Lunch on top of Antwerp

September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 4 Comments

It took me a lot of time, but I finally had a meal at the restaurant with the most beautiful view over Antwerp… I’m talking about 2 Michelin star awarded restaurant ‘t Zilte. I’m not sure why it took so long, but thanks to a good friend of mine, who insisted (a few times)I just had to try ‘t Zilte, I finally made it there (in his company)… and I’m happy he did as I had a wonderful experience. I have to correct myself I was already at ‘t Zilte, but this was for the press conference of ‘Taste of Antwerp‘, but that time I didn’t have a meal.

What makes this restaurant extra special is first of all of course its wonderful location on the 9th floor of the MAS… which gives you the best view over city of Antwerp. And secondly the vibe. The first vibe you get when entering somewhere is the most important one (or it is to me), so the same goes for when you enter a restaurant and although I was sure the vibe at ‘t Zilte would be good, but you never know 100% in advance.. anyway it was good 🙂 and it only got better by the minute…

I know it is expected of restaurants like’ t Zilte that they serve very nicely presented plates, but still it must be said they have outdone themselves as we saw some very nice looking dishes that day and with keeping my preferred saying in mind keep it “simple”. As even though all the dishes looked amazing they still wanted to make sure you understand what is in your plate and want to respect every product/ingredient.

As I arrived last (my table guest was already there) I just joined him with starting our lunch with perfect drink, a glass of Blanc de Blanc Ruinart champagne 🙂 With this we got served a variety of delicate “amuse bouches” which were great to already start to tickle the taste buds and stimulate the appetite (for as far as I needed it 🙂 ) and as if that wasn’t enough they came to us with a breadcart filled at least 15 different kinds of fresh bread!!! I’m a huge bread lover and it was more than only a treat for the eyes as man that was some good bread!!! I would already return just to have more of their bread.

hapje 2 met crispy parsley

I wasn’t wrong was I when I said there dishes looked very njammy?? And they tasted even better. Anyhow now it was time for some real business…. As it was lunchtime it seemed best for us to go for the lunch menu… although I must say the other menus also seemed great, but sometimes you just have to make some though decisions… but as a peace offer we took and extra course with our lunch menu… as who could say no to turbot with porcini?

Finding the right wine with your food is never an easy task, especially when they give you a wine list from which you would want to order everything that it on it… luckily ‘t Zilte has not 1 but 2 sommeliers to help you make a choice. One of the sommeliers was another reason I wanted to come to ‘t Zilte as it is none other than my friend Gianluca that you might remember from my blogpost about Spiga d’oro(the better Italian restaurant) as Gianluca is the son of the owner 🙂 (and their former sommelier). So to make a long story short I was pretty sure I was getting some great wine pairing 🙂 (with a bit of consulting by the long time sommelier from ‘t Zilte Sepideh Sedaghatnia)

The first dish of our menu was a Crab and foie gras “pâté” with tomato, mushroom and curd (this some kind of drained yogurt ). With this dish my good friend paired us a Slovenian Rieseling from Joannes Protner, because because the minerality of Riesling goes well with the crab, greasiness and filming character for the foie gras and acidity of the wine is for the tomato and the earthy character of the wooden casks for the earthiness of the mushroom. BTW these are Gianluca’s words, I really couldn’t define it as well 🙂

The next dish to put our teeth into was the turbot, for this dish we had a bit of a blind wine tasting as we got served two wines that both fit this dish but both in another way… and as it was a blind tasting we didn’t know in advance which ones we would be trying. The first wine was a 2010 Burgundy – Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir which is actually a Chardonnay. The other wine was a wine that if I had to pick on on color this would be my preferred one 🙂 it on top of that came from a region in Croatia aka Istria where I still have some family living (my grandfather was originally from Croatia), it was a white blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvazija, and Pinot Gris called Ottocento made by Giorgio Clai. I’m still not sure which of both wines fitted more with this dish as both gave the dish another dimension

The last dish we got served before the dessert was lamb with zucchini, ricotta, panisse (kind of polenta made from gram flour) and cremolata. The lamb was cooked with perfection and melted on the tongue. With this came a lamb tartar and a lambstock with herbs. This time Gianluca chose a Austrian red wine to go with our dish, a 2010 Burgenland which has lots of common characteristics with Syrah wines, but the Burgenland is a bit smoother.

