paulbrussel

The voting panel for the Benelux is very odd. Are you expecting that a Belgium politician like Steve Stevaert is just the right one out of 651 to judge the 50 best restaurants in the world? How come that for the Benelux section no one from the Netherlands or Luxemburg was involved? Isn't it logic then that only one restaurant from Holland, i.e. Oud Sluis which is frequented by Belgiums since it is in the southern part of the Netherlands and close to Belgium, is the only one mentioned, but De Librije in the northern part isn't, and none from Luxemburg is? So to be honest: I have my strong doubts about the Benelux voting panel which I can judge more or less; how can I trust other panels of whom I am not that much aware of the persons qualities in these field?

La Pergola will be excellent, I am sure; I have been there several times and always enjoyed it!My opinion [too simple for two stars] about Norma is a rare one, I have noticed, but personnaly I gather that L'Arnsbourg is much more interesting than Noma.

Personnally I prefer Marcolini, but the comparison between Wittamer and Marcolini might be interesting to try.

Is clean and fresh [which judgement I support completely and which I described as "simple"] not a bit too little to deserve two stars? Furthermore, I missed overall balance in the different plates.

The list surprises me! Why still a Bocuse on the list? But also: I had quite disappointing meals at Jean-Georges, Noma, Le Bernardin, Le Calandre, Nobu London... I was recently both at Can Roca as well Can Fabes: the latter much better than the first but even Berasategui I find more interesting than the three brothers. But when I looked at the voting panel of e.g. Benelux, I did understand why this list is not that interesting. I know several of them quite well (not personally though) and I wondered how they were chosen. No one from the Netherlands or Luxembourg for example, all seem friends of the chairman.

I just got there last Wednesday evening and phoned one hour in advance for dinner: it was no problem at all, although it was complete when I arrived.

Last week I just happened to be at Noma. I found the meal quite disappointing and not worth two stars. The cuisine is in a way quite simple, not very complex, working with some, although good ingredients and with leaving to the guest to find out the right balance between the different ingredients (sometimes very hard to discover). But there wasn't a single dish that struck me. Service on the other hand was excellent, although I made quite clear that I was critical about the food. (Wine list is very expensive though.)

They have just lowered the lunch prices again to the incredible 35 € for three courses. You will enjoy!

Bread? Probably give Le Pain Quotidien a visit. Pastry: Marcolini and Wittamer at the Sablon - not to be missed!

Beginning of May I will have dinner ar Sadler and lunch at Cracco-Peck, the latter I am always very pleased with. I might report later.

De Karmeliet is indeed the best. They offer a no too expensive menu "Het Vlakke Land" for 60 € but which isn't served on Saturday and friday evenings and Holidays. Otherwise i could recommend Den Gouden Harynck, having one star.

Were you at Vermeer when still Pascal jalhaij was there?"Modern Dutch Cuisine" (whatever that may be) could you perhaps find at the tw starred restaurants Ron Blaauw (near Amsterdam in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel) or the excellent restaurant De Bokkedoorns in Overveen (also near Amsterdam).

If you would ike to go to Roca, I would recommend Can Fabes more; I found it again much better then the three Roca brothers, and I went to both in two days. Can fabes is half way to Girona.

No mentioning of Berasatagui? I loved the meal there, more then Mugaritz.

Well, last visit was already in May 2003. The atmosphere seems rather classic but the food is modern. I still think it is the best restaurant of Rome as it is about creative food. The wine list is one of the best I have ever seen and the service is also one of the best I have ever encountered (and the maître d' wrote a book on this, together with the German chef). Try to get a table at the window, overlooking the old town, and if it is nice wether, you can have your apéritif at the terrace. Count on about 200 € per person, if you go for the biggest menu.

Can Gaig is indeed open on Sundays and I can highly recommend it. If it is for lunch on Sundays, I would certainly go for Can Fabes of Santi Santamaria in San Celoni which is easy to reach by train from Barcelona and then 10 minutes walk to the restaurant.

There are lots of markets in Brussels. The best knwon are those of Anderlecht and South Train Station, the latter only on Sunday mornings (till about 1 pm). Specialist shops: Champigros, Rue Melsens, indeed for mushrooms. Next door: the best game store: Matthys & Van Gaever. Just around the corner (Rue Sainte-Cathérine): Noordzee / Mer du Nord for fish. The most superb supermarket for high end food is: Rob Gourmet Market Woluwelaan 28, 1150 Brussel Tel. 02/771.20.60

Bruges is a very expensive, since touristic city and it will be difficult to find cheap and good places to eat. Furthermore it is one of the richest cities of Belgium.As said before: it shouldn't be too difficult to find good places for waffles or pancakes there.

Just to be precise: Hollanders are Dutch people living in The Netherlands; the correct word for Dutch is "Nederlanders" since "Hollanders" only refers to once the main province of The Dutch Republic in the 17th and 18th century.Belgium is divided in three "gewesten" (main regions, not to be confused with provinces; there are much more provinces): Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia with all their own governments and parliaments, although there is also one federal government and Parliament as wel as a federal Senat. Apart from the mentioned four governments, there are also "language" governments, called language communities responsible for example for education policy. [This implies by the way that the relatively small country of Belgium has 7 governments with also many, many ministers.] Belgium is a country with three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Although it is officially Dutch and French, normally people are referring to Flemisch and Walloon. The Flemish and Walloon are sort of dialects of the Dutch and French with own words and expressions, not common to Dutch or French people. German is only spoken in a small area, near to the German border around the town of Eupen. In Flanders most people speak Dutch/Flemish which is the official language of the region. In Wallonia it is French/Walloon. Brussels is officially bi-lingual although about 85 % speaks French rather then Dutch.

Then I would go for the most simple lunch in De Karmeliet in Brugge (three stars).

There is no problem at all buying wines at Auchan imho. Of course there offer is different from the two Foires aux vins in September and Spring, but still you have a good choice of wines there. Even the own Auchan wines (Pierre Chanau) can be good; mostly they offer good quality for the price. But their choice is bigger than that and you will certainly find good wines all year around.

Since in 2003 I had 53 *-meals in one year (never business btw), I noticed that it was getting too much and in later years I dined out much less. But 24 shouldn't be too difficult then This also means that I have less choice this year. Best meals: 1. Oud Sluis***, Sluis (NL) 2. Can Fabes***, Sant Celoni (ES) 3. Sea Grill**, Brussels (B) Interesting / promising restaurants: 1. In de Wulf*, Dranouter (B) 2. Carlo Aries*, Köln (D)

When I go to Oud Sluis I always go from Brussels to Brugge (Bruges) station and then take a bus straight to Sluis (ask the driver for the right stop, I think it is the second stop in Annastraat); then it is a few minutes walk to the restaurant. It would be much easier to go from Brussels to Oud Sluis - I think from Amsterdam with public transport it will be almost impossible to get there.

I only went to Pazzo. It is mainly known for its extensive wine list and the enthousiastic owner who is also the sommelier. I certainly can recommend the place. It is informal, food was good and wines indeed interesting.

Best restaurant of Brussels is Sea Grill (two Michelin stars) in the SAS Hotel where I had an excellent Sint Sylvester menu two years ago. (It is a bit more classic then on a usual evening since there is a set menu adapted to the average taste, I suppose, but still very good.) Website: http://www2.resto.be/seagrill/