For my first entry I chose a long time favorite, Fin de siècle, which literally translated as ‘End or Turn of the Century’. It’s a no-frills, comfort food, bang for your buck establishment, in the nitty gritty center of Brussels, Europe’s capital. The place is a bit of a hole in the wall on a street that might be considered off the beaten path. It serves up local fare, such as Carbonnade à la Chimay (Beef beer stew), Lapin à la Kriek (Braised Rabbit with a cherry beer sauce) or Stoemp (Country sausage, with mashed carrots and potatoes), alongside classics from further afar like Tandoori Chicken, Fried Calamari and Moussaka.
The atmosphere is very laid back: no uniforms for the wait staff, menu is on one huge chalkboard against the wall in the center of the restaurant next to bar, with a dining room filled with mostly long, old, rickety wooden tables that sit six to eight people. None of the chairs, which are all wooden, match; Couple of random wooden benches thrown in. Décor dominated by yellow painted, rustic looking walls that run up to 20 foot high ceilings. Service is not what you would expect in Belgium or anywhere else on the Continent: It’s good to GREAT (I won’t belabor this point, although I would love to, really.) The wait staff is happy to greet you and any answer questions you might have, and when they are slammed, they cope and get the job done. The menu has perhaps around 20 mains, which range from 13-17 euros, a couple of starters in the 10 euro range and a handful of desserts to choose from for under 6 euros. The place starts getting packed around 7ish, and it is not uncommon to have a wait for a table on the weekends or even weekdays.
I jumped right in with a main dish - in times of austerity starters are the first thing to go, especially if you have an insatiable sweet tooth. I ventured for the Lapin à la Kriek accompanied by steamed vegetables. (For those who don’t know, Kriek, which is Dutch for cherry, is a local lambic brew made by fermenting Morello cherries, which gives it a dry, cidery flavor, with a distinct sour aftertaste. Many Belgian meat dishes are prepared with a local fermented beer rather than wine, like in Italy or in neighboring France.) The meat was cooked to perfection. Moist and tender, the way a white meat should be prepared. The sauce, too, was on the money. The sweet and sour from the Kriek beer and the earthiness from the beef stock and onions in the sauce, although a seemingly odd pair, were meant to be. There were also a couple of cooked prunes in the sauce, which given that rabbit is a mild flavored meat, went well. The only thing in this dish that could use a bit of finesse was the steamed vegetables. While plentiful, they required a bit more seasoning. It is purely my humble opinion, but a quick pass in the pan with some butter, with a dash of salt and pepper would go a long way.
The barman recommended I match the dish with, you guessed it, a lambic beer, Mort Subite (French for ‘Sudden Death’). The Kriek sauce brought out the flavor of the cherries in this lambic with full force. In the mouth this beer starts off strong, climaxes even faster, blasting you with cherry flavors and then quickly trails off, but then the sour, vinegary tang lingers for some time.
Last, but definitely not least – and to my surprise I think it stole the show to be honest - was dessert. I chose the Tiramisu Speculoos: SPOT. ON. A beautiful twist of an Italian classic, using Speculoos cookie rather than the typical ladyfingers (again for those not too familiar with Belgian fare, Speculoos is - a very addictive - ginger biscuit; and a tasty treat often served with coffee here in the land of three official languages and no government for over a year now.) Here, the ratio of sugared mascarpone to Speculoos cookie was idyllic, and the mascarpone itself was thick yet light and was so rich and fresh it tasted as if it had come from the beast the very same day. Simply superb.
All in, 2 solid dishes and a nice beer ran me about 25 euros, topped off by friendly, helpful service. Hard to beat that just about anywhere.
If you come to Brussels and you are looking for an unpretentious (which Brussels certainly is), succulent local meal, Fin de siècle is a must. A perennial crowd pleaser.
Fin de siècle - Rue des Chartreux 9, 1000 Bruxelles
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