I’m glad the menu “ended” (it wasn’t totally over yet) with a refreshing dessert with strawberry varieties with crushed Gin ice and white chocolate… I must admit that I wasn’t really a fan from the Gin ice, but together with the white chocolate it got balanced (I don’t like bitter tastes 🙂 ) . I normally don’t like wine with my dessert, but who could refuse it when it is presented with so much enthusiasm? He did surprise us by giving us a glass of Riesling (not a dry Riesling obviously) with the strawberries, it was a 2011 Kabinett from the Reinhold Haart wine estate.

Strawberry variaties

But best was yet to come as now instead of the the bread cart, the now came with the “cookies” for with the coffee cart 🙂 I wasn’t planning on being greedy, but I just couldn’t stop myself and I honestly didn’t care what they thought of me!! everything looked just sooo good, like the mini Berliner’s (in this case grease is very very good) or the Madeline set in a rum, vanilla and sugar jar… you would think it would have a too strong taste, but it didn’t it was juuuuust right 😉 … the reason to go back for a meal at ‘t Zilte just keep adding up 🙂 (BTW I didn’t take a picture of everything I had, that would have been to confronting 😉 )

friandises

I can only say that I had an amazing lunch that because of the good coordination and professionalism from Viki Geunes’ team (multicultural team even) became an every greater experience!! I’m sure this isn’t the last you’ve seen of me. Thanks!

Restaurant ‘t Zilte

Website: http://www.tzilte.be/

Address: Hanzestedenplaats 1, 2000 Antwerp – Belgium (in the MAS museum at the 9th floor)

Phone n°: +32 (0) 3 283.40.40

Sluis is more than only Oud Sluis

August 6, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Most people I told I was having dinner in Sluis thought I was having dinner at the 3 Michelin star awarded restaurant Oud Sluis… but I didn’t, not that I wouldn’t want to but getting a table there (knowing they will close their door permanently very soon) is very very difficult and also there are more good restaurants in Sluis that are worth trying 🙂

Usually when going to the Belgian seaside I head back to Antwerp in the evening for dinner, I rarely stay for dinner. Last weekend however I felt like staying, I mean with the beautiful weather we’ve been having it just had to be done 🙂 When I go somewhere I always want to try a place I haven’t tried before, so when at the seaside it ain’t any different. My search for a restaurant led us (my fiancé and I) to this little new restaurant/bistro just across the Belgian/Dutch border called “Bard’eau”. What attracted me to this restaurant was the fact that it is held by 2 young guys (Chef Jens Schippers & host Bastiaan Apers), which is something to admire!

Bard’eau is located right at the water side overlooking the town of Sluis. A very relaxing location if you ask me! I also liked it that there was enough space and that you can’t feel your neighbor breathing down your neck. Anyhow enough jibber jabber, time for the essence of my post aka the food. I’ll be honest I did expect different kind of food. I mean knowing the chef has worked in restaurants like Cuiness 33, La Trinité and Tout à Fait you’d see the influence of those restaurants, but you don’t see it all the dishes. On the menu you can find more traditional dishes with a little special touch. About the prices: for a starter you’ll pay between 14 – 20 EUR, main courses are between 24-30 EUR and desserts around 10 EUR.

For me a dinner in the sun just has to start with bubbels, in this case it was a cava Brut Jove by Familia Oliveda although the spumante and champagne also seemed tempting or their “maison” apero which was sparkeling wine with melon (very refreshing I believe). As first course I chose the gambas with curry risotto and my beloved fiancée the fresh salmon with avocado and tomato. I know it hasn’t rained in a while, but only drinking water with your meal would be a bit sad, so I had a 2011 French (Bourgogne) Pierre Ponnelle Chardonnay and my fiancée had a fresh 2010 Pinot Noire from the same vineyard as my wine.

As main course I took the Duke of Berkshire with pickles sauce (Blackwell), freshly made French fries and a garden salad. My fiancée was craving for a sole with French fries and garden salad … her wish is … 😉 that I accompanied with a 2011 St. Martin Merlot. Bard’eau has a small but nice wine list; we took more classical wines because we felt like it :-). (FYI, glasses of wine are between 4-6 EUR

Overall a nice meal and the perfect ending of a day at the seaside! They are doing a great job, especially knowing they are only open since March 1^st of this year (2013). It is true there are a few small things they’ll need to work on, but I’m sure they have a big future ahead! I know I’ll be back someday, not sure when as during our after dinner walk through Sluis my restaurant wish list got bigger and choices will have to be made 🙂

Keep up the good job guys!

