LEKKERBEKS

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As Suzanne, our resident gastronome, explained, you can get excellent reasonably priced food in Brugge. The trick is to know where you are going and to book in advance.

However, that wasn't really on for us as we just congregated at the Crowne Plaza in the Burg and then wandered off looking for somewhere to eat.

In general, this worked out grand. On the whole, we weren't too fussy about the food as the main thing was the company and the conversation.

The most popular dish by far, at least at the beginning, was moules-frites, a great big bowl of mussels in their shells, spiced with one or other flavoured liquids and accompanied by a bowl of chips. Bet you didn't know the Belgians claim to have invented chips and there is a Chips Museum in Brugge devoted to that very subject. I have documented that in another post.

The main message from this post is that we ate well and that what Suzanne said is probably true.

However, there were two occasions in particular when the food interfered with the mood and I think it is worth recording them here.

The first was the Brasserie Mozarthuys, beside the fishmarket, where I had an initial unfriendly exchange with the waiter. I'm sure, were he in our company, Mozart would have insisted on his name being taken down from over the door.

I politely inquired if they served non-alcoholic beer, as most of the good restaurants in Brugge do.

"No, we don't. They are not beers"

"Well, I'm not drinking beer" said I, taking him up on his rude redefinition. When that didn't produce any result other than a grudging silence, I decided to settle for an orange juice, which, of course was not a beer either. But they were serving it anyway and, to give them their due, it did taste like it came from a real orange. I reported them on Tripadvisor, but as I've already told you the story I won't bother you with a link.

The second disappointment was Dell' Arte on Vlamingstraat, where the food was pretty atrocious.

I reported them to Tripadvisor too. I won't give you a link here either as I have something better to show you.

My former classmate, devenue gourmande, posted the ultimate, informed, and irrefutable stinkers on Tripadvisor regarding these two "disappointing" eateries.

Just press the Magic Button to read these sizzling reviews (in French).