasserie style dishes, but quite tasty and with an innovative touch.

Starters may include the unavoidable 'fondus aux deux fromages' (cheese croquettes), the 'salade de pommes de terre à la ciboulette et boudin blanc grillé' (potato salad with a white sausage typical from Belgium), the 'croquettes de petites grises' (shrimp croquettes), but also things such as the 'saucisson de Lyon aux pistaches et pommes nouvelles aux échalotes' (sausage from Lyon with pistaccio, potatos and oignons) or the 'œuf poché la moelle et croûtons frits à l’ail' (smashed egg with garlic bread dies).

However, I strongly recommend to try the 'tartare de thon et roquette au vieux parmesan et fleur de sel'. The mix of the tuna with the rocket is very well balanced and the salt grains found in the mixture add a very tasty final touch without the whole becoming too salty.

Some good examples of classic brasserie with a refined style are proposed among the mains : 'poêlée de filets de bar aux pâtes fraîches, beurre de tomate à l’estragon et olives' (sea-bass), 'blanc de cabillaud, stoemp de poireaux et crème de ciboulette' (cod), 'jambonneau rôti au four, mousseline moutardée à la ciboulette' (quite decent indeed!), 'andouillette de Chédeville "5A" grillée sauce dijonnaise' (typical French sausages) or the 'cuisse de canard confite, persillade et mijoté de lentilles du Puy' (duck).

If you are still hungry, do not hesitate to order the typical dessert in this place, that is, a 'trio of chocolat mousses'. It is really caloric (a lot!) but it is a delicious composition of black, light black and white chocolate... and you don't eat this everyday, do you?

The service is clean and attentive but not enthusiastic (it even seems a bit tired from time to time), even if the cook, Daniel Lopes, who works in an open kitchen, seems to have a good time while cooking.

However, I found that Le Grill du Vieux Boitsfort has two downsides: 1) The music. I really believe that the place could be a more pleasent restaurant if the radio was simply switched off and some jazz or a similar music style was played instead and; 2) The chairs. Why most chairs in brasseries are so rigid and unconfortable?

The place is mentioned in the (Michelin) Bib Gourmand Guide Benelux 2009, which gathers the best finding combining price and quality, but despite of the more than acceptable quality of this place, I would not put this restaurant it in the same basket containing names such as 'Notos' or 'De la Vigne à l'Assiette', which are a step further than 'Le Grill du Vieux Boitsfort'.

http://www.grillduvieuxboitsfort.be/

Rating: 6.7/10

LA MAISON DU LUXEMBOURG, Brussels

In June 1964, the government of the Belgian province of Luxembourg decided to buy a building not far from the European institutions (rue de Luxembourg / rue Marie de Bourgogne), in Brussels.

The idea was that the place became a meeting point for Belgian Luxembourgers in Brussels and that the house gathered the economic, cultural, social, touristic and culinary expressions of this Belgian province.

The building however was given other uses until 2006, when a huge revamping took place and the management was given to chef Philippe Lecomte (Renaissance), a Belgian Luxembourger himself, who, at the beginning of 2009 opened an elegant, clean, contemporary restaurant with an open kitchen and decoration using chocolate, grey and vanilla colours.

Now the place proposes a tasty, elaborated and original French and Belgian cuisine (please be advised that the portions are not very big here). However, the genuine, distinctive true aspect of the restaurant is not the Belgian cuisine istelf (as you could find this somewhere else), but to ensure the promotion of the products and the culinary arts of the Belgian Luxembourg province.

By the way, most of the products used or served in this place bear the typical certification symbol of the province (a wild pig) and are directly delivered to the restaurant by the producers themselves.

As far as the menu is concerned, which combines more meat than fish, the place proposes perfectly executed treats such as the ‘Ravioles au fromage de chèvre’ (starter), the ‘Agneau de la ferme Belle-vue en croûte d’olives, orge perlé, jus au thym citron’, or the ‘Faux filet de veau, asperges meunières et jeunes oignons, sauce béarnaise’.

