NYC Tastes

Friday morning we kicked off our day with a delicious Belgian waffle, then headed back to Cantillon where we had spent most of the prior day.  We just had to get one more bottle of that delicious Lambic D'Anuis.   Of course that one bottle turned into about five more wonderful delights, but finally we hopped on a train to Denderleeuw for lunch at De Heeren van Liedeckercke. De Heeren opened its doors as a specialty beer cafe back in 1991 by owner Joost de Four.  He had always wanted to sell lambic and reached out to various local brewers to stock his bar.  However one brewer, Armand Debelder from 3 Fonteinen, refused.  He would not allow Joost to sell any of his bottles without first being trained on how the beer were made.  So Joost was trained by the great Armand himself and today De Heeren is known as one of the best lambic bars in the entire world. In fact many brewers have created special lambics just for Joost and De Heeren like the el...

After lambick-O-droom we hopped back on the train to Brussels and headed back to Cantillon brewery for one last time.  There we met up with a few more New York friends (we NYers like our lambic) and actually had about 3 hours to relax and share the entire list of bottles together. I was more than happy to have that Carignan and 2007 Cantillon Gueuze again... ...not to mention the gorgeous Cabernet franc driven Saint Lamnivus and possibly my favorite Cantillon in the world Lou Pepe Kriek.   We picked up some more bottles to go and stopped at our place to drop them off, pausing for a moment in our small but gorgeous courtyard for a glass of Tilquin Mure. Then it was back to Nuetnigenough for dinner and this rich, hearty steak doused in a thick Cuvee Renee sauce.  I was so sick earlier in the week I could barely look at Mr. T as he devoured this dish so it was incredibly satisfying to enjoy myself in all its glory. Nuetnigenough...

After our lovely afternoon in Beersel we trekked back into Brussels.  Mr. T said he felt well enough to check out one more place so I took him to Moder Lambic which he missed out on the day before.  We grabbed a table outside and took a look at the bottle list.  I had been so psyched about all the Cantillon's on draft the day before this thought hadn't even occurred to me.   Oh my goodness that list...there were beers on there I never thought I would see in this lifetime.  We were both floored and quickly started formulating a plan to justify the expense of one of these gems.  Well Mr. T really hadn't eaten anything since we got to Brussels and I skipped dinner last night in favor of macaroons.  It seemed that we had actually been saving money so it was only right that we treat ourselves to one of these beers.  See how wonderful that worked out:) We began with an incredible rarity from Drie Fonteinen the Millennium Geuze.  ...

Mr. T and I just returned from an incredible 10 day trip overseas.  As usual we packed as much eating and drinking as possible into our vacation along with some sightseeing here and there. I'll begin on day one in Brussels where we've visited once before. I spent the majority of that trip in bed with a terrible stomach virus.  Well apparently we take turns in Brussels because now it was Mr. T who was sick in bed.  He got off the plane and went immediately to the hotel room while I scoured the city for various health remedies.  Once I had stocked our room with as much juice, water and medicine as I could possibly carry I set out to grab a drink and a bite to eat. Just about a five minute walk from the Grand Place sits Moeder Lambic Fontainas, a bar known primarily for its 40+ taps and cheese/meat platters. I was only planing to have one or two but it was so nice and sunny at the outdoor tables I found myself slowly making my way through the incredible Cantillo...