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Joe Ray
Food & Travel / Words & Photos
EATING
THE
MOTHERLAND
Food writer and photographer Joe Ray's gastronomic visits in Europe - the home of his ancestors - and beyond.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
BRUSSELS BEER & FRIES WEEK! PART 1: REMEMBER THE FUNK
Back in Brussels, I quickly note that this is the trip where my eyes are still wide open, but the pieces of the city begin to connect.
Back at La Brocante, a beer bar I visited last year, I notice that this year, the deer head on the wall has a cigarette in its mouth and put a finger on one of my favorite things about this town: the inherent funkiness.
Even the popular Jupiler is an acquired taste that makes equivalents like Kronenbourg, Budweiser and Estrella Damm taste like ultra-pasteurized wimps.
I let the waiter steer me toward a beer called Floreffe, a Trappist triple with apple compote, smoke and some wonderful, nose-in-a-brewery smells.
On this day, with the flea market outside, there’s a band - Le Jeu de Balles - crammed into the space between the front door and a beer cooler. The guy next to me appears not to have left the premises since I was here a year ago. Another dude walks in wearing ski googles, followed by an older woman in heels and fur.
It’s good to be back.
Café La Brocante - MAP

Blaesstraat 170

Brussels

+32 (0) 2 512 13 43
Click here to read my 2009 Belgian beer story, “Stalking A Wild Brewâ€
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