Bistro Bard’eau

Website: http://www.bistrobardeau.interactnetwork.nl/

Address: Kaai 31, 4524CL Sluis NETHERLANDS

Phone n°: +31 117 461717

The gastronomical Odyssey continuous

July 15, 2013November 29, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 3 Comments

It had been a while so I figured it was time again for another edition of my “Gastronomical Odyssey “that combines the things I love most friends and gastronomical food ( and drinks). This time it brought us (me and my usual partners in crime) to restaurant ‘De Schone van Boskoop’. I could really give a million reasons for choosing ‘De Schone van Boskoop’… Like it already being a fix value in the gastronomical world for 20 years or that is nostalgic to come here as I came here a few times with my parents when I was younger, but also because I really like chef and owner Wouter Keersmaekers who does his ‘job’ with so much passion that when you hear him talk about food it is like hearing a poem… and on top of that he’s just a great guy! Or because I said so in one of my previous blogposts ‘a pupil in the footsteps of his master’.

The motto Wouter Keersmaekers uses at ‘De Schone van Boskoop’ is one I cherish a lot ‘keep it simple’ which doesn’t necessarily have to mean boring… it just means only mixing a few ingredients and having respect for the products you use (and honestly those usually taste best!). A great example of this would be Wouter’s homemade veal sausage with truffle and springs Savoy cabbage mash he served at “Taste of Antwerp”. Simple and yet very refined and only using few ingredients.

One thing I already decided before I came to ‘De Schone van Boskoop’ and that was I would take beer pairing with our menu instead of the usual wine. The main reason because a while ago Wouter was telling me about his new beer cellar, which made me very curious to discover it. (the beer list they have is a very nice one).

I’m also very happy the weather gods were good to us and we could eat outside.

At gastronomical restaurants like ‘De Schone van Boskoop’ I rarely choose ‘à la carte’ dishes as prefer discovering new dishes and eat things I would never pick myself and the best way to do it is choosing one of the tasting menu’s. It is Wouter Keersmaekers himself who comes to each table to explain the menus and suggestions, the only problem about this is that you want to have the menu with all the extra suggestions on top of that making it maybe a 15 course menu 🙂 🙂 (sorry I just love food). Anyhow after a minute of discussion with my table guests we choose to take the ’terroir’ aka “from the field” menu.

Every dish we received that night was a really pleasure for the eye and the taste buds! Via my blog I can only offer you the pleasure for the eye, the taste you’ll have to go and try it yourself 🙂

The gastronomical spoiling started with some ‘amuses’: starting with a calf brain croquette (I know what you’re thinking, but it was better than it sounds…. this is btw a great example why I take a tasting menu as I doubt I would ever order it myself) and fresh herring with amongst other beetroot and horseradish. Continuing with Sea robin (aka snapper, altough for some reason I doubting if we didn’t have barbin instead) with a flan made from broad bean and marinated tomatoes (they were really good!). Our ‘amuses’ got served with a Hopus

Our actual menu started off with Italian veal tarter (a classical dish from Piemonte) topped with Australian truffles. Yes Australian! You honestly didn’t taste they were from Australia. Served with a ‘Chimay Triple‘

It got followed by smoked Scheldt lobster with the last asparagus from the season and a sauce made from milk and bacon. I this might have been one of my preferred dishes of the night. Served with a ‘La chouffe’

Our 3^rd dish of the evening was 3 types of lamb meat all prepared in a different way. First there was the ‘hamburger’ made with the cheek meat, secondly the neck which was slowly cooked and came with a kind of gravy and the third piece was the crispy belly. A dish that fitted perfectly with the Rochefort 8 they served with it

Another dish I will be remembering a while was the dessert ‘vacherin’ with red fruit. Served with ‘Oude Kriek’ which is cherry beer (pretty sour) made at a very small artisan brewery (Hanssens).

The second dessert was a “boskoop” compote with curry, a special combination but not wrong at all 🙂

The crown on the whole evening were the refreshments that came with the coffee… the mind was weak (very weak) I just love ‘canele de bordeaux’ and ‘petite madeleines’… I wouldn’t mind eating a few right now 😉

It got proven to me once again what separates a regular cook from a big chef and why after 20 years they are still and established value! (A big chef with a great team behind him)

Great job guys! Thanks Carlos, Gilles and Stijn for being my partners in crime once again!

