Vandenhende Chocolatier

 Tonight I'd like to take you to a chocolate shop, nestled in the La Chasse neighbourhood, conveniently On My Way to the Supermarket.  This time my shopping list sternly lists milk, fabric conditioner and wine; but no matter, I will delay the walk home laden with bottles - wouldn't you?  How about calling in for some delicious fondant au chocolat instead?

So, follow me as I trudge up the hill towards Eden, in my oversized snowboots (now, with holes!) their furry insides protecting me from the sapping cold and drizzle which has returned to Brussels, but not, sadly, from those paving slabs like seesaws which you step on and curse when dirty water splashes up your leg...

The first time I passed Vandenhende I peered at the chocolate specimens in the window, and then beyond those to all the chocolate-making apparatus towards the rear of the functional shop.  This is a place where the chocolates are actually made on the premises, without the aid of branded frippery and a marketing budget the size of Jean-Claude Van Damme's biceps.  Still, I hesitated: I don't generally like going in shops with no other customers in them (a deep-rooted fear of feeling obliged to buy something), but happily a customer who had emerged praised the wonderful fondant au chocolat, and that was all the encouragement I needed.

 At least the decision over what to buy was easy.  Unfortunately I discovered I only had five euros on me, and did not want to put a trivial amount on the plastic and get a "humpf" of disapproval.  But Kenny the owner surprised me: by kindly, patiently, smilingly replying to my questions; and then won my instant gratitude by handing me the remaining substantial end piece of a long slab of fondant - all for my measly five euros.  No, I'm not a hard-up student any more, but after such service of course I'd be back!

This extra generous portion gave me more than one opportunity to enjoy Kenny's work.  It could have complemented vanilla ice cream and coulis exceedingly well, but in the end I paired the gently warmed fondant with what was in my fridge: fresh mango and blueberries, and it was delicious!  Thank you, Kenny: I appreciate the long hours you work (mostly alone, apart from the part-timer who helps you make the chocolate boxes), I love your rich dark fondant au chocolat, and yes, I will return - I need to try your ice creams.

Vandenhende
Artisan Chocolatier
Chaussee de Wavre 643
1040 Etterbeek

Tel/Fax: 02 644 63 00

Les Halles Saint-Géry

Everyone who finds central Brussels will have drinks at les Halles at some time or other.  This attractive former covered market is a useful reference point when you've lost your bearings in one of the criss-crossing little streets nearby.  Inside it's an atmospheric, airy space where you can enjoy good cocktails while you people-watch.  On Friday and Saturday nights a DJ churns out tunes, which become progressively more insistent as the evening wears on.  However, the sophisticated easy-on-the-eye clientele do not seem inclined to burst into dance – am I missing something?  Perhaps dancing is not the point, but it’s what the space seems to call for.  Just imagine the club nights and piano recitals you could have here....  Darling, the acoustics!  Shame that if I started dancing madly everyone would look at me with disdain.

Les Halles Saint-Géry also host regular photographic exhibitions.  On my most recent trip there appeared to be a collection of arresting portraits of prominent Belgians, and I found myself examining each one closely.  Also of interest (if unoccupied) are the orange Aperol (happy summer memories of Venice) deckchairs and oversized beanbags in the rear portion of the hall.  They are too easy to sink into, too comfortable a companion for tired legs and a strong Trappist, and last time my brother and I had to be persuaded out of them by unsmiling staff - it was getting near closing time.

Another thing: don't mess with Madame Pipi, the fearsome toilet attendant cum guard!  Don't attempt to sneak past her and avoid the 50 cent fee for use of the facilities.  And on the subject of fees and Madame Pipi, I thnk 50 cents is a bit steep.  In fact I think paying for using the toilets at all is a bit cheeky, in a city where there are no public toilets, anywhere.  And surely if you're buying a drink, or a cinema ticket, or even dinner, these things should be free?  Still I suppose it keeps various semi-retired ladies in work: ladies in varying degrees of grumpiness!

http://www.hallessaintgery.be/

La Fin de Siècle

There's no name outside, no neon lights - only an abandoned port-a-loo next to another dug-up section of road.  Round the metal barricade you find what you have come for, but you cannot be sure until you have the drinks menu in your hand.  Before then you may have to wait in line at the bar by the ancient cash register, ogling well-loaded plates that pass and enviously studying the seated ones who arrived before.  There is no menu, no music, no pandering to the wishes of folk who prefer a quiet, uninterrupted service.  A huge blackboard tells you the spoils on offer, but the prices are strange and someone has chalked up"no visa".     

Welcome to La Fin de Siècle: forever noisy, non-conformist - and simply my favourite restaurant in Brussels.  It must be, for it's the one I keep coming back to - the twinkle in the eye of the long-haired waiter tells me I am recognised.  I've been here with teachers, interns, rowers, Commission officials, Belgians, non-Belgians - and my Mum and Dad.

Once you're finally seated you feel as if you are in brash beer cellar, for the restaurant is simply one long room with high ceilings, bare walls and simple wooden tables and chairs, the only soft furnishings hanging right at the back over the kitchen wall.  I'm curious to see inside that kitchen: great things emerge from it.  But first you must get to grips with the noise.  Everywhere people are squashed up next to each other, engaged in animated conversations over a hearty meal.  You watch them and they watch you, and you catch words, morsels of what is said.  But try and engage with the person opposite you and it is like being underwater.  But you haven't come here to linger and discuss anything at length.

