By Laia Zieger from gastronomistas

Breakfast or Brunch at the Maison Dandoy

Opened in 1829, Maison Dandoy is one of the oldest pastry shops in the city. To go with an exquisite cup of hot chocolate, you can choose from an endless range of local sweet delicacies; large, light and crunchy Brussels Waffles, or the sweeter, softer Liege variety, Speculaas biscuits flavoured with cinnamon and other spices, Sablés (butter biscuits) and ‘Greek Style Bread’; a baguette sprinkled with cane sugar.
Rue Charles Buls, 14 - Bruxelles

For lunch, make your way to Chez Lola

Fashionable, contemporary and cosmopolitan, Chez Lola serves international dishes made with local, market ingredients. Standouts include cold roast beef served with homemade mayonnaise, foie gras and bouchée à la reine; puff pastry bathed in béchamel and studded with small pieces of different meats, mushrooms and snails. It’s worth noting that the menu always has a special section of dishes using in-season ingredients, be they asparagus, mussels or artichokes.
Place du Grand Sablon, 33 - Bruxelles

At the end of a perfect day, have dinner at La Taverne du Passage

The Galerie de la Reine, an old shopping arcade with a glass covered ceiling, is one of the city’s most emblematic spaces. Inside is this must-visit restaurant, whose menu is an ode to Belgium’s national cuisine. La Taverne du Passage’s décor, with it’s elegantly classical lines, and formal, white jacket and black bow-tie waiting staff, evoke another era or at least seem to have stepped out of a silent movie.

The specialities of La Taverne du Passage include (of course!) mussels with pomme frites (with various sauces to choose from) and prawn croquettes (probably the best in the city). But above all try the steak tartar. Prepared at the table with two teaspoons of homemade mayonnaise, this alone is worth your trip to Brussels.
Galerie de la Reine, 30 - Bruxelles

*And at any time of the day when hunger strikes, throw restraint out the window for a cone of pomme frites at Friterie du Café Georgette. Not your average chip, the potatoes are hand cut and fried the old fashioned way – in beef fat. They can be enjoyed with dozens of sauces at your disposal. 
Rue de la Fourche 37/39 - Bruxelles

For More Information: Tourist Office of Wallonia-Brussels

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Even the towns at the interior of Mallorca, like Valldemossa, Fonalutx or Biniaraix, are under the shelter of Tramuntana mountain range, are those which kept better the interesting traditions and costumes, by the shore there are little places that survived the urban growth.

Therefore, idyllic images of Mediterranean fishing villages have gradually disappeared as tourists arrived massively. However, there are still charming spots in Mallorca bays, keeping the essence. Visiting them is necessary in order to understand the cultural heritage of the island.

Es Jonquet

Next to Santa Catalina quarter, in Palma, and enclosed by Sant Matgí street, the border between both areas, there is Es Jonguet, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, which has conserved all the charm of a fishing quarter. This is a humble neighbourhood, with low-lying houses and irregular streets, rising proud under the mills (old flour mills) that welcome travellers arriving from the sea.

S'Estaca

Do not confuse this old fishing village, near Valldemossa, with the huge mansion that actor Michael Douglas owns in this area and is named the same. The village has about twenty old fishermen shelters where it seems that time has stopped. A magic place between Sa Foradada and Port de Valldemossa.

Porto Petro

Porto Petro is at the town of Santanyí, southeast of Mallorca. Even it’s not a fishermen port as it used to be, it has respected, surprisingly, all its original essence. There are not huge residential areas; only little stores and familiar houses. This is a place for people who want to relax in the nature, with many coves nearby. Closely, however, there are the real tourist areas, like the cove of Mondragó or Cala d'Or, which have a lively activity on summer nights.

Port des Canonge

Passing by Banyalbufar, southwest of Tramutana, the mountain range gets to the sea at Port des Canonge. To get here you have to follow a windy road to discover, at the end, the old houses that fishermen used as shelter and now are a little residential area, with the beauty intact. The quay and a nice beach made of gravel and boulders, make this spot a very quiet place.

