Two and two
makes four and Italy plus Israel makes one amazing lunch. No, I didn’t have a
glass of wine too much, but this is what is awaiting you at Racines in
Brussels just on 26 April for lunch or dinner. Celebrating two unique cuisines
that combine some incredible ingredients, chef Alaa Musa and Ugo Federico managed
to turn a dream marriage into reality.
There is a number of restaurants you
shouldn’t miss. SAN Sablon was kind of in the back of my head, as a restaurant
I could visit one day but not as one that is a must-do, such as La Buvette
(which I would always keep on my to-do list) or Humphrey (this I would cross
from it). Not seeing SAN Sablon as a must-must-must-go is definitely a mistake,
because you’ll miss out on something culinary impressing and beautiful.
Soup. Soup can be quite a boring dish, but when prepared well and
with the right spices it can be a unique experience. Especially Asian soups
with lots of spices and interesting ingredients are something that many people,
me included, are crazy about.
Natural wine -
what is that? Normally, this means that the wine is produced without any
chemical additives, like sulphites. As soon as even a small quantity of these
is added (at bottling for example) one speaks of organic wines and not natural
anymore. But lines are blurred here and there is no strict regulation, which is
why one natural can differ to some extent from another one.
I am always a bit scared to go
back to restaurants twice. It happened too many time already that when coming
back the food wasn’t as good, because the cook had a bad day, or the service
wasn’t as nice as the first time I went, or the restaurant has decided to
change its interior entirely, sometimes to a worse in my opinion. It’s some
kind of non-fulfillment of expectations anxiety. But on the other hand, like
this I can be really certain to recommend a restaurant: when it was great many
times.
‘La Buvette’ has been far up on my to-do list since I moved to
Brussels in November. The old butchery that was turned into a stylish
restaurant, serving beautifully looking dishes, seemed like a place that I
could like. It also reminded me of some places that I used to go to when I
lived in Paris. The chef Nicolas Scheidt from Alsace and co-chef Damien Brunet
from Bretagne, do a great job representing French inspired cuisine in Brussels.
I was a bit sceptic when I re-moved to Brussels. I lived here four years ago, for two months and to be honest, I wasn't a big fan. It was grey, rainy and not very exciting. To be fair, though, I wasn't in town for a single weekend, escaping to Berlin, Paris or Maastricht whenever I could.
This has now changed. I'm "stuck" here for a bit longer and I don't mind this at all. I have started looking for cafés, restaurants, bars and other nice places and I was quite surprised what Brussels has to offer.
