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About Dining in Belgium, Luxembourg
and
the Netherlands |
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UNITED by a bond of simple geography and bolstered
by the flowering of the European Union, Belgium, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands also share a common, longtime allegiance
to French cuisine. But examine the cultures one by one,
and you'll find well-defined differences, nuances that
make a meal in Brussels, in Luxembourg, in Amsterdam
quite unlike ones you'll have on French soil.
At Home With Patricia Wells: Reviews Index
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- Brussels and Luxembourg can best be defined
as capitals of expense-account land, and beware
of the danger of prices that bear no relation
to culinary value.
- Likewise - ladies beware - both spots are
havens for the sort of Neanderthal male chauvinism
that was all but snuffed out elsewhere some
decades ago.
- And while the Dutch have worked hard to maintain
a reputation as some of the world's greatest
eaters, finesse and subtlety in their own cuisine
are not their fortes. That said, it's best to
adopt the "when in Rome" defense in
all three.
- In Brussels, there's a large gap between the
grand palace tables and the simple brasserie:
Grand dining there can equal that anywhere,
yet standards slip when it comes to most brasseries
and bistros, where ambience greatly outshines
the quality of cooking.
- In Luxembourg, the capital itself has caved
in to a mix of fast food eateries and a clutter
of overbearing, overpriced establishments. The
real action is outside of town, just a short
drive away.
- The best tables in the Netherlands are French,
and the Gallic torch shines brightly there,
where the discipline inspired by Escoffier stands
as a model for us all. For everyday fare there,
don't pin your hopes on grand gastronomy. Rather,
develop a taste for strong coffee, pea soup
and little sandwiches, and stretch out meal
time with a good newspaper, magazine or book.
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No.1: A la Table des Guilloux, 17-19 Rue de la
Résistance, Schouweiler, Luxembourg, tel:
(352) 37-00-08.
No.2: Brasserie La Roue d'Or, 26 Rue des Chapeliers,
Brussels, tel: (32-2) 514-2554.
No.3: Keyzer, Van Baerlestraat 96, Amsterdam,
tel: (31-20) 671-1441.
IT'S a clear sign of the times when a successful,
urban, two-star Michelin chef trades it all in for
a modest country bistro. A year ago, Pierrick Guillou
and his wife, Lysiane, sold their historic Luxembourgeois
sanctuary, Saint-Michel, and in December they opened
the doors of a 1650s farmhouse turned bistro, on
the outskirts of town. So instead of lobster and
langoustine, we're dining on gratin de pied de porc
and leeks in vinaigrette and loving every mouthful.
A la Table des Guilloux is the epitome of the world's
new casual table, where everyday food is prepared
with the same care and attention once reserved for
grand palace dining. Which is why Guillou's luscious,
springlike offering of leeks in vinaigrette bears
no resemblance to the soggy, fibrous version found
in most bistros.
His pig's-foot gratin - layers of creamy mashed
potatoes embedded with bits of pork - appears
as graceful, elegant and luxurious as any dish
can be, and his jarret de porc aux lentilles arrives
as a mound of earthy jade- green lentils topped
with a tepee of moist, chewy slices of pork.
The beautifully preserved farmhouse - with its
huge copper-hooded hearth, thick tile floors,
dark wooden beams and an elegant armoire set into
the wall - make you feel right at home, but, oh,
what a home.
Closed Saturday lunch and Tuesday. A la carte,
1,250 Luxembourg francs ($35), including service
but not wine.
Chic, clean, serious and cozy: Who could ask for
more in a bustling, casual brasserie just steps
from Brussels's Grand Place? Brasserie La Roue d'Or,
on Rue des Chapeliers, plays straight to one's nostalgic
longings, with its back bar as big and imposing
as an altar, and hits right to the funny bone, with
its Magritte- inspired frescoes of gentlemen in
big black derbies.
The menu includes such Belgian classics as croquettes
de crevettes, waterzooi and mussels in many guises,
but steps into the modern world with a fine, updated
rendition of rabbit with mustard (one rabbit leg
boned and stuffed with a refined rabbit mousse,
the other cooked on the bone, smothered with an
elegant mustard sauce) and a gargantuan pot au
feu d'agneau, a vegetable-dominated creation that
includes a light broth, plenty of lamb and an
avalanche of fresh peas, mushrooms, green beans,
snow peas and fresh baby onions.
Closed Saturday and Sunday. A la carte, 1,000
Belgian francs ($28).
In Amsterdam, few tables are as traditional as Keyzer,
a classic "brown café" just steps
from the Concertgebouw: a highly democratic place
where locals of all ages, appetites and manner gather
for a heavy dose of ambience and local culture.
Here, that means what's on the plate is far less
important than the surroundings - people gather
around the well-lighted reading tables, sharing
the stacks of newspapers set out for that purpose,
down a glass of beer with traditional offerings
of uitsmijter, platters of fried eggs and ham
or cheese atop a slice of white bread. Silvery
herring in season, a portion of bitterballen (tiny,
crisp, deep-fried shrimp balls), a piping-hot
pea soup complete the tableau.
