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To give a small example of 'normal' gourmet writing, here is
a short extract from "The Bulletin", the English-language
weekly magazine in Brussels, from 21st March, p35. This is a 'normal'
review of a 'normal' restaurant typical of almost any newspaper
any day :-
We began our meal with two slices of an acceptable pâté
de foie gras garnished with jelly and a pleasant cinnamon-flavoured
confit. I found my fish soup indifferent, although I liked the
fact that it came with rounds of toasted baguette, rouille and
grated gruyère. Alternatives included a salad of sole fillets
with shrimps, oysters in several preparations and seafood platters
For his main dish, my companion chose waterzooi, that traditional
Belgian speciality, a creamy confection of fish and vegetables
half-way between a soup and a stew. It came with a couple of grilled
Dublin Bay prawns on top. The consistency looked closer to a sauce
than a soup, but he pronounced it excellent. I ordered a lasagne
de lotte aux petit légumes, forgetting that lasagne in
menu-speak has recently come to mean anything sliced and baked.
Anyway, my three thick slices of monkfish were juicy and excellent
and the vegetables perfectly al dente.
For desert, there were crêpes à la Comédie
Française. I almost ordered them just to see our impressively
moustachiod waiter flamber them at the table, but settled instead
for a forgettable flan caramel. My companion's plate of cheeses
was varied, nicely presented with a little salad. With a really
good bottle of Pinot Noir - Zenck '99, our meal came to a somewhat
steep 60 a head.
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