Bagel mania

We checked out this small bagel place in St. Gilles. The waitress was a bit rude but the food made up for it. If you love bagels, check it out:

This place is perfect for a small lunch.  Just don’t go here starving.  The combination of bagel sandwich, salad, and drink (together ~4-8 euros) can be quite satisfying, and much more so than the run-of-the-mill Belgian lunch sandwiches you can find everywhere.  For the record, the roasted red pepper cream cheese with smoked salmon and cress went down very nicely.

By all accounts the tuna salad tasted great, too.  The cinnamon cream cheese became too overpowering after eating about half of it, but its uniqueness still holds some charm.  Considering that bagels are not standard fare in Brussels, this place is worth checking out when you’re in the neighborhood, especially at off-peak hours.

Au Pays Des Merveilles
Avenue Jean Volders 42

Food: A-
Price: A
Atmosphere: B
Service: B-
Languages: French

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

Pure

Pure
Technology Park, Haasrode (Leuven)

This new snack bar, cafe, and catering restaurant is a spinoff of Octogoon down the road and occupies the same space as the now-defunct @mosphere restaurant.  Pure serves the local professionals during the workweek for breakfast and lunch.  Fortunately for them, it has solved many of the logistical problems with the former occupant, by having ready-made sandwiches available for quick purchase, eliminating a lot of the lines for lunchtime meals.  Salads are made before your eyes, and hot dishes also are available.

The multi-grain bread option is very good, and as lunch sandwiches go around the area, Pure has some of the best (~3 euros).  My favorite one so far had a nice combination of meat, sundried tomato, and a kind of pesto.  Pass on the “spicy pasta with chicken” dish (~7 euros), though, unless saltiness, pungent cheese, and overpowering raw garlic is your thing.

The best part of the old tenant remains intact, too: the comfortable meeting place and wooden decor amid large windows.  I always was a fan of the interior, and it continues to humbly impress.

A contestant for Miss Belgium helped promote the opening of this place, and I hope the owners continue to invest that kind of energy in the business.  If you decide to find out for yourself how it’s going,  bring cash or credit card, as paying with Bankcontact adds a surcharge for small orders.

Food: B+
Service: B
Value for money For food: B
Interior: A
Languages spoken: Dutch, English