Chez Firmin

In the former village cheese shop in Braine-le-Château, don’t expect to find anyone named Firmin welcoming you in to this pointed whitewashed brick house, because Firmin is actually a foursome of food-loving friends: Jimmy Collodoro, Dimitri Theunis, Cédric Godeau and Bertrand Vander Haeghen, who have embarked on this food sharing adventure in a space with an open kitchen and a dining room with banquette seating. For the appetizer, we shared (for a table of two) sea bream ceviche with winter carrots glazed in a ponzu marinade that had us wiping the plate clean; followed by warm pork pie or mini fish goujons with sauce gribiche; and the stars of the fried food world, which we usually prefer not to know what they’re made of, like artisanal Bitterballekes (meat croquettes that our neighbors to the north are crazy about) and homemade Poulycroc (made with egg yolk and sriracha); seasonal sides (including slow-roasted celeriac that was as tender as butter, or a generous cabbage and lardon mash), rump steak or a bone-in Simmental steak grilled on the parilla grill, which proved that as light as chef Pierre Guérin’s bearnaise sauce might have been, a quality cut of meat needs nothing more than a sprinkling of salt to really shine. What about dessert? How about the house’s signature peanut butter, praline and chocolate cookie? Who would have thought that the culinary multiverse would have such good taste! // Emma Caroni

FEELING THIRSTY? Classic cocktails (Spritz, Moscow Mule & Co at €9-14 and seasonal mocktails for €9), the house pils (€3 for a half-pint), and a beautiful wine list, including a Rhône red from Gramenon at €3.80 a glass, J’aurai Ta Peau, an orange wine from Matthieu Barret (€55 a bottle) or Grill, a Côtes-Catalanes red from Coume del Mas (€32).

PRICE: Appetizers €9-20, parilla-grilled meats €35-50 (for two), sides €8-10, desserts €13-17 (for two).