Mint Sauce a l’Anglaise. Epinards a la Creme. Poularde de Bruxelles en Cocotte. Croquettes de Pommes de Terre. Gangas du Japon a la Broche. Compote de Mirabelles. Salade de Laitue. Glace Arlequin. Biscuits de Reims. Cafe. In old Mr. Wiltcher’s time a good many people came from outside for the excellent food here pro- vided ; but now so many families reside all the year round in the hotel, that it is difficult to get a table for dinner when it is not ordered beforehand. One some- times meets a strange bird here. Gangas is a Japanese partridge. The birds migrate to Northern Africa in winter, and often cross to Spain, where they are caught in large numbers. The plumage of the gangas is very beautiful, and the flesh is excellent eating. The outarde, or little bustard, is often to be had at Wilt- cher’s, and it is the only place at which I have eaten the great bustard, whose flesh is very much like a turkey’s. White pheasant is another bird I remember ‘Brussels 1 5 7 here. Excepting in its plumage, it in no way differs from the ordinary pheasant. A feature of Wiltcher’s dinner is that no fruit is ever included in the menu, although coffee is always served. The story goes that Wiltcher the First, who took great pride in his table, found it almost impossible one winter to give as dessert anything beyond apples, oranges, pears, and nuts, there being no other fruit on the market. One day some diners rudely complained, and insisted on a change, expecting perhaps that pine-apple should be included in a dinner at this price. u You wish a change in the dessert, I hear,” said Mr. Wiltcher, in the suave and courtly manner which had earned for him the sobri- quet of “The Duke.” “ Very well, to-morrow you shall have a change.” To-morrow, there was no dessert upon the menu. When the reason for this was demanded, he simply answered: “ You wanted a change, and you’ve got it. I shall give no fruit in future.” This has become a tradition. Justine’s is a little fish restaurant on the Quai au Bois a Bruler, by the side of the fish market. It has distinctly a bourgeois character. It is Justine’s, Quai not the sort of place you would choose au Bois a Brtller to take a lady in her summer frocks to, but you get a fine fish dinner there nevertheless. There is no res- taurant in the world where moules a la mariniere are served in such perfection, and you can rely on every bit of fish supplied there being fresh. The exterior is unattractive, even dirty, and the service inside is some- what rough. On Fridays the place is always crowded, and there may be a difficulty about retaining a room upstairs, where it is best to go when you wish to be specially well served. In the old days it was the fashion to go on Fridays (or on any day for a fish lunch) to Le Sabot, a restaurant-estaminet of the same order a little lower down on the quay, which has a reputation for its manner of cooking mussels; but, 158 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe since the death of old Frangois, who kept it, the place does not appear to be so much in favour, and the tide of custom now flows towards Justine’s. It must be remembered that this house is mentioned simply as a feature of Brussels life and not as a representative restaurant.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Mint Sauce a l’Anglaise. Epinards a la Creme. Poularde de Bruxelles en Cocotte. Croquettes de Pommes de Terre. Gangas du Japon a la Broche. Compote de Mirabelles. Salade de Laitue. Glace Arlequin. Biscuits de Reims. Cafe. In old Mr. Wiltcher’s time a good many people came from outside for the excellent food here provided ; but now so many families reside all the year round in the hotel, that it is difficult to get a table for dinner when it is not ordered beforehand. One sometimes meets a strange bird here. Gangas is a Japanese partridge. The birds migrate to Northern Africa in winter, and often cross to Spain, where they are caught in large numbers. The plumage of the gangas is very beautiful, and the flesh is excellent eating. The outarde, or little bustard, is often to be had at Wiltcher’s, and it is the only place at which I have eaten the great bustard, whose flesh is very much like a turkey’s. White pheasant is another bird I remember ‘Brussels 1 5 7 here. Excepting in its plumage, it in no way differs from the ordinary pheasant. A feature of Wiltcher’s dinner is that no fruit is ever included in the menu, although coffee is always served. The story goes that Wiltcher the First, who took great pride in his table, found it almost impossible one winter to give as dessert anything beyond apples, oranges, pears, and nuts, there being no other fruit on the market. One day some diners rudely complained, and insisted on a change, expecting perhaps that pine-apple should be included in a dinner at this price. u You wish a change in the dessert, I hear,” said Mr. Wiltcher, in the suave and courtly manner which had earned for him the sobriquet of “The Duke.” “ Very well, to-morrow you shall have a change.” To-morrow, there was no dessert upon the menu. When the reason for this was demanded, he simply answered: “ You wanted a change, and you’ve got it. I shall give no fruit in future.” This has become a tradition. Justine’s is a little fish restaurant on the Quai au Bois a Bruler, by the side of the fish market. It has distinctly a bourgeois character. It is Justine’s, Quai not the sort of place you would choose au Bois a Brtller to take a lady in her summer frocks to, but you get a fine fish dinner there nevertheless. There is no restaurant in the world where moules a la mariniere are served in such perfection, and you can rely on every bit of fish supplied there being fresh. The exterior is unattractive, even dirty, and the service inside is somewhat rough. On Fridays the place is always crowded, and there may be a difficulty about retaining a room upstairs, where it is best to go when you wish to be specially well served. In the old days it was the fashion to go on Fridays (or on any day for a fish lunch) to Le Sabot, a restaurant-estaminet of the same order a little lower down on the quay, which has a reputation for its manner of cooking mussels; but, 158 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe since the death of old Frangois, who kept it, the place does not appear to be so much in favour, and the tide of custom now flows towards Justine’s. It must be remembered that this house is mentioned simply as a feature of Brussels life and not as a representative restaurant.

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