All posts tagged: olive

#10 Bistro Pastis, Bruges ***

Restaurant review #10 – Bistro Pastis is one of the few places in Bruges which standardly has vegan main dishes available. We received this tip from vegan friends who had already been here for dinner. There are four vegetarian main dishes standardly available on their menu, of which two are without dairy and eggs. We had previously mailed with the question if we could get a vegan menu, explicitating what we do and don’t eat, and we got an affirmative reply. We went there on a friday evening, some months ago (November 2013). Remarkably, there were hardly any tourists, but a lot of locals. Although Pastis is very close to ‘t Zand, there seems to be little tourist traffic in the Speelmansrei. That night it was very quiet on the street. But the restaurant soon packed. So we do advise you to make a reservation. Tables are spaciously situated, which gives it a calm and more restaurant atmosphere than a bistro impression (at least downstairs, we don’t know about upstairs). Appetizer There’s nothing vegan to choose from on …

De Olijfboom (The Olive Tree), shop Bruges

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 …