The service is welcoming, helpful and smiling, and Philippe Lecomte is a very easy-going and friendly lad.

Among the international clientele that enjoy ‘La Maison du Luxembourg’, it seems that the Czechs are especially recidivists. This is maybe because the restaurant is one of the few places in Brussels that serve the iconic Czech liqueur Becherovka.

http://www.maisonduluxembourg.be/

Rating: 6.8/10

TOUCAN, Brussels

Everytime I walked down Av. Lepoutre / Chaussée. de Waterloo I used to look into this glamorous brasserie bourgeoise from the street expecting to have a good reason to get in.

The years went by and I went to many other places to have lunch, to have dinner, with friends, for business, but never to Toucan... until yesterday. And I was deeply disappointed!

I am not saying I would have not preferred not to try it either, as now I know I won't repeat it for a long, very long time.

I know this article may dislike those who like thinking they are smarter than the rest, or at least smart enough to have the good taste to go to a trendy, chic, colourful address in Brussels placed on one of the best corners in town, which is indeed true, but the fact is that Brussels offers better, in fact much better in terms of quality, cuisine execution, emotion, atmosphere, service, comfort and price.

To me it's simply not enough that a bunch of good guides such as Gault Millau, Delta or newspapers such as Tribune de Bruxelles or L'Echo write good articles about this restaurant (or any other) and highlight the merits of the chef, the freshness of the menu, the care taken to the decoration using specific carrelage, nice chaires and a big sculpture of Armand Jonckers, point out the great culinary influences of Southwest France, that is, where Jean-Michel Hamon (the owner) comes from if people I go with / myself don't enjoy what we eat.

And I am indeed not very exigent either with what I eat and what I like and what I enjoy, but I simply think that a 'beef carpaccio with piquillo peppers and citronnelle' should never be a lake of olive oil where you don't even see the parmesan cheese slices, which are drown into the oil, and that a 'carré d'agneau rôti au thym frais' should never taste to other dishes (they may have used the same pan or put it into the oven with other food...), and that the 'soup of the day' should never be so salty that you can't even finish it, even if it is served in a relatively small bowl.

By the way, this is as unacceptable as a 'millefeuille de thon rouge à la ventrèche et fondu de poireaux' that had no taste, or a 'dos de cabillaud vapeur au fondu de tomate' which was as tasty as the 'millefeuille' but with a couple of sad potatoes, carrots and broccoli as a garniture...

And finally, the apple cake, which had no taste, no sugar, no caramel, nothing, was too cooked and had the bottom completely burnt... A shame.

I should probably try this brasserie bourgeoise again in the future and avoid a second disappointment ordering more classic, less adventurous brasserie dishes such as 'croquettes de crevettes', the 'jambonneau', the 'pure beef fillet with pepper sauce and French fries'... but given that there are thousands of good brasseries in Brussels that execute such dishes extremely well, it is unlikely I go to Toucan (and not recommend it either) to eat this.

A pitty!

I hope that the new Toucan in the family, the recently opened 'Toucan-sur-mer', improves the level of its brother.

http://www.toucanbrasserie.com/

Rating: 4/10

MAXBURG, Brussels

Andrea Hauptmann, a German national, took over the 'Maxburg', an iconic German restaurant in the heart of the Brussels European quarter (and one of the very few German restaurants in Brussels) around 10 years ago.

However, this culinary institution has been serving excellent schnitzels and other tasty German specialities for more than 30 years!

But not just the food, the beers (namely the Bitburger, Kölsch, König Pilsner et Weissbierand) the wine are German here. The wooden hut-like place itself seems to have been pulled from a genuine German town too.

Apart from schnitzels, which are prepared in more than 20 different ways, the place is famous for dishes such as the stuffed roulade of beef, the soups (starters), charcuterie, pasta with Swiss cheese and onions, smoked pork with sauerkraut (choucroute), and jambonneau.

