restaurant review #243 – Cèpes is the restaurant of Hotel De Sterrenberg. It is located just outside the western entrance of De Hoge Veluwe, a nature reserve in the middle of the Netherlands.
Restaurant review #36 – De Jonkman is a gastronomical restaurant at the edge of Bruges (Sint-Kruis). It is listed in the renowned Michelin guide with two stars. There is no vegan menu standardly available at De Jonkman, but if you ask it in advance it is no problem. We went there for our 25th anniversary. Not a big party, but just the two of us, for a relaxed evening with fine dining ❤ Upon making the reservation, I said we wanted a vegan menu, and explicited what this means (what we do and don’t eat). I asked for a 5-course menu, being 105€ per person (without drinks). Here are the photos of what we had. As is always the case in gastronomical restaurants, the waiter enumerated a series of ingredients when serving each plate. We tried to take some notes, but it was way too much to remember everything ;-). A very enjoyable evening out We thoroughly enjoyed our evening out. The athmosphere was distinguished and yet relaxed at the same time. Comfortable seatings. Fine touches that are custom in more …
Business Insider published an overview of seven of the most romantic places in the world. It includes exotic destinations like Bali in Indonesia, Fez in Morocco and the Greek Isles in the Mediterranean. Bruges in Belgium is listed second. Among other things, the article mentions the boatrides on the swan filled canals, the cobblestone streets** and the quaint houses as some of its romantic features. Business Insider also mentions the horse drawn carriages as one of the top attractions, which is something we would like to see ended in Bruges. Enough of other medieval things to see and admire in Bruges! As for gastronomical experiences, Business Insider points you to 3star Michelin restaurant De Karmeliet in the city center. Not your average restaurant, but I guess the readers of Business Insider must not be your average business(wo)men! Menu prices in De Karmeliet range from 85€ to 210€. You can get a vegan menu if you ask it well in advance. Maybe one day we will splash out and treat ourselves! But let us assure you that …
Shop review #4 – De Olijfboom (The Olive Tree) is a small shop close to ‘t Zand. The place is packed with spices, chutneys, salts, a selection of Japanese products, vanille (from many different countries), a wide variety of olive oils and more. And not the regular brands that are available in other shops, but rare and exclusive specialities. At least, we think they are rare, because we haven’t seen any of their products available anywhere else and the owner gave us information on the exclusiveness of some of the brands. It’s not an all vegan shop (eg some of the Japanese products contain fish), but a lot of the products are commonly used in vegan cooking. The owner told us the majority of De Olijfboom’s clientele are restaurants and catering businesses, and there is a selection of their business cards stalled inside the shop. Among which Michelin star restaurants like Hof van Cleve*** (Kruishoutem, 53km from Bruges). There’s a wide selection of olive oils available, bottled, but also tapped: We bought two different types …
Restaurant review #8 Sans Cravate is one of the more classier restaurants (and hence more expensive ones) in Bruges. It is listed in the Michelin guide (2013-2014) with one star. Sans Cravate is located on the edge of the city center, in the North East side of town, in a completely renovated house in the Langestraat. There’s an accompanying B&B just on the other side of the street, not far from the restaurant. When we first inquired into the possibilty of getting a vegan menu at Sans Cravate end of 2013, the owner mailed us that because of staff shortages, it was not possible at that time, but he advised us to inquire again in a couple of months time. And so we did, and in the beginning of 2014 we made a reservation for a 4-course vegan dinner (having explictly stated what we do and don’t eat – as we always do when inquiring at a restaurant). We went there on a weekday evening. Sans Cravate is French for ‘without a tie’, and the atmposhere …
This overview of 13 typical Belgian foods appeared in The Huffington Post recently. They are listed as thé tourist attraction and appealing feature to come and visit Belgium: the food! Although the Huffington Post has spent a good deal of attention to the rise of veganism in the US (see this overview with keyword vegan), it’s obvious the author of this article clearly wasn’t thinking about the growing popularity of plant based foods or veganism in general. Let’s take a closer look at these 13 typical Belgian foods, and see whether there’s something for vegans in there. 1. Endives in slices of ham, covered in cheese sauce. You could try and veganise the dish, but it’ll take quite some years to come before any traditional restaurant will standardly have a vegan version of this dish on their menu! 2. Mussles with fries. Nope. Mussles are animals. I don’t now if ‘faux vegan mussles’ even exist, but I wouldn’t fancy them anyway! 3. Belgian waffles. Dairy and eggs. Of course you make these vegan yourselves, but …
The Bruges Vegan 