Mussels in Brussels: Friture René

Visiting Belgium and not enjoying a big pot of mussels just isn’t worth the jet lag. So, last night, Jen and I walked down the street from our hosts’ house for dinner at Friture René a small, traditional, steak, mussels, and fries place.

Yes, that’s all they serve: steak and mussels. Maybe 5 or 6 variations of each. Both come with fries and a side of mayo.

Each of the tables in the 3 main dining areas were draped with comfortable, white & red checked table clothes. We shared the back room with a wonderful, elderly French couple still enjoying their time together.

Our order was easy; 2 pots of mussels in white wine, 2 Duvals (in hindsight, 1 pot would have been enough).

A few moments later the shellfish arrived covered in onion, thyme and garlic, too hot to touch. Smelling and tasting fantastic – if just a hint fishy.

If you go, I highly recommend brushing up on the ways to signal you’d like to pay. Sitting quietly at an empty table and making eye contact with the wait staff doesn’t work.

I finally approached our server and asked in English how I should pay. She lifted her hand and rubbed her thumb against her index and middle fingers and said, “Receipt”.

The old French couple giggled all the way through this exchange.

Friture René
Place de la Résistance 14
1070 Brussels (Anderlecht)

Cash only – no credit cards. Says right on the door.

Castelling

Our amazing and wonderful hosts took us on a roadtrip on Saturday to a couple castles just outside of Brussels

Beersel – a Brusselian defensive castle from 1310. Visitors can fully explore it and on this day, the place was all ours. From the ground floor through the tight, steep, worn stone stairwell to the top of the tower. There were some tight spots with Little C on my back, I had a great time all the same.

The 700 year-old bricks making up the floor have sunken in leaving only the spider-web of mortor to walk on and if there ever was glass in any of the windows – it’s long gone. This doesn’t change the amazing views of the castle ruins and landscape from any angle.

Next, Kasteel van Gaasbeek – originating in 1240, Gaasbeek is comparatively larger and in better condition. Alas, it was closed for the day so we simply enjoyed a walked around the immaculate grounds.

From there, a quick drive to a tiny rural, Belgian cafe in an old brewery serving with only regional beers – like, my current favorite, Affligem. After a round of the Affligem Christmas and a flight of the house Gueze we were on our way.

Little C kept telling us how remarkable his emerging teeth were, so he wasn’t he bestest traveling companion.

Sinterklaas en Zwarte Piet

Yesterday, we celebrated St. Nicolas Day. Five kids (15 months to 7 yrs) loaded up on chocolate, gingerbread, and taai-taai while awaiting the odd, rumbling noises (well-time washing machine) indicating Sinterklaas and his mischievous helpers, the Zwarte Piet, left presents somewhere in the house. Instead of chocolate, Cooper finished off the carrot we left for the Sint’s horse, Amerigo, the night before.

The festivities – like all things here – were refreshingly civilized. Youngest-to-oldest gifts were unwrapped, one-by-one. Then an adult returned to the basement for another round.

After lunch, I played a round of Candy Land with two Dutch boys (3 and 5 yrs old). Humbling and enjoyable at the same time.

While in general, the story of Sinterklaas and Santa Claus are the same – the specifics are far more interesting (I highly recommend David Sedaris’ retelling (“6-8 Black Men”). Also, the separation of this children-oriented gift-giving day with the more family-oriented Christmas feels much more comfortable than overloading everything into a single day.

Initial Thoughts on the Rojas-Winer-Calacanis Podcast Device

I’ve been pondering the dedicated podcast devices tossed around by Rojas-Winer-Calacanis. The power and simplicity of it are quite attractive.

I’m on board with the following:

  • Data Input/Output: Wifi. No need for anything else.
  • Supported Media Formats: MP3, Ogg Vorbis, anything else open & cheap.
  • Pre-selling a small initial run as financing.

As an interface designer and podcaster, the biggest challenge I see in this device is the interaction to discover and subscribe to podcasts.

Even today, this process is fairly complex . The attempts I’ve seen to simplify it only add to the problem (TiVo, iTunes, etc) by creating a proprietary, artificially restricted silo.

