Pistachio Disguisey

Thanks Kerriar! I am indeed aware that there won't be any sure bets for Westvleteren in Brussels itself, so possibilities like the ones you offered are exactly what I'm looking for. Sadly, I'm just passing through Brussels, and so won't have time to make it out to the Abbey itself. That'll have to wait for next time.

Does anyone have any tips on where to find Westvleteren (6,8,12) in Brussels? Bars, stores, car trunks... any place will do. thanks!

Outstanding! I think I know what I'll be doing (or at least drinking) on Christmas Eve!

Thanks for the advice. Its taken more legwork and advance reservations, but it looks like I should be able to eat most places I would have wanted to anyway. Tapac24 is open for christmas even, I've got a reservation at Hisop for 12/25, and Taller de Tapas is as far as I can tell only closed on 12/24. Now I'm just hoping that the market is at least open in the morning on 12/24 or on 12/26, and that by 12/26 some of the other tapas places (Quimet, Inopia...) will be open again I also plan on buying absurd amounts of wine and alcohol upon arrival lest the bars be closed for the duration.

I'm going to be passing through Barcelona on the 24th and the 25th (as well as the 26th) of December, and I was wondering if any gulleters have an idea of what, if anything, will be open over the holiday. I'm going to cast a wide net with my calling and emailing of restaurants for reservations since I imagine most will be closed, but I'm also curious about whether the market and more humble places (neighborhood tapas joints, bars, other street food options) will potentially be open. Specific suggestions of places likely to be open are certainly welcome as well. Gracias!

Are there any non-chain coffeehouses (with tables suitable for studying) open on weekday evenings in Charlotte? Thusfar, Dillworth's and Smelly Cat have let me down by closing at 8 pm, and I'm loathe to shell out cash for bad expresso at Starbucks or Carribou.

Duck Prosciutto!!!

I wouldn't call Provence a classical french restaurant, nor a l'etat c'est moi level fine dining place, but I certainly consider it excellent french food located in the Chapel Hill area.

Has anyone been to Bon Soiree in Chapel Hill yet? It's a brand new fine dining place located in the former pyewacket's complex (across from 3 Cups, behind Penang, in what I think was an office before), and the menu certainly looks good. Still, I'd like to hear about the calibar of both the food and the service before diverting some student loan money towards checking it out.

I'll be in France next week. I'm interested in finding some top notch beer that I'm unlikely to encounter back in the states. Consequently: 1. Does anyone know of any interesting french beers that aren't generally exported? 2. Is there likely to be a greater availability of top notch belgian and/or Belgian beers than there would be in the US. 3. Does anyone know of any shops that might be a good place to look for either of the above types of beer? Na zdravi!

Radegast is actually somewhat like the PBR of the Czech Republic (without the hipster following)- a good beer, but one that is a bit maligned because it is very cheap. It definitely does not have a larger market share than Pilsner Urquell though. However, you can still buy it at a grocery store for around 25 cents a half liter, but then again, you can buy the best beers for around 50 cents. And there are definitely cheaper beers, although I find that once you get to the 8-10 cents per half liter ones, the quality does start to drop to around that of Budweiser or Miller in the US. In any case, I agree that Radegast is a very good beer. If you like it, I'd definitely recommend exploring some of the other Czech beers beyond Urqell or Czechvar/Budvar (both of which, in my opinion, travel horribly). The Urquell available in the US is actually made differently than the domestic kind (with Polish water, at a different plant, etc) and I think it tastes like an entirely different beer, and a pretty mediocre one at that. Some excellent but harder to find Czech beers include Staropramen, Ferdinand, Branik and Bernard. Some of the dark czech beers are also good (especially Krusovice, but also Klaster dark and Herold), although they are considered the more "girly" option in the beer soaked CZR, on account of their fruit undertones. Lastly, I would encourage any beer lover to make a trip to Prague. The Czech's beer culture really is outstanding. Tthey consume more beer than any other country in the world and take beer making and consuming VERY seriously. I'll never forget things like the factory workers at the Skoda car works sipping their Pilner's at 10 am in the morning from built in coasters on the assembly line.