The place also offers more seasonal preparations such as white aspargus and game, and mushrooms such as chanterelle.

Maxburg has become a very popular, informal and international meeting point for all kind of people.

It is said that Colin Powell, who does not eat pork, had lunch in the Maxburg once and that he ordered a veal schnitzel, not a pork schnitzel, so there is always an alternative for those not eating pork in this such special restaurant.

http://www.maxburgbrussels.be/

Rating: 6.3/10

L'ATLANTIDE, Brussels

I have to admit that the restaurant 'Onder de Linde' (see my previous article) was so good that it probably neutralised my ability to write about any other place for a while...

Anyway, I thought I knew everything about restaurants in the Brussels' European district until I realised I was wrong when a colleague in the office introduced me to 'L'Atlantide', a Greek restaurant with genuine, excellent and unpretentious food.

Quite wisely, the place forgets about columns, agoras and decoration filled with scale Parthenons... to give the small pleasures of the authentic Greek cuisine the leading role.

Good examples of the above are the starters "dolmadakia" (rice stuffed vines), "pikilia" (assortment of tarama, tzatziki, eggplant puré in olive oil, sheep cheese, lemon marinated mushrooms), "saganaki" (panned kefalograviera cheese), "tyropita" (cheese puff pastry), "kolokithokeftedes" (zucchini balls)...

The mains are also excellent, especially those with lamb shoulder such as "arnaki ladorigani" (with origan), "arnaki kokinisto" (with tomato sauce), "arnaki fricassé" (with lemon sauce and salade), "yiouvetsi" (with small Greek typical pasta)...

The 'must-eat' "moussaka" and the different combinations of "souvlakia" are typical and foreseeable but also deserve a try as they are perfectly executed.

The place is a well known address for Greeks, who make the half of the tables of the restaurant (a good sign).

The restaurant has a varied Greek wine menu with excellent proposals for all budgets.

Finally, the service is kind and the place is clean.

http://www2.resto.be/atlantide/

Rating : 6.5/10

KOKOB, Brussels

Once upon a time there was an Ethiopian engineer, his Belgian - Moroccan friend and a Belgian partner who decided to open an Ethiopian restaurant in the centre of Brussels. That was 2 years ago.

Since then, this lively, colourful, original, and trendy place, which has wisely enough avoided the (too easy) temptation to open an ethnic appealing place with plenty of masks and arrows of invented tribes on the walls, is always full with a clientele in their late 20's and above ready to have fun and to discover a world of exciting tastes and flavours while entering in the sensuality of the black continent.

Kokob, which translates as 'raising star' in Ethiopian, is a true star in the current Brussels' resto scene, an absolutely must go even for those who may be a bit reluctant to taste unknown African food or eating with... the hands !

If this is the first time you go to the restaurant, just let you guide by the service, who may perfectly propose to start with an aperitif made of rum, pineapple juice and hibiscus flower while waiting to be given a table, to follow with a discovery menu made of some meat dishes and some vegetable dishes (you will be served a random combination of either lamb, chicken or beef depending of the mood of the chef unless otherwise stated), and finish with an Ethiopian coffee.

The discovery menu consists in a series of small dishes the content of which is delicately spooned on the injera (a staple bread made of teff, a cereal similar to the millet) laying on the bottom of a big plate in which, following the Ethiopian tradition, everybody helps oneself.

To eat the dishes, pieces of injera (served in a side basket) are torn off and used to grab the food. All the dishes served in the discovery menu may be eaten together, so you may combine some yellow lentils with a home-made white cheese, a bit of salad with fried cubed chicken with spicy spinach, stewed cabbage and potato with chopped beef and curcuma, etc.

The service is friendly, efficient, kind, smiley, and always ready to advise the customer on how to get the best of the menu, how to tear off the injera, and to explain how the Ethiopians eat their food. By the way, the service has no complex in introducing the first injera crêpe into the mouth of the client to show him/her how it works...

