Recommended in Brussels

My husband and I visited Brussels, April 26-May 2, 2010, and stayed at La Résidence Les Ecrins (Rue du Rouleau 15, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgique; phone +32 2 219 3657, fax 2 223 5740, e-mail [email protected]).

Its location cannot be topped — just a block from the Sainte Catherine area and the historic fish market (the old canal is lined by one fish restaurant after another) and within easy walking distance of the Grand Place.

Guy and Edward manage three contiguous, century-old houses in this heart of the city and offer spacious, thoughtfully appointed rooms and fully equipped bathrooms plus patience and good humor in dispensing advice of all kinds.

We found Les Ecrins online and rented a suite — with a large bedroom, an even larger living room with fireplace, and bathroom — for €125 ($174) per night, including an excellent breakfast.

In the warm weather, many restaurants spilled out onto the plaza, offering alfresco dining. We can personally recommend several. (The prices shown here are in dollars, as charged on our debit card, and each represents dinner for two, including one draft glass each of the wonderful Belgian wheat, or wit, beer called Hoegaarden.)

Bij den Boer (Quai aux Briques 60; phone +[0] 2 512 6122), $86; Rugbyman No. Two (Quai aux Briques 12; phone [0] 2 512 3760), (yes, there is a Rugbyman No. One!), $139, and Restaurant l’Huitriere (Quai aux Briques 20; phone [0] 2 512 2699), $93.50.

Local lobsters were in season and we consumed several. They rivaled Maine’s best!

For classic Brussels fare, we suggest La Villette Restaurant (rue du Vieux Marche-aux-Grains 3; phone +[0] 2 512 7550), $78.50. Their waterzooi (soup) is unrivaled.

And for something completely different but in the same neighborhood, La Boussole (Quai aux Bois a Bruler 61; phone [0] 2 218 5877) offers inventive Greek dishes (and first-rate lamb) with a Belgian twist — $82.

PEGGY ZEIGLER
San Francisco, CA