Poutine in Glasgow? This is getting serious!

OK, let me begin by saying that I think this post deserves being written as a seprate entry instead of being incorporated into a general Glasgow/food/other post. We’re talking about POUTINE here – what other justification does anyone need?

So here’s the deal. I was looking up restaurants in Glasgow that serve various types of cuisine – Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Belgian, and Korean, just to name a few. I know I know, so much for trying local food, right? Don’t worry, I’ll get to the haggis and the deep-fried Mars bar. Of course, I thought, I should look up some beloved food from the True North Strong and Free, and what better to represent the land of Canadia than…POUTINE! (What is poutine, you ask? To put it simply, poutine, pronounced pu-teen, is a Canadian dish of French fries with cheese curds and gravy, invented in Quebec. Let’s not try to think of the implications on health here…)

With anticipation I Googled “poutine in Glasgow”, completely ready to be disappointed. But what I found made me gasp for joy (and worry a little, for my health), for what do you know…there is indeed a place in the city centre that serves our cheese curd-topped, gravy-dripping, artery-clogging goodness. Bread Meats Bread – a clever name for a burger restaurant, isn’t it? My Canadian soul screamed, “GO TRY IT.” So I did.

The restaurant was quite busy when I arrived and I had to wait for a seat. One of the advantages of dining out alone is that you can take the odd seat instead of waiting for a proper table, which were all occupied. After about 2 minutes, the server led me over to a seat in the corner of the restaurant. It was the rightmost one in a horizontal row of three, and the two others have already been occupied, so naturally, the remaining seat would be perfect for me, a lone diner. The best part about this seat? It faced the street and I could see it right through the glass. It was a perfect time to people-watch as I waited for my food, and maybe I was being watched from the outside as well? Who knows 😛

Mussels in Brussels

The plan of “one different city per weekend” is working out so far, and only so because Brussels is such a convenient hub of transportation with easy access to many cities. To get to Brussels from Louvain-la-Neuve only takes about 45 minutes by train, and once you get there, the entire Europe is yours to discover.

Before going any further, I decided I should explore Brussels itself, the capital city of the country I currently reside in, and the capital of the European Union, by default. It was rather long overdue. Brussels has been calling for me ever since I stepped into Belgium, as if saying, “Hey, I’m right here.” So on Saturday, I set out for a first day trip in Brussels. It’s a big city, alright, but I figured I can always make short trips back if I feel like getting to know the place better.

Moreover, the weather this weekend couldn’t be any more perfect. It was raining on Friday and it was predicted to rain again on Sunday (and it did), but on Saturday, it was a glorious 21 degrees Celsius, with a gentle breeze that hinted the presence of spring. There was almost no reason NOT to go somewhere.

A weekend return ticket bought on the internet costs 5.60 Euros. With the Louvain-la-Neuve train station situated 7 minutes from my house by walking, I set out at 9:45 in the morning for the 10 o’clock train, arriving at Bruxelles-Midi station at around 11:50. I would start my itinerary there, after picking up my Eurostar tickets for London in May.

The first point of interest is, of course, the number one destination in Brussels, the Grand Place. I promptly purchased a metro day pass for 4.50 Euros and found my way to Central Station, where the Grand Place is located, and my search began.

This is the first thing I saw when I exited Central Station, a gigantic purple bunny. I doubt this has anything explicitly to do with Brussels, but at least it reminds us, Easter is coming in three weeks!