Apart from being a restaurant, Kokob also organises concerts, photo exhibitions and other cultural events (not only about Ethiopia).

Finally, interesting to know that although the food is heated and the dishes finished in the open kitchen that you see at the end of the room, the food is made by female Ethiopian cooks during the day, as most stews may take long hours to prepare.

Do not go without booking!

For more information, please visit http://www.kokob.be/

Rating : 7/10

THE SUSHI SHOP, Brussels

It is clear that my colleague Florence Paquay is a lover of Japanese food and restaurants and that she even seems to become the reference of this kind of food in 'Taules del Mon'...

Please find below her impressions about a new franchise of Japanese food that recently opened in Brussels and that she has (no doubt about this!) already discovered.

Do not hesitate to add your comments at the bottom of this e-mail or to send them at taules.del.mon@gmail.com

A new sushi place opened a while ago on avenue Louise 144, B-1050 Brussels: http://www.sushishop.be

I never tried the restaurant, which is always full, but did try the delivery services for lunch recently: very easy on-line order, quick delivery (within the hour, the promise was kept!) and the sushis & sashimis were simply delicious and fresh.

They have a huge variety of products for all tastes and unusual savours like beef tartar sushi, foie gras & figs California rolls, etc.

The Sushi Shop delivers in: 1000 Brussels, 1040 Etterbeek, 1050 Ixelles & 1060 Saint-Gilles. Creating your account & ordering just takes a few minutes.

Deliveries 7/7 (except Sunday noon): 11.00 - 14.30 & 18.00 - 23.00

Florence Paquay

MITSUI TEPPAN YAKI, Bruxelles

My colleague Florence Paquay recently visited MITSUI, one of the best, yet unpretentious, Japanese restaurants in Brussels, and wanted to share her experience with Taules del Mon.

MITSUI is the first Japanese restaurant appearing in this blog.

Visité par hasard un dimanche soir, le Mitsui Teppan Yaki est situé derrière la place du Châtelain, rue de Prévot 86 à 1050 Bruxelles.

Accueil chaleureux, service impeccable et souriant, les sashimi mix et makis au thon étaient très frais et tout simplement délicieux. Choix de vins à prix très abordables (nous avons pris le Pinot Noir frais).

Le restaurant était bien rempli un dimanche soir, donc mieux vaut réserver par téléphone au 02/534.09.53 (ouvert 7/7). Il y a la possibilité de réserver autour des plaques de cuisson afin de profiter du spectacle, un kimono vous sera alors prêté.

Le parking dans le quartier n'est pas toujours aisé dans cette rue à sens unique.

http://sites.resto.com/mitsui/

Florence Paquay

LE SAINT BONIFACE, Bruxelles

Après l’avoir découvert à l’occasion d’un déjeuner de travail il y a un peu plus de 4 ans, je me suis toute de suite demandé ce que serait la Place Saint Boniface, voire le cartier d’Ixelles où il est placé (et presque caché !) et même Bruxelles toute entière sans un restaurant comme le Saint Boniface.

Toujours au rendez-vous d’une vraie cuisine de terroir française aux clairs accents de la moitié sud du pays, le Saint Boniface est avant tout l’art de Véronique et Philippe Pasquier (salle et cuisine respectivement) dans l’assiette et leur amour pour les produits de qualité, les exécutions toujours parfaites, l’exigence du résultat et la réussite de la régularité dans le temps (très difficile à trouver dans nos jours).

Temple gastronomique à l’ambiance tranquille, chaleureuse et accueillante, au service personnel impeccable, aux murs remplis d’une très belle collection d’affiches et des produits anciens, et aux nappes aux petits carrés blancs et rouges sur les tables, il est sage de demander sans hésiter, juste à l’arrivée, un Lillet (l’apéritif bordelais par excellence - à base de vin et aux écorces d'orange -), afin de mieux entrer en matière et bien sonder les propositions du menu.

