Review: Brussels & Antwerp Eating & Drinking
Time Out Guide to Food and Drink in Belgium’s Two Main Cities
Time Out has established a global reputation for its extensive range of travel guides and city magazines. The company has now extended its reach with the Eating & Drinking series. Originally focusing just on London, Paris and New York, the series now includes other cities with a notable culinary scene such as Chicago in the United States and Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Brussels & Antwerp is entirely dedicated to the food and drink scene in Belgium’s two main cities. Containing independent reviews of over 250 restaurants, cafés and bars, plus a relatively extensive guide to Belgian cuisine, beers, food trends and up-and-coming chefs, it is a veritable treasure trove for food lovers.
Making Belgian Food and Drink Accessible
Written in an informal, almost chatty style, the guide aims to make Belgian food and drink accessible to everyone: from the gourmet looking for Michelin-starred restaurants in the capital to the cash-strapped weekender in search of Antwerp’s best mussels with fries washed down with a white beer for under €20.
The layout of the guide also makes it easy to navigate. The first section introduces Belgian cuisine, which includes a list of traditional dishes, seasonal ingredients and the culinary influences that have been absorbed from neighboring Holland, Germany and France. There is also an overview of some of the 600 beers for which Belgium is so famous – from the ubiquitous Stella, Jupiler and Hoegaarden to the rarer, monastic Chimay, Rochefort and Westmalle beers – and which are a major tourist draw in themselves.
Separate guides to eating and drinking in Brussels and Antwerp follow. The places, reviewed anonymously over several months according to publisher, are helpfully listed per neighborhood and per cuisine. A price indication, payment methods accepted and kitchen opening times are also listed. This makes it quick and easy for readers to identify the area of the city, type of food and price bracket they are looking for.
Short, Digestible Reviews
Each review comprises a short, digestible paragraph. This means it is not necessary to wade through a lot of text. The disadvantage of this, however, is that the reviews are inevitably superficial, giving no more than a flavor of each place’s décor, clientele, location or specialty.
Throughout the guide, the reviews are interspersed with sidebars that focus on specific topics in a little more detail. Examples include the newest generation of chefs, the best places to find Belgian chocolates and a history of genever, Flanders’ national drink and the precursor to gin. These texts serve to break up the reviews, and offer additional bite-sized chunks of information the reviews are unable to cover.
Bland Photography
The guide’s least successful feature is its photographs. They are full color and plentiful, but many of them look as if they were taken by amateurs and are often dark or blurred. Many of them also show cutlery, menu boards and outside signage rather than the food itself. This is a shame, as a significant part of the enjoyment of food is based on what it looks like, and detracts somewhat from the reviews, which are of a high standard.
Bland photography aside, this pocket-sized guide is essential reading for visitors to Brussels and Antwerp with anything more than a passing interest in food and drink. Time Out Eating & Drinking Brussels & Antwerp (2003) is published by Penguin Books and is available through good online book sellers, including Amazon.com and Target.com.
Belgium is Famous for its Beer
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