Music was my first love… Or was it food?

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Not all of you guys might know it, but I have a bit of a music history. Around the age of 11 I started playing drums and has always been a big passion of mine. Over the years I got quit good at it (but I don’t like to brag) and I was fortunate enough to meet some of the best musicians I might even say legends that have played with the biggest names. Through the years some of these people turned into very good friends. Initially they saw me as a drummer/musician, but as more time past (and I started to enjoy food more) they saw me more as a synonym for good food (on top of the drummer/musician). It is true I could be the synonym for worse things 🙂 . It actually works in two ways whenever they are on tour and they stop in Belgium I take care of them and make sure they’ll be tasting the best Belgium has to offer, whenever I’m visiting the country or better city they live in they do the same for me. Nowadays I don’t play too much drums anymore as at a certain moment choices had to be made (but that is what life is all about I guess). What I do still enjoy is combining my passion for food and the company of some great musician friends. A top combo if you ask me.

Last week was one of these occasion I had some friends of mine from the US passing Belgium on their World Tour. The only “disadvantage”is that they were staying right in the city center of Brussels, I needed to find something not too far from their hotel (they are already enough on the road as it is)… preferably in walking distance. If it would have been in Antwerp there would have been a million places I’d know to take them, Brussels on the other hand is more difficult. Especially near the “Grote Markt” as taking them to a “tourist trap” is the last thing I want to do. Lucky me that I had Andy De Brouwer (who you might know from restaurant Les Eleveurs) to save the day. To make a long story short, we went to restaurant “La roue d’or”. La Roue d’or is a typical Belgian Brasserie serving classical Belgian dishes in the way they are supposed to be served and the way our grandparents would do it (so basically by not using light products, or my way of thinking).

Funny enough from all the types of cuisines I propose to all my friends visiting Belgium, they are always craving to eat mussels, Flemish beer stews, etc…, drink beer and have some freshly made waffles as dessert (or crème brulée). If that’s what they want, than that’s what I’ll get for them, as making people happy and making them feel home is definitely the thing I like to do most! I’m sure you can’t wait to hear what I ate, well I had the meatball stew with beer and Sirop de Liège sauce and onions ( I so love meatballs) accompanied with some great Belgian beer of course!! It must be said they were very good and tasty food! The most popular dish at the table were the Mussels with a white wine sauce… all plates were empty and I only saw smiling faces, you do the math!

If you ever have foreign friends visiting, you know where to take them now (when in the center of Brussels)!

The next day I went to see the band play in a sold out venue (aka Sportpaleis) and it might have been one of the best shows I’ve seen from them (even better than the other ones I saw). One thing is sure a band stands and falls depending of the musicians playing in it… you can have the best singer, but when the band sucks (or vice versa) it won’t be doing any good to the total picture 🙂 Alecia can consider herself very lucky she has some of the best that are around! Keep spreading the love…

I’m actually curious to know if you guys found out which band I’m talking about, maybe the below picture might help 🙂 (I did give a few tips in the text)

Thanks guys, you rock and see you in LA!

My fiancée’s birthday weekend the final part

April 11, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

In the first part of the blog about my fiancée’s birthday weekend I told that my favorite lady chef Ingrid Neven (from Pazzo) had worked at Château Neercanne for a few years and therefore also knows Maastricht really well. Why am I telling this, well she actually gave us a tip where we had to take our apero before dinner (or sometime during the day) at the “Kruisherenhotel” winebar (from same group as Château Neercanne. Kruisherenhotel used to be a church that has been rebuilt into a hotel, restaurant and winebar and it is a very beautiful place combining the old elments from the church and some modern parts… Unique! I’ll let the pictures below speak for itself. (Thanks Ingrid!) BTW you can also drink other things besides wine, it is really worth a visit.

Check this link for more beautiful pictures. I do forgot one thing, I’m not sure how it was in the ladies room, but in the boys room there something special just above the urinal. What you see on the picture below is this special thing and it is actually not a real light bulb, but it is a special light effect… sorry just wanted to share this with you 🙂

For our dinner I chose to go to a restaurant called “Baumont” aka Harry’s. Which according to tripadvisor is the 4^th best restaurant of Maastricht (Chateau Neercanne was n°1).

