Brasserie Bowie

What’s the connection between Aladdin Sane and a vol-au-vent? This neo-brasserie with a door struck by a stained-glass lightning bolt, across from Te Boelaar park – a neighborhood in the midst of a culinary golden age, which is also home to the wine bar Flessengeluk. Brasserie Bowie is the waking dream of Bertrand Lekeux, Ellen Blereau and chef Toon De Bock (who also works at the Bārrio deli), who renovated the ground floor of a traditional corner town house, pimping it out with a menu of comforting classics: shrimp croquette (courtesy of Fernand Obb deli in Brussels) or bone marrow spread on toast and sprinkled with panko breadcrumbs and parsley for starters; vol-au-vent twisted with flaky pastry croutons and mousseline sauce; an américain aka Belgian-style steak tartare topped with lettuce, capers and mustard seeds; a Flemish stew carbonade made with Magma beer from The Musketeers brewery… all served with your choice of potatoes (mashed, fries or croquettes) and an optional old-school endive salad on the side. As for the desserts, they’re in the same vein: tiramisu or a Dame Blanche ice cream sundae, served – and devoured – in a flash. // Juno Madre

Feeling thirsty ? Beers with a Belgian accent: Oud Bruin by t’Verzet, Saison Dupont, XX Bitter by De Ranke and Oud Beersel kriek (€4.80 to €14). Unless you’d prefer a Languedoc rosé from the Les Copains cooperative (€5.50 a glass), a red Pays d’Oc Vache d’Automne (ditto) or a bottle of Im Himmelreich, an Austrian grüner veltliner from Josef Fritz (€36).

Price : Lunch set menu €30, appetizers €15-25, mains €13-22 (lunch) and €23.50 to €30 (dinner), sides €3 to €4.50, kids’ dishes €6-15, desserts €12 €17.