A la Mort Subite, Brussels

A la Mort Subite
Brussel /Bruxelles / Brussels

Over the quarter century I’ve been spending time in Brussels, the city has changed enormously. Much of that change has been positive. The wealth and attention drawn to Brussels in its new rôle as capital of the European Union has led to a wave of restoration of the city’s monuments, as well as modernisation of some of the infrastructure. Much less apparent to the casual visitor but very much welcome to my mind is the increased presence of Flemings in the city and, more importantly, a considerable decrease, if not quite disappearance, of the linguistic tensions that in the past could mar a visit by a Dutch-speaker to the capital not just of Belgium but also of the officially Dutch-speaking Flemish region. During my last couple of visits to Brussels, it has seemed much more common to find Francophones not only able but quite willing to speak Dutch when needed or appropriate and, in turn, I think Flemings have become a little more relaxed about having to assert their linguistic rights and to go with the flow and use whatever French they have command of in situations where that would be the more practical and even more polite option. While it is true that Brussels began as and not all that long ago was an overwhelmingly Dutch-speaking city, the Frenchification of the 18th and especially 19th and 20th centuries was deep and at this point it’s also long-standing; but now the economic dominance of Flanders in Belgium has evened the playing field somewhat, putting Dutch on an increasingly equal footing with its old rival. That’s good, for to my mind Brussels is at its best when there is a constant and relaxed switching between Dutch and French and even promiscuous mixing of the two, as there once was throughout the working class districts and especially among the Marolliens, before an earlier wave of governmental building disrupted their old neighbourhood that was the meeting point and melting pot not only of French and Flemish elements but of Walloon as well.

But while it seems true that a more balanced relationship between the languages and their speakers is developing in Brussels, it is also true that the new wealth and ‘Europeanisation’ of the city is also helping to do away with many older aspects of Brussels, and the genuinely mixed Flemish-French dialect of the city surely will not survive as real estate prices rise and the process of urban repopulation (that we know so well from the States in recent years) continues. Along with the dialect, many other old traditions of food and custom will also gradually disappear. I find that lamentable but for some, that’s progress.

Fortunately, some old traditions manage to resist and I suspect it will be a long time before Belgians -- whatever their linguistic affiliations be – turn their backs completely on the old traditions of café life. As evidence, I can point to one of my favourite cafés in Brussels, the famous and now somewhat touristy Mort Subite of central Brussels.



This café is not all that old by European standards (it will soon see its 100th anniversary) but given its location and its decor, it evokes strongly the spirit of an interesting and important period in the history of Belgium and Brussels. In the 25 years since I first wandered in by chance on a cold day, virtually nothing in the place has seemed to change.

View from near the bar, looking out toward the front of the café on the Warmoesberg / Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères:


The bar, really more a tap-station, is small and the family of lambiek beers -- lambiek, kriek, faro, geuze --sold here bear the name of the café but they are brewed for the café by a small brewery in the Pajottenland.

The Mort Subite bar:


On my visit this past month, I ordered the same thing I did on the occasion of my first visit: une tartine au fromage blanc et une kriek, that is, a slice of bread, with butter, radishes, green onions, salt, white pepper and a little pot of ‘fromage blanc’ or, in Brussels dialect plattekeis. One dresses the bread with the butter and then the plattekeis, and then tops this boterham with pieces of radish and onion, all to be seasoned finally with salt and pepper. Simple and absolutely delicious.

Grijsbrood met boter, radijskes, ajuintjes, zout, peper, en een potje plattekeis...
daarbij een glas kriek van 't vat: da's lekker.


Perhaps the kriek was a little sweeter this time than I remember but other than that, I felt somewhat as if I had managed to step into a time machine and, frankly, it was a very good feeling.

Antonius

A la Mort Subite
Brasserie Vossen
Warmoesberg 7 Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères
Brussel / Bruxelles
Tel: 32-2-513.13.18
Hours: 10.00-24.00, 7 days a week.

R

Antonius wrote:On my visit this past month, I ordered the same thing I did on the occasion of my first visit: une tartine au fromage blanc et une kriek, that is, a slice of bread, with butter, radishes, green onions, salt, white pepper and a little pot of ‘fromage blanc’

Antonious,

Mort Subite, and your simple lunch, speak volumes to me, both in French and Dutch. I ever find myself in Brussels that will will be my first stop.

Enjoy,
Gary

This place - the look, the warmth, the food and drink - encapsulates Benelux to me. Simple pleasures, my friends, done well and with a meaure of grace and class, cannot be overestimated. Where are the flat screen TV's, the CD jukebox, and the trivia games? That place must be really boring. I wish you would have snagged one of those swift Mort Subite ashtrays for me, A. Smoking, my lamentable yet delicious vice, surely leads to mort, but prolongee, not subite. Good to see that Belgium, so far, hasn't jumped on the recent European bandwagon of non-smoking (Ireland and Italy, amazingly, have banned smoking, denying future generations the natural association of a drink (Guinness, capuccino) and a fag. Somewhere, O'Casey and Gramsci roll one up and weep, softly...). Does Mort Subite offer more on the menu? Mussels, frites, etc..? I ask because when I make it to Brussels I'll be spending the greater portion of my day in this cafe and want to plan accordingly. Fan-freakin-tastic. Merci/bedankt, A.

Reb

hungryrabbi wrote:This place - the look, the warmth, the food and drink - encapsulates Benelux to me. Simple pleasures, my friends, done well and with a meaure of grace and class, cannot be overestimated.

You're only right, my friend.

Good to see that Belgium, so far, hasn't jumped on the recent European bandwagon of non-smoking (Ireland and Italy, amazingly, have banned smoking, denying future generations the natural association of a drink (Guinness, capuccino) and a fag...

Still legal in Belgium... though the EU does its best to reach widely... I, like the saint of the same name, struggled mightily to resist temptation...

Does Mort Subite offer more on the menu? Mussels, frites, etc..? I ask because when I make it to Brussels I'll be spending the greater portion of my day in this cafe and want to plan accordingly.

No, no full-blown kitchen, I don't think... Croque Monsieur, sandwichkes, maybe a few other things, but no frites and moules. I'll happily pass along recommendations for that sort of thing!

Fan-freakin-tastic. Merci/bedankt, A.

Bless you son, and skol!

A

My wife and I are traveling to Brussels and Gent in a little over a month and are trying to plan our attack. I keep hearing that Brussels has "better French food than France" and is a "foodie city", but have found precious few posts online reviewing the food.

We're looking for one high end restaurant, as I'll be spending my birthday in Brussels. I've considered Comme Chez Soi, but also understand that they've lost a star and may have a new chef and am wondering if it will be worth the king's ransom that their tasting menu will cost.

For our other two nights, we just want great local food.

Can you offer any suggestions? A la Mort Subite is certainly on the list.

Ooooo. You said the magic words:
"lambiek, kriek, faro, geuze."