Some initial thoughts:

  • A default link to the podcast.opml.org directory and Share Your OPML on some
  • A custom keypad specialized for RSS subscription. Maybe keys for ‘org/com/net’, etc. I’d be unfortunate to see a full-size keypad or a constrained phone keypad – neither of those work great for mobile devices.
  • Since we’re using WiFi, this device could have a web server baked-in and subscriptions managed through a web browser accessed from another computer. Even remotely – so others could recommend podcasts to their friends (via OPML?).

What Price iPod?

Interesting conversation last evening about the price of iPods specifically, and ecommerce differences in general between the States and Belgium.

Check this:
80 Gig iPod: $350 or €399
With the current exchange rate, that makes the European price tag: $529

Dang.

For that price, it’d be worth flying to the States and loading up a suitcase. I saw a post earlier this week about people in England doing just that. If you saw that post as well, could you link it up in the comments. Thanks.

UPDATE: We spent the afternoon walking around the main shopping districts. The prices for clothing or grocery items with global brands seemed on even with the prices I’d see at home (post currency conversion). So, assuming the H&M at the Mall of America has the same inventory as the one in downtown Brussels – it doesn’t matter where you purchase it. Same for Pampers.

The biggest price distinction I’ve seen is on beer and wine. The quality and selection at the price point I’m most comfortable with – ~$10 – is far higher and wider. That’ll get you one Belgian beer at my neighborhood St. Anthony Village Liquors and a case of it here. Oh, and the cases are sturdy, plastic, and returnable.

Reminds me of the giant, community recycling bins for plastic, metal, and glass. We totally need them in the States.

UPDATE: Gas prices here run between €0.90 and €1.40 ($1.20 – $1.80) seems just a little lower than the prices at home…until you remember this price is per liter. Making the per gallon price: $3.40 – $5.60. Road congestion is just as bad in Brussels as any significantly dense city – even with the diversity of transit options (tram, subway, bus).

ELSEWHERE:
At Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen compares the price of an iPod Nano across 26 countries

Old World Smells

The first breath of air as I stepped off the plane brought a big smile to my face. The air here is a little mustier. A little earthier. A little more natural. The increased intensity of the smell are one of my favorite things about Belgium (and the Netherlands and Germany). The onions chopped for dinner – smell even more delicious.

We went for a long walk around Brussels’ city center last night on the way to dinner. A walk I’ve made a few times before. The first being a decade ago. Of course, the architecture that’s stood for hundreds of years is still here, but so is “Pita Street” – a small side street off the main plaza lined with gyro and falafel shops. Pita to pita. The smell of greasy lamb kabob followed us a couple more streets further to Babeko on Sint Katelijnplein. A tiny, African/French fusion restaurant where I discovered Ostrich steak with plantin banana in a cranberry and sweet onion sauce. Wow. Red, like a beef steak, with lighter, subtler flavors.

The service was impeccably French – with the expected Belgian lack of pretense .

Unlock-in

“The US copyright office will permit mobile phone subscribers to unlock their phones, allowing them to be used by rival network providers.” – Andrew Orlowski, The Register

“The exemptions become effective on 27 November 2006 and will only remain in effect for three years.” – Tim Finn

“This is really only applicable to Cingular and T-Mobile customers” – Alex Zaltsman

This is really good news for handset makers and the geek set. Opens up a new world of higher-end handset options (the choices today are pretty bad).

If any of you Apple-geeks missed it, the rumored iPhone is rumored to be unlocked. Just as you supplied the keyboard, mouse, and monitor with the Mac Mini, this means you’ll bring your own mobile phone service provider for the iPhone.

Seems like a smart, customer-centric decision. Since not all providers have decent coverage where there are Apple Stores (US or worldwide) not tying the handset to a provider means Apple (or any other handset maker) can sell to the greatest number of customers.

UPDATE:

“An Apple phone wouldn’t do more than a Treo or a BlackBerry or a Razr — it would do less, and what it would do, it would do really well.” – John Gruber

Exactly. Today those are the options for decent voice + internet handset. As I wrote last April – we don’t need more of the same – we need the opposite. While my previous write up is pretty geeky – the underlying principle is valid – phone as peripheral. Not stand-alone device.