Belgium: Prosperous Entertaining - Part 1
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Entertaining for business success
Lunch is the most popular time for business meals [and it may extend long into the afternoon].
If you have not made a reservation, you should aim to find a table at a restaurant by 12:30 p.m. because, particularly in city-centres, they are quite likely to be full by 1:00 p.m.
Belgians are fond of the good life and take eating and drinking extremely seriously. Brussels boasts some of the finest ['French'] restaurants in Europe, as well as an exhaustive repertoire of international cuisines, but wherever you eat, whether as a guest or as host, you can expect a culinary treat.
Mussels [mosselen in Dutch; moules in French] and chips are perhaps Belgium's national dishes: the mussels come from off the coast of Zeeland, and the Belgians claim to have invented 'French' fries. It certainly is ubiquitous - and you will come across it everywhere from the Rue des Bouchers in Brussels to motorway service stations.
Belgian cuisine has much more to offer, however, and each province has its own native dishes that reflect its indigenous resources. In Flanders, maatjes [herring] is a common appetiser and might be followed by waterzooi [originally a fish soup but now more commonly made with chicken], paling in 't groen [eels stewed with green herbs], or stoofvlees [beef braised in beer]. In Wallonia, there are all manner of hams, pâtés and sausages; game abounds during the hunting season in the Ardennes; the Liège region too has its own specialities, such as oie à l'instar de Visé [goose that is first boiled then fried and served with a rich sauce]. Local vegetables and fruit are also plentiful and it is said that there are almost as many varieties of excellent cheese in Belgium as in France, for example Passendale and the pungent Remoudou from the pastures of Herve. Belgian ice cream is delicious and the chocolate needs no further recommendation.
Flamiche is a light tart made with leeks and, sometimes, local cheese that makes an agreeable snack and an ideal accompaniment for a glass of excellent local beer.
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