European Diary

The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur in Europe
August 5 - Amsterdam to Brussels

It may just be that I am running out of steam, but today was definitely a down day. About all we had to do was to drive from Amsterdam to Brussels (about two hours). We took the long way, so it took four with a picnic next to the church in Bergen op Zoom, on the coast near the Belgium/Netherlands border.

Returning to Brussels was like coming home since we had spent our first night in Europe with Claude and Rolande Margot, our hosts. It felt good to be greeted by familiar faces and just re-affirmed the idea that people build loyalty to people more than they do to places.

We all went to a local restaurant for dinner and, as the saying goes, you have to have mussels in Brussels! This is a common dish on most menus -- roughly a 3-4 quart pot full in several variations. Exceptional! I'm sure it could be a killer signature item for the right operation in the US.

For a shot of mussel madness, click here.

For the travelogue shots, click here.

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