Déjà dans les options, celles-ci sont diverses et succulentes : rillettes, cassoulet des saucissons de Lyon, les lentilles du Puy, le pied de porc désossé en crépinette, les œufs en meurette, le sabodet,…sans mentionner la quantité et la qualité des vins.

Le Saint Boniface a fait l’un des lauréats 2004 des Grands Prix de la Cuisine de Tradition (Guide des Connaisseurs / Bel RTL). Malgré ceci, je pense que l'endroit mériterait de plus de visibilité, d'une bonne page web mise à jour, et peut-être de l'organisation d'activités (dégustations de vins français, atéliers de cuisine de terroir avec M. Pasquier...).

Note: 7.5/10

TARATATA - Hasselt, Belgium

In the middle of Hasselt (Limburg province), there is Taratata, a refined place for mid-30's to have a relaxed dinner on a Friday night either with friends or couple.

The restaurant, whose name derives from 'mixture', 'madness' in Latin, is a clean, quiet place where sober, minimal, modern and elegant architecture (by architects Jo Broukx and Bart Amerika) plays an important role.

The restaurant proposes a fusion, a mixture and a redefinition of tastes and textures by using high quality fresh ingredients to create a well-defined Taratata style.

However, the choice in the menu is a limited one and the too much use of asterisks in the menu indicating the change of price of some dishes draws too much the attention on this (avoidable) aspect.

Among the starters, Taratata is known by its 'Crispy open lasagna with grilled chicken and mushrooms' and the tasty 'Sushi Taratata style'.

Several executions outstand among the mains : the 'Marinated duck fillet, sourdough, mashed sweet potato and Granny Smith apples, sauce of sun-dried cherries and black pepper', the 'Salmon fillet cooked in truffle broth, mushroom ravioli with leek' or 'Grilled lamb with artichokes, mashed lentils and green sauce of black olives and anchovy'.

The concept is good but the restaurant is so worried to define the ideas and values that are claimed to match with the phylosophy of the place and to explain so many things at the same time that it all becomes a bit confusing and ends up by killing the magic.

I regret to have ordered a cinnamon flavoured aperitif, too sweet, unbalanced and which did not match with the food that was about to come to the table.

http://www.taratata.be/

RESTO.BAR - Brussels

Do not feel impressed by what could seem a trivial name, the Resto.Bar has nothing of a normal restaurant or bar.

Rather, this trendy place with small Jackson Pollock-like paintings on the brick walls, round bubble lights and rolled cylidrical menus in changing colours, develops an innovative, international and fusion cuisine whose main concept is to serve everything in glass containers, either it be glasses, jars, test tubes, jam pots, etc.

The restaurant, which opened 4 years ago and which is managed by Caroline, proposes a menu divided in five sorts of food, each of which has a completely different personality and taste : starter (made of 4 different finger food composed by the chef and changing every week), fraîcheurs (with compositions made of vegetables, cheeses, mushrooms, etc.), pâtes (pasta), inédits (dishes made either with fish or meat), and after (desserts such as the 'panacotta printemps' or the 'choc show').

However, in order to have a good idea of the different sort of treats, the best option is to go for a menu combining 3 different types of food : a fraîcheur (i.e., the 'Tralala', a tasy composition with eggplant and white cheese in the bottom of the glass, mmmh !), a pâtes (i.e., 'Les Diamants Noirs', penne with white truffle and red coloured cheese !), and an inédit (i.e., the not-so-classic 'Tuna burger').

If you go there during the lunch time, a lighter version of two compositions (instead of three) will be also proposed : either a fraîcheur and a pâtes or a pâtes and an inédit, or a fraîcheur and an inédit).

The service is always ready to help and to try to adapt the menu to the customer preferences and needs.

My female tablemates pointed out that the atmosphere gives the restaurant a predominant ladies' touch which makes the place an ideal one for a true girls night out (even if boys enjoying the music and the food did not seem to be spending a boring night either !)

Resto.Bar is a place to taste and discover!

http://www.restopointbar.be/