259997 Fri Mar 16 16:26:08 -0800 2001 14 26 International 0 1374207 Will spend 4 days in Belgium during May--any dining suggestions? Fri Mar 16 16:26:08 -0800 2001 0 Maria 1 1374212 What cities? Sat Mar 17 05:40:14 -0800 2001 1374207 0 Jim Dorsch 2 1374219 Mostly Brusseles, with a side trip to Ghent/Brugge. Maybe a day trip to Amsterdam if time allows. Water rat was not exactly what I had in mind when I posted the question! Something more mundane, please. Mon Mar 19 09:40:45 -0800 2001 1374212 0 Maria 3 1374223 There's a great restaurant in Brugge called Den Dyver. They specialize in beer cuisine, and if I remember correctly, the beers are all paired with the food, so you just order your dinner and the courses start coming to the table, each with the appropriate beer. This is a wonderful way to acquaint yourself with Belgian gastronomy as well as their amazing beers. In general, I'm afraid I'm much more helpful with cafes (i.e., bars) than restaurants. Mon Mar 19 13:19:51 -0800 2001 1374219 0 Jim Dorsch 3 1374238 You are going to the area of Belgium known as Flanders. The dishes most famous there are frites (french fries) and mussels. Other dishes you will want to keep an eye out for are paling (eel) in a variety of sauces and waterzooi, a wonderful fish soup. Obviously, you don't want to go to an expensive restaurant for frites. You might ask your hotel to recommend a good street vendor. For the seafood, again, it is not exactly haute cuisine, and you might ask locally for recommendations. Brussels is technically in Flanders, but the city seems to be in denial. It is also home to various administrative offices of the EU. What this means is that it has its own unique identity -- not quite Flemish, but not Wallonian either. For a variety of interesting restaurants, I would try Antwerp, which is only about an hour to the east of Ghent. Tue Mar 20 14:20:17 -0800 2001 1374219 0 Mike 4 1374248 While Brussels is within the borders of Flanders, I believe it's an independent entity. Tue Mar 20 21:39:01 -0800 2001 1374238 0 Jim Dorsch 5 1374251 If you ask the Flemish people of Brussels, they will tell you otherwise. IIRC, the Flemish government is based in Brussels (which, btw, is the Flemish spelling -- plus an "s"-- of Bruxelles), though the language most commonly spoken on the street is definitely French. Nevertheless, food-wise, it is quite mixed, with easy availability of both French and Flemish cuisine at all levels of price/quality. Wed Mar 21 04:12:49 -0800 2001 1374248 0 Mike 6 1374255 Just returned from Brussels( and other Benelux towns) and can verify that Flemish and French cuisines are usually excellent(even at unpretentious places)and very available everywhere.The waterzooi is prepared with chicken as well as fish. The chicken version is especially creamy,succulent,and marvelous at The Huzzar in Brugges(don't recall exact street address but not far from the main square).Even the much-maligned,touristy Rue de Bouchers in Brussels provides better-than-expected fare!Vieux Temps near Grande Place offers eels in spinach sauce(on a mostly Flemish menu)should you be so inclined,but we didn't encounter water rat anywhere.However,as an old Eastern Shore of MD girl,I agree that it is probably muskrat,given the similar marshy,lowland geography.Muskrat is fine eating if(a)it is cleaned correctly and (b)it is braised and simmered with Eastern Shore seasoning!Thanks for the opportunity to recapture our recent enjoyment of Belgium!!! Wed Mar 21 09:21:28 -0800 2001 1374251 0 Redhead 4 1374250 Been watching the site for an answer to "they also serve water rat." Muskrat? The original poster who mentioned it hasn't re-posted. Any of you Belgian foodhounds know the reference? Water rat is intruiging. BTW: living in the Midwest (Detroit area), when the Depression hit and Lent came about with the strictures o"f no meat/ just fish", the Catholic church OK'd muskrat as "fish" because it lived in the water. "Downriver" i.e. south of Detroit down I-75, has had a tradition of muskrat dinners for years since then. Is this unique to this area - I think it was an elegant solution to theological and economic issues. Tue Mar 20 22:49:53 -0800 2001 1374238 0 berkleybabe 1 1374214 I believe there's a restaurant that specializes in serving water-rat. I don't know what it's called or where it is, but it shouldn't be hard to find - just ask for the rat restaurant. Sun Mar 18 13:14:38 -0800 2001 1374207 0 Michael Lewis 2 1374215 What's water-rat? Is it like a muskrat, perhaps? How's it served? Sun Mar 18 13:33:00 -0800 2001 1374214 0 berkleybabe 1 1374291 Hi Maria, there are so many good places to eat in Brussels you're not going to go far wrong. Time out magazine (link below) has some sound recommendations which I would mostly endorse; you should also look at a "Guide Delta" which is a (French only) listing and brief review/price guide of all Brussels restaurants. One of the best restaurants in Europe is "Comme chez soi" - utterly wonderful, but rather expensive and needs booking weeks in advance for some evenings. Typically Belgian stuff includes "Paling in't groen" (eels cooked with spinach and green herbs), mussels, lots of beer-based meat specialities like carbonnades a la flamande", very very good basic French style bourgeois cookery, superb french fries (known as frites and best available from stands in the street, cooked in beef dripping and served with large quantities of mayo...OK, don't tell the dietician), and the list goes on. Try Moroccan food as well, under-represented in the States and England and one of the world's great cuisines. Don't be afraid to ask what your hotel/friends/hosts recommend, Belgians enjoy food and want others to share in that experience. Don't expect to eat in a smoke free environment though! PS Belgians don't eat water rats but might conceivably say they do to have a joke at the expense of naive tourists... Link: http://www.timeout.com/brussels/index.html Mon Mar 26 08:23:27 -0800 2001 1374207 0 Latkemania 1 1374400 Can't go wrong on luvverly Belgium! Stick to the basics - meat, frites (they invented them, ignore the French) and Mayonaisse, and of course beer, used in both cooking and of course from the glass. Very hard to find bad food in Belgium. In fact what with the food and high quality beer (which is the best in the world by a country mile) it will be totally alien to an American first timer. Enjoy! Mon Apr 02 14:44:36 -0700 2001 1374207 0 John 1 2895858 What does one do in belgium if they dont eat cow, chicken or eel. Now I do eat fish and eggs but no mammals or things that fly or resemble snakes. Are all the fries really cooked in beef fat? Thu Aug 30 06:59:45 -0700 2007 1374207 58211 Ljubitca 2 2902580 I assume you're looking for something yourself, since, as you might guess, people in Brussels do not eat out all the time. Regarding beef fat I can't speak for all places, but I have discerned a move to other, vegetarian options. At Brasserie Georges (in Brussels), when I was last there, they offered the option of frites cooked in graisse de boeuf, graisse d'oie, and huile d'olive. You could always ask if necessary. A traditional and delicious option for you would be tomates aux crevettes (tomatoes stuffed with grey shrimp found only in the southern region of the North Sea). One can only have those shrimp in Belgium and Netherlands and they are delicious. I dream of them. There are sandwich places when you're on the go, and there will always be nonscary seafood options available for you (for example, a seul meuniere). As for the politics spoken above (so so long ago!): Brussels is its own region. That said, things are nutty right now vis a vis Walloon/Vlaamse politics. I'm desperately trying to follow and its hard because English-language papers aren't offering suitable coverage, and I suspect the French-language papers (like Le Soir) are a bit in denial of what's happening. I should have learned Flemish. Sat Sep 01 05:46:58 -0700 2007 2895858 16734 Lizard