Our first day in Brussels, our second pub!

They didn’t serve food at the ‘Au Bon Vieux Temps’ (see ‘a 300 Year-Old Pub in Brussels‘). But after our beer-tasting adventure there, we were hungry so they sent us on to another pub that did, ‘a la Becasse’ — in English ‘The Lark’. This bar was also on our list of best bars in Brussels (see the bottom of this post), and like ‘Au Bon Vieux Temps‘, difficult to find as it was located down an obscure alleyway.

Brussels Pub ‘a la Becasse’

The beer choice there was excellent; the food choice not so much. Al chose a slab o’ bread with Ardennes ham that looked like something you might see in one of the old Flemish paintings.

slab o’ sourdough bread with Ardennes ham, a medieval meal

This medieval meal was washed down with a ‘Kwak’ beer, in an official Kwak glass, positioned in a unique wood container.

an official Kwak glass, positioned in a unique wood container

To go with my ‘Palm’ beer I choose a Croque Monsieur, which turned out to be a basic ham and grilled cheese sandwich. I almost lived on Croques in France many years ago; they were cheap, and I seem to remember a creamy cheese sauce with grated cheese on top. This was NOT it.

Croque Monsieur, a basic grilled ham and cheese sandwich

The Palm beer I choose to accompany it was pretty basic too.

the Palm beer was pretty basic

The speciality of ‘a la Becasse’ was an sweet apple lambic. Served in a ceramic mug, it was appealing to look at but we both found the taste a little too reminiscent of apple cider vinegar, and neither of us would order it again.

The speciality of ‘a la Becasse’ was an apple cider beer served in a ceramic mug.

TRADITIONAL PUBS WE VISITED WHILE IN BRUSSELS (BRUXELLES)

• Au Bon Vieux Temps: a 300 year-old bar in Brussels, where we had an interesting beer tasting experience
• A la Mort Subite, a historic brasserie in Brussels
• Toone, with a great selection of beer and a bar cat!

The post that led us astray; even though it is from 2008, the ‘Top 10 Traditional Bars in Brussels’ being ‘traditional’, are still there, and haven’t changed much:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/feb/19/brussels.bars

Our trip, roughly following the beer route.

SOME VISITS TO A FEW TRADITIONAL BARS IN BRUSSELS:

• a 300 year-old bar in Brussels
• a la Becasse, a traditional pub in Brussels
• a la Mort Subite, a historic brasserie in Brussels

MORE ON FAIRYTALE BRUGES (BRUGGE):

• lunch at the Cambrinus
• tour of the Brewery in Bruges
• t’ Brugs Beertje in Bruges
• dinner at the Cambrinus
• warming up a chilly day in Bruges
• the Verdi B&B

ON GHENT:

• beer and museums on our first day in Ghent
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 1
• Ghent SMAK exhibit, the conceptual Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 2

TO THE BELGIAN COAST:

• Off to a Photo Exhibition in Knokke-Heist