At Harry’s it is Lady Chef Audrey Eussen and her team try their best to give you a good culinary experience and want to show you that you can also create great njammy dishes with products from local farmers and producers…So they do their best to mostly use local products if possible. I must indeed admit they do a good job. It is true that we had to wait a long time for our 1^st course, for which afterwards they apologized a million times (these things happen everywhere). Besides that there I can’t say anything “bad”… the food was good, the wine was good, the location on itself was great and I had great company 🙂 What I do would like to say is that I think it would have been great to find more local wines on the wine list (maybe even to drink by glass), as there are so many great local Dutch and Belgian wines. Don’t get me wrong I drank some great wines at the restaurant, but it would have been nice :-).

Anyhow we started off with some “scallops with lardo di Colonnata and parsnip puree” which I accompanied first by a glass of Grüner Veltliner Langenlois from Weingut Summerer and after that with a glass of Muscat d’Alsace from Bernard Schneider I do think the second one was a better match (for me). As a main course I had” Limburg chicken with morel mushroom sauce and polenta” accompanied by a little nostalgic wine for me a Saumur from Langlois Château (this is why). My fiancée at the other hand had a Baby turbot with warm potato salad and green asparagus and decided to have a glass of Shiraz with it.

The dishes were as tasty as they look 🙂 glad tripadvisor pointed me to this restaurant! A professional staff. The minor part of the evening was me finding a fine under my wiper when I got back at my car 😦 Still not sure why as there were 2 contradictory street signs close to each other, but ok…. that’s life.

The next morning I just couldn’t stay in bed (I think my fiancée could) as there was soooo much sunshine coming into the room I just had to get breakfast and go enjoy the sunshine… and let’s just say that Maastricht does really look beautiful when sun is shining. The plan normally was to rent bikes and explore the area around Maastricht, but we were just too lazy…

My mission was accomplished as I saw a beautiful smile on my fiancée’s face (even before I gave her actual birthday gift) so I was one happy little camper 🙂 Up to my birthday now 😉

If you also feel like having a weekend like me, let the “Heart of Europe” website help you to create a wonderful weekend away and explore and beautiful piece of Europe!

The end

My fiancée’s birthday weekend part 2

April 10, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 3 Comments

In yesterday’s post I said I had already given a tip in one of my previous posts about planning my fiancée’s birthday (the link to proof I’m telling the truth), so somewhere she could have known as well :-). It is true that on a geographical point of view the website of “Heart of Europe” is quit spread out and there are lots of nice places to visit… my choice however went to Maastricht . Why? Well I’ll be honest with you guys… Initially my plan was to have dinner at Château Neercanne as I first I liked it there when I was there last time at the introduction of the “Heart of Europe” website and I really wanted to show this wonderful place to my fiancée and secondly because Ingrid Neven (my favorite lady chef) from restaurant Pazzo (my favorite restaurant) worked here after her studies for 3 years, so I wanted to see where she learned her basic skills… But I chose to change the restaurant as otherwise this weekend would seem more like a birthday weekend for myself and not for my fiancée (and I’m pretty sure I’ll be having another opportunity to eat at Château Neercanne).

The only tip (besides the one on my blogpost) I gave my fiancée was that her weekend would feel like going back to school…. To mine opinion this was a really good tip 🙂 Via the “Heart of Europe” website I found hotel “Château Bethlehem” which is actually a teaching hotel and part of the Maastricht Hotel management school. So when I said it would be like going back to school, I didn’t specify for who, her or me 🙂 :-). What makes “Château Bethlehem” special is besides the fact that it are students working there (with of course some teachers around). It is also special because it is actually an old castle the they renovated and every room, from the restaurant to the rooms are all designed by twelve established and up-and-coming designers and every room is unique (there is even a room with a swing in it 🙂 ) and I can definitely say for a fact that it are big rooms. It is true that I could have picked a hotel right in the heart of Maastricht city (Bethlehem was 5-10 minutes from the city center), but I really liked their concept and the best way for the students to learn! I’m really glad I’ve stayed here and I’d recommend it to everybody!!! BTW they also had a great breakfast (I love breakfast). The hotel also has their own restaurant, I think I’ll be back to try it.