And so to the food.  La fin de Siècle must have the most enormous cooking pots in the world, at the rate at which dishes are served: promptly and with absolutely no fuss.  They never seem to run out of everything, and when your dish arrives you will find it piping hot with the meat often so tender it seems to dissolve in your mouth.  I've sampled a few carbonnades during my time in Brussels, but the version here has the richest sauce and best-cooked beef.  Perhaps you can have better if you pay double the 12.37 Euro.  Not me: I save my carbonnades cravings for this place.  The menu is rather meat and carb-centric, so you can imagine I am in my element with so much mashed and jacket potato on offer.  Strangely they don't offer frites, but they are not missed.  

I haven't yet tried everything on the menu, but particular favourites are Gigot d'agneau sauce porto and the agneau en papillote.  I've sampled three of the six desserts (tarte tatin, tiramisu speculoos and crème brûlée), which are all to be recommended.

And what of the owners?  Well, they are dismissive of niceties such as background music, black and white formality, reservations and candles; dismissive too of imposed taxes (hence the VAT-free pricing) and focussed instead on feeding us up heartily - in a special Belgian (and Greek?) kind of way.  Several have worked here since I started coming about three years back, including my bearded friend.  I've never asked his name.  I'd feel awkward probing.  Perhaps it's a co-operative run by Bohemians.  No matter: whoever they are, they run it well.

Luckily, there is another La Fin de Siècle in the city.  In fact there's another one in the same road, on the corner.  It is much quieter, more sedate - suited to a dinner with the parents (though my parents enjoy the other one just as well!)  The menu offers fewer choices, but the food quality is the same.  And there is yet another restaurant of the same name too, not at all in the same place and not run by the same people - but I haven't been there. 






rue des Chartreux 9
1000 Brussels

Anata

It is not often that I am defeated by a meal in a restaurant.  Sometimes I worry that followers of this blog will picture me gradually chomping and gulping my way through Brussels, literally consumed by the culinary offerings here - rather like an insect in Roald Dahl's giant peach or, worse, one of his gobbling, grasping villains.

I do like food, and eating, very much.  I like hearty meals, as I used to enjoy at home - involving generous amounts of mashed potato, or indeed potato in any form.  For that reason I immediately appreciated Belgian cooking, for here was another country that seemed to worship humble purée, stews and root vegetables -where else could the chicon have attained such status?  Yet while swede is one vegetable prized by British people, in Belgium it is impossible to find anywhere.  I suspect it is fed to livestock.  I am also unsure what happens to British chicons, if they exist.

Japanese cooking, on the other hand, does not use potatoes, chicons or overdose on carbohydrates.  At least that's what I believed.  But at Anata I realise that I know even less than I thought I did about Japanese cooking.  I order a beef, noodle and vegetable soup together with 5 gyoza (ravioli).  After all, soup is a lighter option, right?

Some time passes and, despite the lovely throat-warming flavours of the soup, I am struggling.  It really is good, with beef pieces and vegetables and even some boiled egg surprising me as I slurp and savour.  I plead with my friend to help me, but even then I am forced to give up, two-thirds of the way through, my mum's disapproving words ricocheting inside the brain. 

Yes, it was a shame not to finish: my eyes were clearly bigger than my head!  Next time, I will remember that soup is not necessarily a lighter option, particularly where noodles are involved.

Anata has friendly (Japanese) staff, very reasonable prices and a good central location.  If you're a novice  you'll enjoy the unstuffy surroundings and the chance to practise chopstick technique without feeling eyes boring into you.  Do not be fooled by the menu panels inside: service is quick, but fast food this is not.  And, if you reserve, you get a ringside seat of the chefs at work. 

http://www.anatarestaurant.com/

Boulevard Anspach 74
1000 Brussels

Tel: 02 502 85 87

Open 7 days a week

Les Tartes de Françoise

Why, why, why am I so maddeningly indecisive?  Is it the availability of so many appealing sweet and savoury options in one place that makes me so?  Anyway, there I was at Les Tartes de Françoise, periliously near closing time on a Sunday afternoon, trying to select a dessert to take to a dinner party.  It was patiently explained to me that only certain tarts were left, in either small or large versions.  These nuggets of information were repeated several times, but my brain struggled to process anything and I was racked with indecision: which one to buy?

Finally I knew.  It had to be the moelleux chocolat haut!  My hosts liked chocolate best, and although I was disappointed that I was too late for fromage blanc speculoos, rhubarbe crumble à l'orange or, my personal favourite, tarte au citron meringuée , this one would still be very well received.  A large one would be too much for four, but large equals better value and there would be some left for others, perhaps even for me.

I slipped out clutching my tart, still unsure if I had the "right one", conscious that I must have embarrassed myself in there (mental note to self: in future, make choice at home and order online!)  In fact, if you have a particular favourite note that a steady procession of people turn up at Les Tartes de Françoise on the weekends for their bulk orders, made on the premises – presumably either to sell in their restaurants or to pass off as their own.  So if you turn up late the locusts may have stripped this unassuming atelier of all its supplies.  Unfortunately (for the restaurants), their secret is out and I have spotted Françoise's versions in many a shop window and at dinner parties. 

Of course, if you're not sure that your dinner party invite is worth its tart, then another option is a sharing picnic in the tranquil gardens of the Abbaye de la Cambre, a short walk away.

75 Avenue de l'Hippodrome
1050 Bruxelles

Tel : 02 640 88 41
Fax: 02 644 95 30

http://www.tartes.be/

Open Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 18:00
Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00