Much food for your money

Post-Antwerp 10 mile race, which apparently is one of the races with the highest attendance in Belgium with 25,000 runners, we discovered a place where you get so much food for your money. For once we couldn’t actually eat it all. Unfortunately, all I can tell you for now is that it is in the center of Antwerp, very close to the train station. The waitress kindly humoured our post-race smelly selves and let us feast.

Vol au vent

Meat platter

Grilled chicken

The 1/2 grilled chicken came with a side of potatoes and a huge salad. The meat platter was a meat-fest and the vol-au-vent was good. The table full of food cost us less than 15 euros a person with a large bottle of water.

Food: B
Atmosphere: B
Service: A-
Price: A
Languages: Dutch, English

Make it a Thursday night

Over the last three years I have watched the evolution of one of my favorite eateries. The first time I went to El Vergel, I remember thinking the food was great and it was cheap relative to the quality and amount you received. Then about a year later I was a bit annoyed at the obvious and quite large prices increases (over 2 euros on some dishes) that appeared practically overnight. This was attributed to the price of meat going up (that vicious cycle of increasing grain costs due to fuel costs blah blah). Of course it didn’t have anything to do with the hordes of Eurocrats that flock there every lunch from the European Parliament and Commission and the ING and other bankers in the area, all of whom obviously have money to spend.

That said, the food is still delicious, and they still make a hell of a margarita if you happen to drop by on a Thursday night (the only night of the week that they stay open for dinner). Top of the list are the chicken and beef tacos (7.10 and 7.50 euros respectively) and the chicken salad (9.30 euros). The daily special is usually a meat and potato/rice/plantain type dish and almost always great (~10 euros). Sometimes it is packed for lunch and the service can be quite slow, but generally friendly. The best time to go is Thursday evening when there are less customers and you can enjoy your meal in some peace. The cheesecake (3.70 euros) is probably the best in town.

El Vergel, Rue du Trone 39, 1050 Elsene

Food: A
Atmosphere: A/B ~ depends if its for lunch or on a Thursday night
Service: A/B ~ depends if its for lunch or on a Thursday night
Price: B
Languages: French, English, Spanish

Beer by the pitcher

Foreigners who want a full pitcher of beer in Brussels may be hard-pressed to find one, but at least you can always do it at Belga.  Maybe we just aren’t as classy as Belgians and their individual bottles, but who cares?  Sometimes you just want a lot of beer for everyone.

This popular large cafe at Flagey in Ixelles recently went non-smoking, too, which also adds to its appeal.  The pitchers make the place that much more familiar.  Though sometimes crowded, it doesn’t get hot.  Like most bars, at night the music gets turned up, so talk louder or just start dancing.

Café Belga
Eugène Flageyplein 18

Atmosphere: A, non-smoking

Take a book.

Have you been looking for that little, cozy cafe where you can take your laptop/newspaper/book to relax with a hot cuppa or a light snack such as a yummy bagel?  I haven’t been paid to write this, I just enjoyed Cafe Modele, close to the Compte de Flandre metro stop, immensely.  There is a pleasant view of the canal and not only were there others with their laptops/newspapers/books relaxing (free wifi by the way) but the place is 100% non-smoking and their prices are great. Salad bowls piled high (4.10-8.50 euros) and sandwiches and bagels (3.50-5.50 euros) are serviced until 17.00 and warm dishes such as couscous and lasagne until 22.00.  Good coffee (1.70-2.70 euros) and freshly squeezed juices (2.30-3.30 euros) makes this place great for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The cafe is across the street from the bar Walvis, and apparently owned by the same person as well.

Croque monsieur with side salad

Cafe Modele, Rue Dansaertstraat 208, 1000 Brussels

Main dishes: A
Prices: A
Service: B
Atmosphere: A
Languages: Dutch, French

Go for the hot chocolate alone.

Sometimes being a cut above the rest is in the small things. It could be the joking waiter, the chilled beer served at just the right temperature or the perfectly crisp, slightly salted french fries. For the most part what differentiates L’Ultime Atome from its plentiful counterparts is in the small things. The menu spans the usual array of fish, meat, and pasta dishes. On average, the quality of food is just that, average. Yet this resto-bar is hugely popular and is always at least half-full, even on a Sunday. This could be due partially to the ideal location on Saint Boniface, the fact that it is one of the only places open on a Sunday in this area of town or the large array of beers listed on the menu. What attracts this hungry customer again and again is the large, spacey interior, the smoke- and blasting disco music- free environment, and the excellent and price worthy hot chocolate. These may seem to be small details, but in a city full of to the brim of restaurants, bars and cafes, one has to differentiate on the small things.

Recommended dishes include the beef carbonnade (13 euros) and chicken mushroom sauce (15 euros). Pass on the overcooked pasta (10-13 euros) and the overpriced starters (10-12 euros). Beers are served nicely chilled, coffees are excellent and the house hot chocolate arrives with steaming milk and a side of dark chocolate to mix in at savoury and pleasurely will.

L’Ultime Atome, Rue Saint Boniface 14, 1050 Elsene

Food: B+

Drink: A+
Service: C+
Atmosphere: A-
Languages: French, English
Other factors: Non-smoking