Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

FOOD & DRINK

IN DULGE

Our round up of favourite restaurants from the Brussels Airlines network

L’atelier UK

13-15 West Street, WC2,
tel. +44 (0)20 7010 8600
French chef Joël Rubuchon is causing a stir on London’s restaurant scene with the latest outpost of his culinary empire. Situated in the heart of the capital’s theatreland (and just a few doors away from A-list hang-out The Ivy), L’atelier oozes contemporary cool. In this foliage-laden den, the red-and-black lacquered furnishings and low lighting give it an intimate, exciting feel.

L’atelier is the kind of restaurant that’s the highlight of a lavish night out in London, but it’s certainly not for the faint of wallet, with tasting dishes starting at around €15. The majority of the seating is on high stools perched at a dining counter alongside fellow diners and overlooking the open kitchen. Watch the chefs move purposefully but quietly around a large hot plate creating sublime, freshly prepared dishes.

French dishes are given a Japanese twist here and there’s also a Spanish influence to the menu, with jamón ibérico practically a permanent feature. We advise you go for a selection of tasting dishes – Rubuchon’s nod to tapas. The seared tuna smothered with a sea salt and tomato confit is impeccably fresh and melts in the mouth. The single ravioli of langoustine is gorgeous to look at and even more gorgeous to eat, even if a couple of mouthfuls are all it takes to polish off. Meanwhile the oeufs en cocotte are served in a martini glass and the intensely flavoured sweetbreads send your tastebuds into overdrive. The menu is accompanied by an extensive wine list and a sommelier floats around happy to divulge his knowledge.

Whether you have room or not, you can’t leave without tucking into a perfectly cooked soufflé with a generous spoon of pistacho ice cream ladelled into the middle.

Food is inevitably the hot subject of conversation here, and it seems the sole topic, as you tune into fellow diners discussing the merits of their dish as each one is licked clean. CG

Foodie corner

Did you know the truffle season only lasts for three months, from October to December, so that only leaves this month to truffle away

Known as ‘black diamonds’, Périgord truffles are perhaps the most sought after foodstuff on earth. Specially trained dogs are generally used to hunt down the fungi,

which grow in the roots of oak trees, up to 16 inches below ground. And due to their rarity, they can sell for up to €3,500 per kilo. In 2005, the world’s most expensive truffle, the white alba truffle, sold for almost €90,000 at auction.

But now you can indulge in your own lifetime’s supply of black truffles by adopting a truffle tree from a plantation close to Toulouse. Visit truffletree.com for more information. b there! spoke to Dick Pyle, the plantation owner, to get his top tip for cooking with truffles.

His recommendation? “When cooking truffles at home, the most important thing to remember is not to overheat them”.

Try them with simple foods like egg, rice, noodles, pasta and potato:

Périgord Noodles
Cook 225 grams of noodles in salted water. While they are cooking, heat thin slices of truffle very gently. Drain the noodles, add the truffles, their juice and a knob of butter and season with salt and pepper.

Leblon SPAIN

Calle Recoletos 10, 28001 Madrid
tel. +34 91 435 4300

Although the paint has barely dried on the walls, this glass-fronted, two-level restaurant-cum-lounge bar has already carved out a name for itself with seamless service and innovative cuisine.

Following the success of his nearby Jazzanova venue, musician/manager Marcos Ussía has named his latest upscale venture – designed by Brazilian Alberto Burgaleta – after the exclusive Ipanema resort where Rio’s beach-buffed elite hang out, as represented by the huge, backlit, black-and-white prints adorning the bar. A varied soundtrack enhances the carefree atmosphere – expect an exotic blend of samba, bossa nova and North American jazz with the occasional pop song thrown in.

The menu encompasses light, traditional Spanish recipes, such as hake drenched in green pepper sauce, or scallop and langoustine brochettes sprinkled with finely chopped herbs. The half lamb rack with pistachio and mint sauce is served with a choice of side dishes such as a trio of sautéed mushrooms, grilled asparagus or Chifa-style crab-fried rice.

The sassy line-up offers more mainstream delights such as tuna carpaccio with sesame and mustard vinaigrette or satay chicken brochettes. Nor do the desserts disappoint. Sweet strawberries and rich mascarpone cheese complement each other beautifully, and the crispy pistachio crocanti drizzled in white-chocolate cream is just as good.

On top of an excellent menu and wine list, make sure you sample the expertly prepared mojitos and caipirinhas – just like they make them in Brazil. RE

Kursaal Tonnara Vergine Maria ITALY

Via Bordonaro 9 Palermo
tel. +39 091 637 2267

Palermo’s (undeserved) reputation for being something of a damp squib when it comes to nightlife has been turned on its head in recent years, with the wonderful Kursaal Kalhesa in the city’s newly buzzing La Kalsa district very much at the centre of things.

Now a sister venue has opened up the road in a one-time tuna fishery. This striking complex of three seafront buildings dating from the 15th century is now home to a restaurant, two bars and a soon-to-be-opened boutique hotel and wellbeing centre. The restaurant, not too surprisingly, is big on fresh fish.

A weekly changing menu of light Mediterranean dishes showcases the wealth of local produce, making good use of Palermo’s celebrated food markets.

Of course, there’s tuna (seared and served with an onion marmalade), but plenty of other clever things are being done with swordfish, including serving it as a carpaccio or a timbale in basil sauce. Pastas include gnocchi flavoured with roquette and cheese, or farfallette with mullet and clams, and there’s also a vegetable risotto. It’s all brilliantly simple stuff, produced with a measured hand and served up with a breezy confidence at reasonable prices (€75 for two with wine).

Once Sicily’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it winter’s been and gone, you can dine outside in the terraced gardens looking out to sea. There are two bars (one’s an already-established live music venue), with a cheery, affable air that only adds to the myriad charms of this chic, fascinating place. MB

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