Belgians don’t kid around when it comes to culinary classics. Generally speaking, we might be pretty laid-back but some things are just too good to mess up. That’s why we take so much pride in our fries, beers, chocolate and so on. Even though there might be some experimenting going on every now and then, we always make sure the classic recipes stay in place. Because yes, truffle fries might be a very guilty pleasure, a simple cone of fries with salt never goes out of style.
Another, less obvious kitchen classic in Belgium is tartare. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the dish and are now thinking about poorly-cleaned teeth, let’s diverge. Tartare is a meat dish made from raw ground beef or horse meat. Clearly, it’s not fit for the vegetarians or vegans out there, but for meat lovers, it’s a true feast. Traditionally, you’ll find tartare in some brasseries and the more expensive, traditional cuisine restaurants (please don’t try it out someplace you aren’t totally sure about the food quality) yet now, there’s even a special tartare bar in Brussels. Right in the city center, in a place you’ve probably already heard about before.
Bar A teamed up with Carcasse by Dierendonck
One of the most famous hotels in Brussels might be Hotel Amigo. Thanks to its great location and the general luxury of the place, the hotel has already welcomed quite a lot of celebrities over the years. And the hotel’s bar, very fittingly called Bar A, is renowned for its culinary quality and these days, it welcomes the pop-up Bar à Tartare. For that occasion, Bar A teamed up with Carcasse by Dierendonck, the famous butcher’s restaurant in Saint-Idesbald at the Belgian Coast. And that only promises good things.
For the pop-up, Dierendonck created three different tartares: Tartare du Boucher, Tartare Carcasse and Tartare de Veau (with veal meat). With prices around the 24 euro-benchmark, it seems like a pretty good deal, especially if you take the location into account. And to make things even better, two other Belgian classics got invited to the table: the incredible fries by Maison De Corte and the award-winning shrimp croquettes by Maison Fernand Obb.
For those who are interested by the Bar à Tartare, the pop-up will be open every day from 15h until 23h and this till the end of December. There’s also a free valet service available for guests.