We had actually already been to Maastricht a few years ago with work, but we didn’t see too much of it as we arrived quit late… So this time we had to make up for that. Maastricht is a beautiful characteristic “little” city with lots of nice things to see and do (and for the ladies amongst you, they have lots of shopping possibilities). A spot you shouldn’t miss while in Maastricht is the “Bisschopsmolen” is the oldest spinning water mill in the Netherlands and in the mill you get introduced the craft of the miller and see how the Spelt flour and regular flour are made. Very nice to see, but even nicer to see if the bakery itself (and breakfast/lunchroom) where they sell the most wonderful ‘Limburgse vlaaien” (I of course tested it personally) and bread all made according the original recipes! Well done Frank!! (Owner Bisschopsmolen)

I know it seems like we didn’t do anything else besides eating and drinking, we did do other things but believe me if I have to describe the shops we’ve entered my blog post would be even longer than they usually are 🙂

But the best is yet to come! To be continued ……

Celebrating love in snowy Saas-fee: part 2

April 3, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 3 Comments

In the previous post you could read that my reason for being in Saas-fee was the wedding of some dear friends of mine and a wedding without food wouldn’t be a wedding 🙂 Who knew that one could eat so gastronomically and refined in Switzerland?? (Sorry, that’s my Italian side speaking :-)) I can now say for a fact you can!!

I already knew in advance the food and drinks through the whole wedding would be great as like I mentioned before the groom and his dad are big foodies and know what is good (and know what they’re talking about). The red wire through the whole wedding (besides the bride and groom) was and I do hope this doesn’t come over in a wrong way, the Champagne from Delamotte 🙂 (BRUT). No matter where we were, every time there would be a waiter with a tray with glasses of Delamotte (I know a hard life). For you who would want to know the specifics, this champagne is 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot noir and 20% Pinot Meunier and has a very soft citrusy taste and I think I also tasted a dark chocolate kind of taste… and one thing is sure, it let drink itself very easily 😉

If you ask 100 people what they think about when they think of Switzerland, 98 people will answer their punctuality and their good organizational skills (no doubt)! It was really incredible to see how well organized the team of the “Ferien art” hotel/ restaurant served the food for all 210 guests at the same time and not one dish that arrived cold at its destination… incredible! My compliments to Chef Andreas Otte and his team!! Well done and not only for the organization, but also for the delicious dishes you served. We started off with a Truffle cream soup with fresh cheese ravioli. Followed by a Lobster stew pasta that got accompanied by a 2010 white French “Sous La Velle” Meursault by Domain Michelot. For the main course the newlyweds choose to serve a lamb entrecote with potato gratin, glazed snow peas and a syrahjus (basically a red wine sauce) served with a 2009 Margaux by Château La Gurgue . I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to guess what the dessert was (next to the njammy dessert and cheese buffet), of course the wedding cake 🙂

Don’t the dishes on the pictures above look great? For the good wine pairing during the dinner we have to thank the groom’s dad as he’s the connoisseur when it comes to wines! He chose well indeed.

The dinner and party afterwards on the day of the wedding itself were perfect, but the “the icing on the cake” of the weekend for me was definitely our lunch/brunch at 2450m height (and the groom really made curious for the food days in advance!!) This lunch/brunch was at a place called Spielboden from which you have an incredible view over the Saas-fee valley. Check out the pictures below and I’m sure you’ll agree that it is breathtaking?! I must also admit that the so nicely shining sunshine and the live Alphorn music made it even more magical.

What you should know about Spielboden is that it is part of the Michelin star awarded Fletschhorn restaurant (and hotel) which normally has another staff, but for this celebration of love Chef Markus Neff decided to take over the stove himself and bring his team fromFletschhorn up to the Spielboden restaurant and cook for the newlyweds and their guests (Praise the lord). On this breathtaking spot Markus served us the following menu; we started with some fresh Scottish oyster accompanied by what is to me the best drink to accompany oyster, Champagne (Delamotte ). Followed by a marinated trout in a mustard sauce, beef tartare on a whole wheat bread toast and poached shrimp and vegetable julienne. This first course got accompanied by a local wine, namely a “Petite Arvine”. Definitely a wine to remember!(really nice). The following dish was a thyme “Ramquin de bagnes” with a vegetable strudel with a soy sauce and a lobster & ginger spring roll. The main dish was cheese soup, a poultry ravioli with forest pearls and braised pig cheek with a potato mousseline. This last one got accompanied by a Château Bonalgue Pomerol . To also satisfy our sweet tooth they a foreseen a cherry pie (I love cherry pie), lemon cake and something called “coupe colonel” which would be a sorbet served with vodka 🙂 🙂

