Play a game of word association with knowledgeable eaters and ask them to name a dish the word ”Brussels” evokes in their minds, and chances are they will reply moules et frites–mussels and french-fried potatoes. In the Belgian capital, restaurants prepare mussels from the North Sea in a variety of ways, and the french fries–thinly sliced, crisp and free of grease–are as good as one can find anywhere.
But moules et frites do not begin to tell the story of dining well in Brussels. In fact, for lovers of good food and drink the city is a gastronomic mecca. The Michelin Guide, not known for its generosity to restaurants outside France, awards more stars to the Belgian capital than to any city except Paris.
In nearly every part of Brussels, a typical city block contains at least five restaurants and bars. This density of eating and drinking establishments increases almost five-fold in the center of the city.
Near the beautiful Grande Place and the famous Maneken Pis fountain, the streets seem to contain only souvenir shops, restaurants, snack bars, bakeries, chocolate shops and bars. Because Belgium has 400 breweries, it is possible to sample even more varieties of beer in Brussels than in such beer capitals as Munich.
But numbers are only a small part of the story. It would take a deliberate effort to eat a bad meal in Brussels. During two 24-hour visits in 1984, I ate five outstanding meals and never resorted to the local specialty. Brussels has become an international city since it was chosen as the seat of the European Economic Community, and the meals reflected this cosmopolitan character.
Dinner on the night of my arrival the first time was at a Chinese restaurant, La Fontaine des Perles, at 124 Ave. Louise. Its owner is Katia de Perlinghi, a woman of Chinese, Greek and Russian descent who was the first woman to receive an M.D. from Louvain University, considered Belgium`s best. I don`t know whether Dr. Perlinghi ever practiced medicine before entering the restaurant business.
A Belgian friend who shares my love for good food had introduced me to the Fontaine des Perles and its owner the year before, and I was delighted when she suggested we eat there again. Katia greeted me with three kisses on the cheeks, two on the left and one on the right in the Belgian fashion, and a bottle of Champagne, and we continued to drink Champagne throughout our meal. The two dinners I have eaten at the Fontaine des Perles are the best Chinese meals I have eaten anywhere, including Hong Kong.
Lunch the next day was at Chez Christopher, at 5 Place de la Chapelle, which recently was awarded its first Michelin star. Christopher Luft, the young owner, is a graduate of the famous hotel and restaurant school in Lausanne, Switzerland, but before opening his restaurant in 1976, he had been a metals alloy specialist.
The Michelin Guide describes the interior of Chez Christopher as ”decor retro.” It has stained-glass art nouveau windows, wood paneling and counter- weighted lamps that can be raised and lowered.
Luft, an outgoing and exuberant man in his 40s, suggested we order the menu degustation, a six-course meal with six wines. This menu varies with the seasons and with what is offered in the markets. The wines are selected to enhance the flavors of the food. On the day I ate there, they all came from France`s Loire valley, though I don`t know whether the selection of wines from the same region is a standard practice.
Our meal began with slices of cold smoked duck breast with fresh duck liver. A dry white Vouvray accompanied the first course.
This was followed by large shrimp sauteed in an orange-flavored sauce. Interestingly, this dish and the following fish course were served with red wines, the shrimp with a Bourgueil.
The next course was one of the finest Mediterranean fishes, loup, served with a butter sauce flavored with the juice of truffles. The red wine was a 1982 Chinon.
Our meat course was partridge with a sauce made of essence of the birds, served on toast points and accompanied by deep-fried vine leaves, braised apple slices and lingonberries. A gold-medal award 1982 Bourgueil accompanied the course.
A white sauvignon accompanied the slices of three different goat cheeses. Our waiter, who commented on each course and explained the selection of the accompanying wines, even suggested the order in which we should eat the cheeses.
Dessert, a strawberry mousse in an airy pastry shell, was served with a white 1983 Coteaux du Layon-Chaume.
Our entire meal was outstanding. On earlier visits I had eaten in two of Brussels` three-star restaurants and Chez Christopher`s menu degustation was their equal. Luft`s chef is Japanese, and the presentation of the dishes displayed the visual beauty that makes Japanese cuisine a treat for the eyes as well as the palate. It would surprise and disappoint me if Chez
Christopher`s single Michelin star did not acquire company soon.
How does one avoid a letdown at dinner after such an outstanding meal at noon? Mireille, my food-loving Brussels friend and hostess during this visit, solved the problem with a Vietnamese dinner at a restaurant charmingly named Le Jardin de la Paresse (The Garden of Laziness) at 33 Rue de Magistrat.
Our meal was as different from standard Vietnamese fare as the Chinese dinner at the Fontaine des Perles had been–and as good. The two young owner- chefs show an inventive touch with sauces and spices, and Mireille told us the dishes at this hedonistically named restaurant are slightly different every time she eats there.
The next month I was back in Brussels for another 24-hour visit. This time Mireille and her husband picked me up at the railroad station and rushed me off to lunch for yet another excellent meal–with no moules et frites.
Their choice was Da Gesuino at 3 Rue Fiennes, an Italian restaurant that had recently received its first Michelin star. Tempted by a variety of pasta dishes, I ordered their tortellini sampler with three varieties of tortellini, all with different fillings and served with different sauces, all exquisite.
But lunch was merely a prelude to the most unusual meal I had during my visits: dinner at Samambabaia, a Brazilian restaurant at 23 Rue Middlebourg.
The Portuguese owner, Manuel de la Motta Veiga, studied business engineering in Brazil before coming to Brussels. He has assembled a most unusual menu featuring dishes from all parts of Brazil, including recipes of Indian tribes.
Our meal began with cocktails prepared with Cachaca, a white alcohol made from sugar cane and mixed with fruit nectars.
Then followed a large mixed platter of hot entrees, most of them rather spicy and accompanied by interesting sauces. Among them were a Brazilian variety of small deviled crabs, and steamed corn husks stuffed with corn kernels in a mousse of sweet peppers.
The main courses we shared were braised duck prepared in the manner of the Para Indians, and grilled cubes of filet mignon, accompanied by a savory sauce.
For dessert we had an assortment of sherbets made from tropical fruits.
I had eaten superbly well and had sampled a great variety of cuisines during my brief stays in the Belgian capital, but I was determined to have some moules et frites on my next visit.
And here I must confess that in 1985, I did return. Once again I had an outstanding meal, but again I did not eat moules et frites. Blame my food-loving and restaurant-wise friend Mireille, who had found a new restaurant that I absolutely had to try: Le Fruit de ma Passion (The Fruit of my Passion).
The name suggests a single owner, but Le Fruit de ma Passion, at Rue Jean-Baptiste Meunier 53a, is owned and operated by two friends in their late 30s. Bearded Pascal Frenot greets the guests. Clean-shaven Eric Rolin works his magic in the kitchen, where he produces imaginative haute cuisine with a light touch.
Because Mireille, who is an excellent cook herself, had planned a dinner with friends at her home that evening, we tried to resist the temptations of the menu. I passed up a first course but sampled Mireille`s small green cabbage leaves stuffed with smoked salmon in a light cream sauce flavored with fresh basil.
As a main course we found a special of the day, unlisted on the menu, irresistible: lake trout, served with tiny braised cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and new potatoes. It fully lived up to our expectations.
For dessert, I honored the name of the restaurant by ordering a parfait of passion fruit sherbet with a black currant sauce.
So far, Le Fruit de ma Passion has not received a Michelin star, but it certainly deserves one, even in a city where the competition among outstanding restaurants is considereable.
In Brussels, it should now be obvious, there is more than mussels.
