Point Brugge Cafe

Point Brugge Cafe is one of my favorite places in the city to eat. It has a great atmosphere and most of all great food. I have had may of the items that are featured on the menu, including: Hop Devil Shrimp, Macaroni Gratin, Moules Frites with basil mayonnaise (all flavors), Chaud Chevre salad, Cafe Chicken sandwich and the Point Burger. There are alot of other amazing things on the menu but when I go to Point Brugge its for an appetizer and then the Mussles! I have had mussels at other restaurants but they have not compared to the mussles at Point Brugge. My friends, who have actually been to Brussels said that these mussels rival the ones they had in Belgium!

Now to discuss the food! Let's start at the beginning, shall we:

Mussels - the star of the show - there are two sizes, a pound and a half or a little smaller. There are also three different flavors: white wine, shallots, garlic and cream (My absolute favorite), curry, coconut milk, basil and cilantro, or tomato, fried brussel sprouts and parmesean. If you get the large portion, french fries with their wonderful basil mayonnaise is included. As I said the white wine sauce is my favorite but I did have them all and they are all very good. The mussels are cooked perfectly; however, there will be grit/sand in a couple of them - that is normal. Also, you get unlimited pieces of warm baguette bread to dip in the overflowing sauce of your choice!

Hop Devil Shrimp - 6 Large, succulent shrimp, cooked perfectly and beer battered in Hop Devil beer. The hop devil beer is very tangy and provides a nice flavor to the shrimp especially when dipping them into the slightly spicy, Asian dipping sauce. Perfect start to anyone's culinary experience at Point Brugge.

Macaroni Gratin - Macaroni baked in three cheeses; gruyere (one of my favorites), parmesean and cheddar. One of the best baked macaroni and cheese dishes that I have ever ate. Its not too heavy to start off your meal.

Chaud Chevre Salad - Crisp greens with asparagus and roasted red peppers with the acompaniement of soft, warm, creamy goat cheese. And the house dressing - very tasty! This is my favorite of all the salad options. But, I love goat cheese especially on a salad. There is an option to add salmon, chicken or portabella mushrooms. To me, there is nothing like warm, creamy goat cheese paired with perfectly cooked salmon.

Cafe Chicken sandwich - Grilled Chicken on a warm baguette with fresh mozzerella, roasted red peppers, romaine lettuce and basil mayonnaise. I love mayonnaise, its my favorite condiment. And their basil mayo is to die for. it lightens up the richness of the mayo and provides great flavor to this and any sandwich and french fries.

Point Burger - Fresh ground chuck topped with bacon, carmelized shallots, fontina cheese, arugula, and whole grain mustard aioli. Now, with this burger, I change mine up a bit. Really, I mean with the aioli and the basil mayonnaise. I dont like whole grain mustard so I switch the mustard out for the mayo. For those of you who may not know - shallots are in the onion family but there flavor is not as bold as the onion. And caremlized, they are perfect. Arugula, is a lettuce that usually goes on top of different sandwiches wtih a smoky, peppery flavor.

Please check out Point Brugge either for lunch, dinner or brunch and let me know what you think! I havent been there for brunch, but I heard it was amazing! Also, I would get there a little early because its not just one of my favorites, it does get crowded quickly and the wait can be quite long, especially with a large party. In the warmer months, they do provide outside seating but that is also limited. Stay and have a cocktail, beer or wine, they have quite the selection and not too pricey.