Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Indulge

Favourite restaurants and foodie titbits from Brussels Airlines’ short-haul network

Text Matt Barker, John Kelly

CioccolatItaliani

MILAN
25 Via De Amicis, , www.cioccolatitaliani.it

Combining a café, pasticceria, ice-cream parlour and in-house ‘laboratory’ where chefs can be seen busily preparing and creating cocoa-based cuisine, CioccolatItaliani is a veritable temple to the sweet science of chocolate-making. Sleek interiors and details such as the dark slate trays dishes are served on update the classic cioccolatiera template to provide a truly Milanese experience. There’s plenty to explore on an intriguing menu, particularly for those with a more savoury tooth. Chocolate pasta may sound like the stuff of nursery schools, but a tagliatelle served with cheese fondue and tomatoes works brilliantly; ditto a tower of aubergine and parmesan with candied orange and chocolate rings (although some may wish to just trust me on that one). More traditionally, ice cream-filled brioches are the house speciality and a big to-go favourite with nearby office workers. Expect to pay around €15 for lunch for one, without drinks. MB

Palmenhaus

VIENNA
1 Burggarten, tel. , www.palmenhaus.at

It isn’t only the 15m-high ceiling that has endowed Palmenhaus with a lofty reputation.

Formerly a section of Vienna’s imperial greenhouses and part of the emperor’s palace, this cavernous restaurant’s setting is literally fit for royalty. But that’s not to say it’s elitist. Palmenhaus’s location by Burggarten and Vienna’s famous Museumsquartier means it attracts locals and tourists in equal measure, while its simple interior is embellished only by the bountiful arrangements of palms and blossoms that stretch throughout the restaurant. The menu, too, avoids fanciful dishes and concentrates on unpretentious Austrian and European cuisine, such as niçoise salad and lamb with stuffed tomato and aubergine.

Two abiding relics of Vienna’s regal past remain apparent, however. Excellent desserts such as raspberry tiramisu mean Palmenhaus is a popular spot for Kaffee und Kuchen – a local institution – while the restaurant celebrates Vienna’s reputation as a global cultural capital by occasionally hosting art showcases and musical performances. A three-course meal for two, including wine, costs about €90. JK

Foodie corner

Russin Harvest Festival (19-20 September)

September sees a glut of food festivals pitching up everywhere from Bristol to Bologna from September. Around 15,000 people are expected to descend on Russin this month, a tiny town (population 400) just outside Geneva, where the harvest festival has become something of a must-stop on the foodie trail. People come for the region’s wine, but you can also pick up lots of local produce; look out for seasonal vegetables (aubergines, leeks and tomatoes), mara des bois strawberries, flowers, longeole sausage (pork sausage with fennel seeds) and le glaneur loaves. www.opage.ch

Leave a Reply