OK, I think I’ve done my best ticking the boxes on all the recommendations that were made to me about Brussels: frites at Antoines on Place Jourdan, drinks at Terrasse, beer at Delirium, seafood at one of the places off Place St. Catherine (that didn’t end too well – apparently allergic to mussels), regular visits to l’Ultime Atome and l’Ultime Hallucination for beer and portion mixte, Pain Quotidien on Sablon for coffee breaks, tried waterzooie, chicon gratin, stoemp and saucisse and many, many...

Bartholemew

You will be pleased to know I am putting the gut-wrenching worry over the ongoing governmental crisis in Belgium aside to post some important details of everyday life.

I won't bore you with the details of the beer: Hoegaarden, Westmalle, Leffe - whatever's your pleasure, there is a bar serving it on tap and cheap.

The food is, surprisingly, at least to me, almost as good as the beer. The Flemish stuff like stoemp (mashed potatoes mixed with pureed vegetables) reminds...

Bartholemew

This blog has more to do with taking a respite from Switzerland than it does with coming there, but I think this is a smart way to keep in touch with many friends and stalkers I have met on the forum. I’m spending a few months in Brussels ostensibly improving my French - but really consuming copious amounts of beer and frites - on a work exchange, but plan to return to Zurich – home - sometime next year.

Unfortunately for me, this seems to be a particularly dreary time of year in Brussels,...

Bartholemew