Brussels’ Rue des Bouchers
This item appears on page 15 of the October 2013 issue.
My husband, Ed, and I were in Brussels, Belgium, one May ’12 afternoon.
Walking through Place de l’Agora, we found the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, a glass-roofed arcade built in 1847 in the Italian Renaissance style. It is considered to be the oldest indoor shopping mall in Europe and certainly set the tone for all other similar arcades. This building is probably 300 feet in length, and its glass ceiling gives a solarium feel to the place.
About midway in the Galeries is an exit onto Rue des Bouchers, where a lot of the restaurants are located. Even though it is very touristy, with the owners running out to talk you into entering their restaurants, we decided it would be fun to return for dinner, which we did.
All the small restaurants appeared to be about the same. It had started to sprinkle again, so we decided to opt for La Moule Provençale (Rue des Bouchers 29; phone [02] 512 7022). One of the wait staff spoke enough English to help us understand the menu.
I chose paella (€23 [near $30]) and a half liter of the house red wine (€13 [$17]). Ed had the set-menu chicken and vegetables (€18) and a draft (€5). Watching people at other tables, I got the feeling that mistakes were made on the bills. Since it was clear that I was writing down our choices, there was no misunderstanding when our check arrived.
The wait staff was entertaining, the food was average and the red wine was terrible! Regardless, we were out of the rain and enjoying ourselves, watching the passing crowds.
NANCY NORBERG
Charleston, SC