My taste buds got spoiled ! The plan was to have some more fun in the snow after our lunch/brunch, but I’ll be honest, by the time I finished eating and drinking I was too lazy…(this doesn’t happen very often)

The party did continue, but I’m going to spare you the details about the after party and last night at Saas-fee and I’m surely not showing pictures 🙂 🙂 … Let’s just say that we got a clear definition of the word “schnapps”

Thanks to the LN beanies we were wearing our ears didn’t freeze off. DO check out the LN beanies website or blog as all beanies, scarves, etc… are made 100% from Peruvian alpaca wool and by grannies and you’re on top of that also supporting people in Peru.

Only one thing still left to do and this is thank Jefanie (and their parents) for letting me and my beautiful fiancée be part of this wonderful celebration and being surrounded by great people and most importantly making me like winter and snow again. The sparkle in your eyes when you look at each other tells me this is something forever!!

And they lived happily ever after ….

Thanks again.

A pupil in the footsteps of his master

March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 3 Comments

Last week I thought it was time for some bounding time with my future brother in law (hope he doesn’t freek out me calling him this) and what better way than with food (knowing he’s a big food lover). Deciding where to go was not too difficult; the name of restaurant Ardent came pretty quick as I already wanted to eat here for a while now! Especially after reading a lot of positive comments. Knowing that he had worked a while at “De schone van boskoop” (a restaurant I’ve already been quite a few times with my family when I was younger and I’ve always liked) and learned from a chef like Wouter Keersmaekers I already had a small suspicion that he would also be a lover of local products and forgotten vegetables….And I was right, I could see the hand of the master in the “pupil’s” dishes and I’m pretty sure the pupil will soon be a master himself! All dishes were (for me) perfectly seasoned. I’m a bread lover (guilty as charged) , spreading real butter on it is like being in heaven. So trying something else when they serve butter is unlikely to happen, but I have to admit the little cup with a butternut “cream” with parmesan cheese on our table looked tempting… to make a long story short we were almost scraping the glazing off of the cup 🙂 (Need I say more?)

Deciding what to eat was again (like every time) the most difficult part of the evening as again (like every time) everything on the menu look and sounds tasty… so best alternative just taking the tasting menu. We took the 4 course menu (a 5 course menu is also available) with the matching wines.

Before we started our trip through Ardent’s menu they served us an “amuse” which was crispy pork with smoked duck breast which (after we had eaten shamefully emptied the butternut cup) was a great way to prepare and open our taste buds for all the delights still to come…

The first stop of our trip was spicy Simmental tartar and fried langoustine with sourdough toast and horseradish cream. Correctly prepared (Langoustine also fried as it should) and too spicy and a balanced out dish if you ask me. It accompanied by a white German wine “S cuvee” that had a typical Mosel wine smell and taste which I love so much and which went very good with the subtle taste of the dish.

The next stop shortly fried scallops with cauliflower in 3 modes, hand peeled grey north sea shrimps (so much better than the packages you buy in the shop) and parmesan sauce paired with this time a white Austrian wine called ‘Austrian Pepper. This paired wine was a bit more subtle then the previous one.

Our last stop before my sweet tooth would get spoiled brought us braised pork cheek with truffle gravy and “macedoine” of parsley root and lentils. For people who are scared to order dishes like this, pork cheek is not fat, but rather subtle and tender meat! Definitely one of my favorites of the night together with maybe also my favorite wine of the night a red Portuguese wine called “dill” (like the herb), I unfortunately can’t remember the vineyard anymore 😦 (I’d suggest to go to Ardent and try it)

As dessert they brought us a Vacharin which is freshly prepared vanilla ice cream with meringue, whipped cream, chocolate crumble and chocolate mousse… I honestly was afraid the portion would be too big, but lucky me it was just the right size and accompanied by a lovely Don PX Jerez wine that went really well with the chocolate flavor of the dish.

I can only compliment the young chef on his talent (and his team).I’m a fan! It is true that there were a few minor things or points that would need some attention during our dinner, but I’m 100% that they only need some extra time to make a visit to this restaurant a perfect and even better experience! (not even open for 6 months I think). One last quick word (I promise) about the Ardent’s sommelier, he reminded me of Steven Wullaert (from restaurant NUANCE **). as he had the same sparkle and passion when talking about wine. (maybe even his way of talking, but then without the Ghent accent)

Keep up the good job! I will definitely be back at Ardent! (Not sure yet when,as too many restaurants still to try)

P.S: A message to my tableguest: we’ll be having some new “bounding time” very soon and I have a feeling it’ll be at Wouter Keersmaekers’ place 🙂 just to show you where Ardent’s chef got his magic.

