Traveling around West Vlaanderen

They are over, but we had two nice long week-ends. One from thursday to sunday and one from saturday to monday. All thanks to the fact that in Belgium every Catholic  festivity is celebrated. The first long week-end as well as the second we stayed on the Belgian coast, in a place called Sint Idesbald (a fraction of Koksijde) ... they say Belgium, but it is only few kilometers from France.

We took the occasion to drive around the area, which happens to be where Elke comes form (!!!), visiting breweries, World War (one) memorial cemeteries, little villages, etc etc. I will post more photos and details as I manage to find time to actually do something with the few hundreds I took. And this is a start .... and what better way to start if not by introducing a rather unknown (at least to the general public, but not to the lovers) beer, which now sits calmly in my stomach: the Pannepeut . A quadruple (read 10%) dark ale brewed with spices.

This beer comes form a non-professional brewery in the sense that it is run by amateurs (De Struise Brouwers or DSB). They have been voted the best brewery in the world for 2008 (see here) on top of the legendary Sint Sixtus Abdij (of the legendary Westevleteren 12 beer). So I was curios ... I bought a few and tonight gave a try at this one (which is not among their best). Well, what a nice beer. Not in the league of the legendary Westvleteren 8 and 12, but definitively a beer with a complex aroma and taste, just lacking in texture and aftertaste. I am looking forward to taste their better Pannepot and Black Albert!!! 

Among other things I saw in the area were cows .... and I discovered that cows are definitively not friendly. At least not to me. Why? Well, I saw one stuck in mud and ... yes what a photo. But as soon as I got out of my car ... I felt observed ... by 40 cows, then they all grouped together and with angry faces (just check the photo above)  they started getting close ... time to go away!!! Better run !!!

And now let's end with a different note .... the 28th of April was our 1st anniversary .... of marriage. As it was a monday we took advantage of the first long week-end to celebrate it sligthly later. And we did it in style. We went to one of our favorite restaurants: Hostellerie St Nicolas. We know this place from before he got to two Michelin stars and I say it since they mean nothing to us (except the danger of high price). 

The meal was almost perfect (just like the time before 2 years earlier), relatively reasonable prices, great food dominated by a desire to explore a combination of asian-belgian fusion, perfectly matched wines, fresh ingredients, good bread, nice decor and ambiance, very nice service and tempo .... but .. too much food and (only for me, since Elke is pregnant) wine. We had 7 amuse, a first started composed by 3 dishes for me and 4 for Elke (she got changes due to the pregnancy), two other starters, a good sized main course, cheese, dessert, coffee with lot of little sweet things .... and my wine glass was always full. Simply incredible.

Despite the price this is the best price/quality we have ever had (and we have been there 3 times in 5 years) .... if you are around Ieper, definitively give it a try .... but maybe avoid the degustation menu ... simply too much food!!!

And now time to go back to the wifey ... and the little one. Ciaoooo

A week-end in Luxembourg

Last week-end we went to Luxembourg, which is not too far from home but far enough to feel a bit like a small holiday. The place is rather small but with many historical and beautiful restored buildings, like the ducal palace or the government one (see the photos). Lot of shops .... from body shops - which looks like selling icecream (see the photo) but sell soaps - to luxury goods - I mean the Gucci, LuisVitton, etc, etc.

It is not a bargain city/state, since everything is more expensive despite having lower VAT. I mean ... I looked at Nikon lenses and they were constantly 20% more expensive that average-Joe shop in Belgium.

But the best shop must be a new chocolaterie (Oberweis) we found. You know .. Belgians are proud about their chocolate, but even Elke was impressed. I took away a bar of their New Guinea dark chocolate ... mmm ... so smooth, powdery, full of flavor including roasted moka and spices. Really a treat! I should have bought more! I now declare Luxembourg a chocolate-lover dream-land!

Eating there is something tricky, or better somewhat disappointing considering it sits near France and Belgium. Long ago we enjoyed a very nice meal in a restaurant now no longer in existence .... lately we only got rising bills with lowering taste. This time I even got served (for a considerable price) frozen fish which appeared to me as microwaved. Kind of ridiculous considering the posh-ness of the place (le jardin du president) we were!

Overall, Luxembourg is worth a short stop but not a dedicated trip ... except when you live (like us) nearby. If you are in its neighborhood, maybe consider to stop there for a night. Beware ... it might be cold in winter!

