Culinaria 2013 review

At almost EUR 80 per person (including booking fees), Culinaria 2013 has been a bit of a disappointment. I wanted to love it as I did in the past, but the fact that I went home hungry, made it very difficult…

The disappointment takes away from the motivation to comment, and hence the delay in posting and short review this time. In a nutshell: Too expensive (poor value), few stands for a food fair (less than in the past, making the event almost exclusively about the Michelin-starred meal, and leaving litttle room for other exploration), underwhelming food (ok, but no wow-factor – looked better than it tasted), tiny portions (amuse bouche size, or entree-sized at the best).

Take a look at the photos and comments for more details:

The food pavilion, much smaller than in past editions. On the positive side, even though the event was sold out, it did not feel too crowded and lines were never too long. The service was efficient and friendly.

The entrance gives you the right to pick one mise en bouche out of four options. Here pictured: green asparagus with chlorophyl and wild herbs by Chef De Backer (Beurre Noisette). Ok but nothing amazing (as was the case with all dishes we tasted).

This gives you a better idea of the size of the mise en bouche.

Mise en bouche: Gaufrette de cabillaud by Stefan Jacobs (Va Doux Vent)

At the entrance, you get your tickets for one mise en bouche, 5 meals (to pick from 10 stands/chefs), two dessets (no choice), one Campari apero, 3 glasses of wine or beer, one beer, and a coffee. The floor plan also lists the menu items per stand. There are also a few stands selling fresh oysters, cooking equipment, bread, meat, cheese, books, etc. but they were small and few. The area for workshops also seemed small and less highlighted than in the past.

Each chef/restaurant has a stand. Here: Laury Zioui from L’Eveil des Sens.

And here is his “meal”: foie gras and shrimp with nice Kalamansi and kumquat sauces, but unfortunately only half-bite portions… If this is the size of a “meal”, I would need 15-20 of them to feel like I’ve had a proper lunch. Unfortunately, we only get 5!

Plenty of room to sit or stand to eat.

Chef Kamo preparing his crab flan dish.

The team at the stand of L’Hostellerie St. Nicolas preparing their beef, foie gras and fried puree dish.

Chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre’s tartare de veau at the stand for L’Air du Temps

The dessert by Joost Arijs is lined up, waiting for the final touch of sorbet to be added once the diners arrive

Pierre Marcolini’s stand

And his “Mushroom Street” creation

Arabelle Meirlaen was one of the chefs who made a greater effort to make her stand special. She was also one of the few to offer a small piece of bread with her meal. Two editions ago, all stands included bread (and larger portions).

The plastic plate sits on a paper bracelet that has the recipe for the chef’s dish. Nice touch.

Meirlaen’s vegetable dishes are always fresh and light. This was a nice pick.

The presentation was so-so, but this lotte pochee by Benoit Dewitte was probably the best dish among the ones we tasted.

Flan au crabe by chef Kamo. This is one of the few dishes that clearly linked to the “Street food” theme. It had the look and taste of street food, but at the same time made me think it’s a shame to ask these chefs to make street food (and some must have felt the same way, as their dishes seemed little inspired by the theme…)

Tastes like a nice homemade Japanese broth, but again, no wow-factor.

Chef Julien Burlat from Dome prepared a nice-looking deluxe hot dog.

A bit difficult to eat. Tasty, but I still prefer an original German bratwurst bought on the street…

Chef Giovanni Bruno’s salmon pane e panelle.

Joost Arijs’ passion fruit and mango macaron with white chocolate (above) and Marcolini’s Mushroom Street (below)

To end on a positive note: The Street food concept was not bad, but the execution needed much . If you want to see how it is indeed possible to reinvent dishes and amaze eyes and palates, check out Sergi Arola’s fantastic reinterpretation of traditional Spanish tapas if you are ever in Madrid. One of the best meals I have ever had.

Seagrill review

Seagrill, one of Brussels’ three two-star Michelin restaurants is tucked inside the Radisson SAS hotel next to De Brouckere. With only 12 tables and a spacious, modern, minimalistic setting (albeit with classically Belgian brown tones in the entire decor), Seagrill offers a pleasant dining experience, although maybe not what one would expect from a two-star establishment with the price tag that goes with it.