Restaurant Ardent:

Website: http://www.resto-ardent.be/

Address: Dageraadplaats 3, 2018 Antwerp – Belgium

Phone n°: +32 (0)3 336 32 99

Pocket resto, always a resto in your pocket

March 19, 2013March 20, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Lots and lots of restaurant reviews get written, I know as I’m one of the writers. Finding your way through all those articles might sometimes be a struggle. I’m not that different from you guys as I also try to search for new and different restaurant than the ones I already tried. Not until now that is! To solve this problem a website “Pocket Resto” was called to life. I’m pretty sure if you Googled for restaurants Pocket Resto is the first website you’ll find in the list (not in the paid area in Google). What Pocket Resto does is bundle everything that is written on a restaurant, like blogs or news articles, and put it on one page that will link to the website of the magazine or blog. On top of that they already list the most important things for you to know (besides the address and phone number), they mention awards, Michelin star, points, etc… this restaurant has gathered until now. Just enter the name of the restaurant or city and the website will give you all the wanted info

For the moment it are only restaurants in Belgium, but the founder of Pocket Resto told me that they also had ambition to make it a Global things, but this takes time obviously… Rome was not build in one day.

90% of the time I use Pocket Resto to know more about restaurants, hope you’ll also find your way to Pocket Resto (but don’t forget to once in a while also check my blog 😉 )

I looked, tried and liked

February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

Saturday my fiancée and I tried and discovered a new little restaurant called Mi’ró. The location of the restaurant is maybe a surprise to lots of people as the area it is in is not known as the most popular part of town. Although more and more people seem to find their way back to Borgerhout and are opening lots of nice restaurants here. I actually grew up a few streets from this restaurant and lived here until I was 12 years old, so I enjoyed seeing this neighborhood heading back to its rightful place. When I then read on a fellow blogger website (be_gusto in Dutch) Mi’ró made a special version of one of my favorite dishes Vol-au- vent (aka vidée or koninginnehapje)….I just had to try this and needed no more convincing!!!

Already from the moment you walk into this restaurant you can immediately feel the good vibe. Maybe it is because the restaurant is not too big (only 7 or 8 tables) or the big photo of old Borgerhout hanging there? It also has to be said that the vibe only became better and better during the evening and this was not because of the wine ;-). It is also due to the very friendly and caring host and hostess!

I started with homemade grey shrimp croquettes (I had heard they were exquisite) and my fiancée followed me, but took the cheese version of the croquettes (don’t worry, they also have non fried dishes). I think that what makes these croquettes so special is as they have a Spanish touch to them, they reminded me of the croquettes filled with Iberico Ham I had in Barcelona a couple of times. This might be due to the fact the chef/owner has worked some years in Barcelona in avery good restaurant ( Comerç 24, FYI a restaurant you als have to try!). Anyhow to make a long story short(er) those where some nice croquettes.

As a main dish I just had to pick the Vol-au-vent, no matter how tempting the other dishes were. My fiancée took the Corvina with “schorseneren” and a champaign sauce. The vol-au-vent did meet my expectations, what made it different and special is that they used instead of regular mushrooms they used Enokitake mushrooms; they added duck stomachs (which they can leave out if you ask, and this proves all is made freshly on the spot!) Instead of puff pastry that usually comes with a Vol-au-vent they gave very big croutons. I would truly recommend it to try classic dishes with a twist.

There were very nice wines on the wine list. We took besides Lacrima Baccus cava to open our tastebuds, 2 different red wines I had an Italian Marchesi Antinori wine a Bolgheri ‘il bruciato’ (had a very rich and round flavor and I really those buttery tastes in wines (or butter in general 😉 ). My fiancée on the other hand took an Argentinian wine from the Mendoza region called “Fabre Montmayou” which was also a nice choice.

To sum it all up, we had a very nice dinner and they for sure haven’t seen the last of us!

Bistrot Mi’ró

Address: Moorkensplein 28, 2140 Antwerp Belgium

Phone n°: +32 (0)3 235 03 25

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