“My fish comes to me within hours of being line caught in the North Sea,” Didier tells me, adding that Asian and Italian cuisines influence him more than classic French does. “My fish is already dead,” he says slyly, “so I don’t want to kill it a second time by smothering it with foie gras.”
The night I dine at ’t Fornuis, a pampering two-star in an old gabled house off the Groenplaats, I think of the Renaissance bons vivants from the Mayer Van den Bergh museum. They might have recognized many of their favorite victuals among chef Johan Segers’s battery of classic bourgeois French dishes, which he gives an occasional personal spin. The only really Flemish part of my meal is a tiny hors d’oeuvre of green pea soup with chunks of sausage. Segers himself, a tall, bespectacled man with a blond ponytail, comes to the table in immaculate chef’s whites to recite his daily bill of fare—there’s no printed menu—and to help you design your meal.
Since I appear curious about the preponderance of Bordeaux on the wine list, the young sommelier explains that Antwerp has been trading with the French wine port since the Middle Ages. Belgium, he points out, produces no wine, so its selections are often more cosmopolitan than those in neighboring France, usually with bottles from Spain, Italy, California, Australia, and New Zealand.
If ’t Fornuis is pleasant, albeit very expensive, at Hippodroom, in the Zuid, I find cooking that corresponds to the current fin-de-siècle ambiance of a city in full cultural evolution. Here, in the high-ceilinged dining room, are gorgeous 19th-century moldings, parquet floors, huge black-and-white photos screened on the walls, and chandeliers of randomly suspended halogen striplights. I lunch on a luscious and hard-to-find local classic: breaded croquettes filled with béchamel sauce and tiny gray shrimp from the North Sea, garnished with lemon wedges and deep-fried parsley. I follow that with grilled tuna steak served on a bed of rock salt with a beautifully made, curry-flavored mousseline sauce and a sauté of red and yellow peppers, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, and bean sprouts. I end the meal with pain perdu, literally “lost bread”—thick slices of brioche dipped in egg batter, grilled, and caramelized—that is served with spice-cake ice cream.
It’s not just restaurants that are doing well in Antwerp. Café life here, more so than in most French cities, is alive and well. There are hundreds of little places all over town where people duck in for a coffee, invariably served with a piece of chocolate or a cellophane-wrapped burned-sugar biscuit, a De Koninck—the local ale—or one of the hundreds of delectable abbey brews that Belgium produces. Locals sit and read the papers, play chess or pool, chat, daydream, even dance. In their cafés, the Antwerpers find a culture of casual, unhurried leisure that’s unique to northern Europe, with the possible exception of Irish—but not English—pubs. Just don’t expect Gallic elegance or posing; the Flemish prefer cozy, hole-in-the-wall cafés with communal tables that facilitate conversation.
Sitting in one of these cafés on my last night in Antwerp, I savor the crowd passing through the beautifully illuminated Grote Markt square—Panamanian sailors joking in Spanish with Peruvian sweater vendors; an elderly man with a gold monocle accompanying his wife, who wears a fox stole; a band of singing German teenagers; and a flock of natty Flemish couples out for a night on the town. I begin to wonder if Europe might finally be free of the mistakes of its past, ready to lead the way to even greater prosperity and well-being for the rest of the world. If so, this city will surely be one of its guiding lights.
Details
To telephone Antwerp from the United States, dial 011 32 3 followed by the numbers given below. Antwerp has its own airport, but from the United States it is easier to fly to Brussels and continue on by train, a ride of only 40 minutes.
Where to Stay
The best hotel in town, De Witte Lelie, Keizerstraat 16–18, tel. 226 19 66, fax 234 00 19, e-mail: hotel@dewittelelie.be, is an intimate, Flemish-style charmer with only ten rooms in two gabled 16th-century houses. Doubles $200. Hotel Firean, Karel Oomsstraat 6, tel. 237 02 60, fax 238 11 68, e-mail: hotel.firean@skynet.be, is a bit off the beaten track in a quiet residential neighborhood, but this homey Art Deco townhouse hotel is friendly, very comfortable, and right on the tram line leading to the center. Doubles from $135. Alfa Theater, Arenbergstraat 30; tel. 203 54 10, fax. 233 88 58, may be uninspiringly modern, but it has a great location and comfortable rooms with reasonable rates. Doubles from $90.
Where to Eat
‘t Fornuis, Reyndersstraat 24, tel. 233 62 70, may not deserve two Michelin stars, but this charming restaurant serves very good classical French food, such as truffled sweetbreads in truffle sauce and turbot in white-bean sauce. Excellent but pricey wine list. At De Matelote, Haarstraat 9, tel. 231 32 07, fax 231 08 13, chef Garnich Didier’s stylish dining room, in the middle of town, rates a Michelin star and raves from the local beau monde. Book well in advance. Dock’s Cafe, Jordaenskaai 7, tel. 226 63 60, a very popular seafood brasserie on the waterfront, has a raw bar that serves oysters and langoustines with freshly made mayonnaise; two of the better main courses are sole meunière, which comes with sautéed endive and parsleyed potatoes, and sea bass on a bed of Provençal vegetables. On the ground floor of a stunning Art Nouveau mansion in the Cogels-Osylei neighborhood (a 15-minute taxi ride from the center), Euterpia, Generaal Capiaumontstraat 2, tel. 235 02 02, is a favorite of the well-heeled locals, including those working in the diamond industry. The pasta with wild mushrooms and panfried goose liver in orange sauce are good starters; then order lobster waterzooi, a light version of this traditional Belgian dish in which lobster—or game, in season—replaces chicken in a bowl of bouillon with green beans and potatoes. Hippodroom, Leopold de Waelplaats 10, tel. 248 52 52, is perfect for lunch after a visit to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, across the street. Go light on the chicken yakitori salad or sushi, or sample the shrimp croquettes, a local classic, and tuna steak or filet mignon with homemade frites. L’Entrepôt du Congo, Vlaamse Kaai 42, tel. 238 93 32, is another good spot after visiting the Royal Museum. A storefront bistro with cement floors and halogen lights dangling from the ceiling, Hungry Henrietta, Lombardenvest 19, tel. 232 29 28, appeals to the fashion crowd by serving contemporary dishes like tuna carpaccio with fresh cilantro and lemon, langoustines on a bed of tagliatelle, and grilled cod steak. Zuiderterras, Ernest Van Dijckkai 37, tel. 234 12 75, has become a chic symbol of how Antwerp has reclaimed its waterfront; it’s a good place to enjoy river views over a beer and salad. Maritime, Suikerai 4, tel. 233 07 58, just off the Grote Markt, serves traditional Flemish-style seafood and attracts a cross-section of Antwerpers, who come to feast on big pots of mussels steamed in white wine, chopped shallots, and parsley, accompanied by a platter of freshly made fries. Hoffy’s, Lange Kievitstraat 52, tel. 234 35 35, a popular kosher restaurant, fits the bill for lunch after a stroll around the diamond district. Try the sweet carp, stuffed eggplant, potato pancakes, or assorted platter. At Cargo, Leopold de Waelplaats 24b, tel. 260 60 10, young and hip rules. Two of the best stands for Belgian french fries are Frituurs, Teodor van Rijswijck Plaats, and Erik, Waalse Kaai 35, both near the photography museum in the Zuid district.
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