Not much pizzazz but a ton of history, and worth
every minute.
Closed Sunday. A la carte, 30 to 90 guilders
($15 to $45), including service but not wine.
For an extended look at café life in Amsterdam,
don't miss a visit to the large and cozy Café
Luxembourg, Spui 22-24, tel: 620-62-64; to the traditional
Hoppe, Spui 20, tel: 623-78- 49, and to the modern
De Jaren, Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22, tel: 625-57-71.
Coffee, chatter and light snacks are the order of
the day.
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No.1: Comme Chez Soi, Place Rouppe 23, Brussels,
tel: (32-2) 512-2921.
No.2: Christophe, Leliegracht 46, Amsterdam,
tel: (31-20) 625-0807.
No.3: Lea Linster, Route de Luxembourg 17, Frisange,
Luxembourg, tel: (352) 6-84-11.
A GREAT meal is all about harmony, balance, a slow
dance of rhythms and flavors that flatter, even
enhance, one another. At Comme Chez Soi, Pierre
Wynants's winter menu dégustation is just
that a veritable culinary sonnet. In a menu that
pays homage to good taste and solid experience,
the 54-year-old Wynants weaves soup and fish, poultry
and organ meats, ending with a soothing warm Roquefort
soufflé: a perfect antidote to the gray,
the rain, the cold.
While Wynants - the holder of three Michelin
stars since 1979 - could be considered one of
the granddads of great European cuisine, he is
clearly a chef in touch with the '90s. He's a
man who respects the classics, yet carefully,
judiciously adds such Asian touches as lemon grass
and fresh coriander, all the while honoring the
game, wild mushrooms and Belgian endive of his
native land.
His consommé d'oursins is like a touch
of springtime in a bowl, a soothing, well-textured
marriage of creamy sea urchins, briny oysters
and crisp green asparagus. The sunshine pours
in with his belle meunière de bar, fresh
sea bass with its crackly skin, bathed in a warm
and perfectly acidic vinaigrette, a crunch of
poppy seed and sesame seed, a touch of tomato
and celery. A timbale of spinach presents a fine
contrast of color and texture to his famed canard
des bois grillé, an Asian-inspired duck
with a spice-infused crust, enhanced with a satisfying
ration of foie gras.
Texture reigns again with his smooth, mouth-
filling portions of ris de veau, or sweetbreads,
offset by the crunch of fresh black truffles,
the silken elegance of wild mushrooms.
Wynants has been in the kitchen since the age
of 16, the third generation to fill the tables
in this once modest house on a simple square.
Success has permitted expansion and renovation,
and five years ago, Wynants and his wife, Marie-Thérèse,
with their daughter, Laurence, re-created a fittingly
sumptuous decor in the style of Victor Horta,
the city's great Art Nouveau architect and designer.
It's an ensemble that suits them, and their lucky
diners, just fine. Their well-priced menus offer
excellent value. Just be certain to reserve well
in advance.
Closed Sunday and Monday. Menus at 1,875, 3,150,
and 4,250 Belgian francs ($52, $87.50 and $118).
A la carte, 1,825 to 4,000 francs. Prices include
service but not wine.
It's away from home that one often sees one's own
culture in finer focus, and it's clear that the
Frenchman Jean-Christophe Royer has his lens zoomed
in on his native France. An early childhood in Algeria,
schooling in Toulouse, cooking stints in Amsterdam,
Baltimore, New York, and then back to Amsterdam,
have allowed this Michelin-starred, 39-year-old
chef an international vision.
I'd return any day to Christophe, his elegant
town house restaurant right on an Amsterdam canal,
to sample the explosive, creative modern French
fare. It's hard to top the audacity or the resulting
success of his first-course offering of warm oysters
with red beets and endive: Individual leaves of
Belgian endive are bathed in butter, and gently
crunchy wands of beets receive equal treatment.
Everything comes together as the warmed, plump
Zeelande oysters bring their briny opulence to
play, as colors, textures, flavors erupt on the
plate and on the palate.
Equally pleasingly, equally sensuous is his impeccably
roasted farm pigeon in its almost gamy wine sauce,
paired with a festival of vegetables in matching
tones of garden green - spring peas, fava beans,
green beans tangled in a picture-pretty nest.
I was less enthusiastic about his roasted lobster
with sweet garlic and potatoes: It's just not
a great match, and neither potatoes nor garlic
serve to enhance the basic simplicity of this
often abused crustacean.
But Chef Royer won my heart, soul and palate
with a dessert titled simply "roasted fresh
figs with thyme ice cream." Somehow, on a
rainy northern night he managed to import every
ray of Provençal sunshine, evoking a sun-
drenched summer day when the air is perfumed with
the scent of grilled thyme and ripe warm figs
drop from the tree.
It's a true shame that the service - off schedule,
unpolished, though clearly well- meaning - fails
to measure up to the magic on the plate.
Closed Sunday. A la carte, 125 guilders ($64),
including service but not wine.
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