Back from Champagne!!

(updated since I am trying to put in a slideshow!)
The photo above gives an idea of the weather we had. No rain but rather gray. Despite this, we had really nice time. Better than last year ... we found some grapes still ... so we tasted a few from Mercier, Veuve Cliquot, Philipponat, Moet & Chandon ... :-) All photo in this gallery (link).
We stayed in Mutigny (near Epernay) at Le Manoir de Montflabert ... basically a huge castle. To get into our room we needed to go through a secret passage that was so small the partner of my sister-in-law had almost to crawl! Well, he is tall, but even a person as short as me had to pay attention! The place was nice (really like being in a castle) when forgetting the host madame who was every second shouting some sort of welcome to the manoir in an excessively picturesque way.

What did we do? Drive around, eat at french restaurants, drink champagne and visit (once again Reims). First of all, you need to know ... we go there frequently ... therefore, we tend not to act much as tourists any longer. We still enjoy being in Reims. And let's start from Reims ... a nice big city. The main centre has some decent shops and a wonderful Cathedral which is slowly being renewed. Year after year they do something ... let's hope they finish it before I leave this part of the world! The structure is beautiful inside and outside with all the various building around. Not to mention all the wine shops surroundings it (avoid them ... lately they are boosting crazy prices, 460euros for a Clos de Goisses!!! I should put mine on ebay then!). but for us Reims means ... eating a baguetta at Pauls and enoy a nice coffee (with tarts) at Waida's ... the latter is a real treat! The patisserie looks so gorgeous!!!

What about eating out for real. Well, this time we kept it low profile. We went to La Table Kobus on friday night (suggested by the wine writer Tom Cannavan), where I enjoyed oysters followed by a porcini risotto topped with tuna and foie gras ... both simply excellent. Elke took the same main course but a tomato tart to start ... looked tasty! To end a really good Creme Brule' avec Grand Marnier. The place is not that fancy, but the food is really good ... the champagne list not too bad. Maybe a tad expensive (especially when compared to our favourite address Le Foch). Saturday we went to an old place of ours .... Le Vieux Puits. This time it disappointed us. The food was fast, not bad but kind of rushed out and salty. Prices (especially for drinks) way over the top ... not sure we will go back.

And now ... you might ask, what about the wines??? Simply as good as it gets. After few years of going there, we have finally understood that Champagne does not mean Tattinger or Dom Perignon ... that is marketing, not wine. Champagne means visiting small producers and recultant with passion and fantastic not simply french sparkling wine. Our favorite is Francis Boulard, where we spent a good three hours tasting his new 2007 line-up, the new harvest fermenting in the barrel (just 10 days old and a real experince!) and chatting over wine in general. This year I rather enjoyed his 2002 millesime (90) and his Petrea as usual (90). Fine expressions of terroir, balance and respectful wine-making. Bravo Francis!

We also visited (9.30am!!!) Champagne Goutarbe ... where we could only meet with a sales girl and taste their basic Brut, which was rather pleasant (77). But we wanted to taste more ... maybe next time Francis will give us an hand to meet the Mr. Goutarbe!! The third and last producer we passed by was Roger Pouillon ... this time showing wines mostly based on strong vinous personality from Pinot Noir. Decent the basic Brut (73) ... tad too fruity. But really impressve his top cuvee Fleur de Mareuil (90), where the new oak rounds the Pinot Noir and gives the final wine great complexity. Nice really nice.

All good to excellent wines ... superior to all big names (except for Krug and Salon) ... for a fraction of the price (Fleur de Mareuil goes for 21 euros ....). Only problem is ... I have now too much wine for the space ... meaning I need to drink a few bottles very fast ... ich!! :-)

So ... ciao and I go back to my champagne flute!!!


PS: The numbers among brackets is my rating (out of 100).

Praiano ... a disgression

I had planned to share a nice recipe, but ... it is late. I will not avoid to admit that I am late because I spent the evening playing on the Xbox with a friend in Eindhoven. Two old guys spending hours in front of a projector .. yes, seems nerdy but fun!!
Anyway, after almost 5 months I have had time to re-look at the photos I took in Praiano before our wedding. The place is really really beautiful. If you have some time, check out our small public gallery (link) to have an impression of this cute little village on the Amalfitan Coast between Positano (wikipedia) and Amalfi (wikipedia). It is worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.
Ciao!!!