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The service is good, attentive, polite and friendly, but not as impeccably well-trained as in other restaurants of the same, or an even “lower” (I use this term loosely…  one-star restaurants still have pretty high standards) category. At times, it felt they were rushing a bit and were perhaps too noticeable. The atmosphere is pleasant: there is plenty of space for a relatively quiet, private meal as the room is spacious and tables are not close to each other. However, the acoustics are not ideal. If you have a group or the restaurant is full, it can get somewhat loud (again, this is “Michelin loud”, and not “Saturday night Saint-Gery-bar loud”…)

So, finally, the food: good, well cooked, appealing presentation, good portions and the expected amount of amuse-bouches, but nothing surprising… And worryingly enough, nothing that I would crave more of! I probably would not have had second servings of anything, which was disappointing. Also of concern is the fact that the desserts were more memorable than the main courses. The homemade caramel was delicious, as was the lychee sorbet on the pineapple dessert. However, these were just a few elements of the ensemble. [Caveat: I had the lunch menu. Maybe the dinner menus are more thrilling… ?]

To his credit, the chef, Yves Mattagne, was actually in the house and came out of the kitchen to personally greet diners once all main dishes had been served. That’s something one doesn’t see every day and is a praiseworthy gesture.

Was I expecting much? Of course! The experience was nice, but not life-changing and without any wow-factor. There was no “Hmmm… you should try this” or “wow, can I have more of this?” which many other restaurants (with or without stars) do manage to elicit…

For a more exciting, surprising and engaging experience, I would place my bets on this year’s new edition of Culinaria (and at a much better value!)

Seagrill. Lunch menu (three courses) for EUR 65

Michelin star restaurants in Brussels 2012

Brussels, with its impressive 16 Michelin restaurants (a huge amount for such a small city, but still below the record-holder per capita: San Sebastian, culinary capital of the world), has now moved up to having three 2-star restaurants, thanks to the Chalet de la Foret’s additional star.

Check out the full list of Michelin one and two-star restaurants in Brussels, including a list of the Michelin Bib gourmand restaurants (i.e., good food at more affordable prices). [Bib Gourmand parentheses: Magenta and Notos have quite justifiably been removed from the Bib Gourmand list. Noteworthy picks that have maintained their status: Le Ventre Saint-Gris, De la Vigne a l’Assiette, and Mamy Louise.]

If you’re looking to Michelin on a budget and want to make about/at least 50% savings, go for the lunch menus (weekdays only – many of these top restaurants close on weekends). A few examples (all two-stars) in order of preference based on price-quality ratio:

Le Chalet de la Foret – Only EUR 39!! This is ridiculously cheap for a two-star restaurant… They probably still have their one-star prices, so hurry up before they decide to capitalize on that extra star…

Seagrill [don’t bother clicking through; the website has been under construction forever]. Make sure you make a reservation. EUR 65 for lunch.

Comme Chez Soi – EUR 55 for a 3-course lunch

Looking for other ideas? Check this previous post.

Beyond Brussels….

And if you’re willing to venture out of Brussels for food, here is the full list of Michelin restaurants in Belgium. Bon appetit!

Image by Dogfael via Flickr under Creative Commons License

Top restaurants in Brussels (according to Michelin)

Looking for a lunch or dinner spot in Brussels for a holiday lunch or dinner?

Update: Take a look at the 2012 list and highlights

If you want to splurge and spoil yourself or your family and friends, take a look at the 2011 list of Michelin-starred restaurants in Brussels. Three restaurants that previously had a star are now gone, including the Bistrot du Mail which has been closed. The list has now two new restaurants, including Kamo, the first Japanese restaurant in Brussels to earn a star.

Photo: Desert at Comme Chez Soi by Rajiv Patel (Nov.6, 2009) via Flickr, Creative Commons attribution 

If you are looking for a more laid-back and more reasonably priced meal, which is still very good, check out the Bib Gourmand restaurants, which offer great three-course meals for no more than 35 euros. (This is of course the minimum price… certain combinations of appetizer, main course and dessert in some of the restaurants can take you well above that amount…)

The Bib Gourmand list for 2011 has a total of 22 restaurants, the selection of which I partially agree with (e.g. yes for De la Vigne a l’assiette, which has really good food and a great wine selection, and also yes for Mamy Louise which had good quality food and offers great value; but no for Notos, which is quite overpriced for what it is and not that great either. It feels like it is trying to hard to be upscale and special… many people like it though).

The full list with links is here. Please comment if you have been to any of them!