Closely, you will find little coves or walk through pine forests following "Volta des General", a nice route that goes from Banyalbufar to Port de Canonge.

Porto Petro by Magnus Manske | Es Joquen by Chixoy | Port des Canonge by mallorcaesasitambien

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Palermo is an open air museum; the different architectural styles intermingle through its streets as if it were a history book . This great artistic legacy is the visible testimony to the influences of the various cultures that have lived in it.

Quattro Canti, the epicenter of Palermo’s historic center, is an octagonal square formed by the intersection of two major roads: Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda, which are surrounded by four identical facades adorned with baroque sculptures. The seventeenth century square is also called Il Teatro del sole, since the sun gradually illuminates each part of the square thoughout the day. The four fountains in the square point to the four historic districts: Kalsa to the southeast, Amalfitania to the northeast and Sincaldi Albergheria to the northwest and southwest.

The beauty of this city lies within the chaotic streets, particularly in the Capo district. It is one of the oldest areas of Palermo, and houses a maze of rocks and semi-destroyed churches.The Capo District is an abandoned, quiet location in the center, away from the chaotic and noisy traffic.

Some aspects to consider in Palermo

In the Antica Focacceria .S Francesco, established in 1834, you can taste the rich palermitana gastronomy. Specialties include the "panino meusa", a sandwich made of boiled spleen, lung and liver of bezerro, and the "arancini", an emblem of Sicilian gastronomy. It´s said to be the first local town who refused to pay the "pizzo", a tax that businesses have to give the mafia. Another great place to try the local cuisine is the Vuccira market .Here you can buy fresh produce, eat typical fried food, such as croquettes, fried vegetables, or fried fish, and visit stalls offering the usual panini.

The Opera of Pupi, marionettes consisting of three Sicilian threads representing chivalrous fights, is one of the Sicilian traditions. To learn about the Sicilian puppet theater workshop, which has been a way of life for generations for this family, visit the Cuticchio on Via Bara all'Olivera to admire the collection dating back to the early nineteenth century. To this day, the workshop displays musical instruments, puppets and essence machinery. The Cuticchio is magical! Or visit the Museum of Antonio Pasqualino 4000, which houses a collection of puppets from around the world.

Another great custom is Sicilians coffee, which is always accompanied by a glass of water and ordered at the bar. Keep in mind that ordering table service may increase the cost by 50%.

Finally, a curiosity we discovered in the award-winning documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" is a typical hand gesture in the shape of horns, called "malocchio". The documentary explains the origin of this superstitious gesture which is typical amongst older Sicilian women in the street in order to avoid the evil eye. Heavy metal fans started making this gesture in concerts after it was introduced by Ronnie James DIO.

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One of the most representative meals in Viennese gastronomy is wiener schnitzel (or Viennese escalope). In fact, is the national food, even is originally from Austria, actually.

Is a common recipe in many countries: in Spain is known as San Jacobo or cachopo, also seen as the Japanese tonkatsu, the Argentinian escalope or the Italian cotoletta, among other examples.

The origin has become an intense debate among culinary historians. Most of the agree to point the origin in Spain, where it was introduced by Arab traders, who already covered meat on bread during the Middle Age.

Then we have the legend, which says it was imported from the Italian "costoletta milanesa" by marshal Joseph Radetzky, who sent the recipe to Franz Joseph I of Austria. They said he liked it so much that he incoroporate it to the Austrian gastronomy under the name of winer schnitzel.

Therefore, many countries claim the origin. This happens often for any new invention even sometimes, what happens is that it appears in different countries simultaneously, a each country looks for old gastronomy books to claim the origin.

However, there’s no doubt that is a delicious and crunchy dish, wanted by any tourists that arrives in the city.

To prepare it, a thin slice of veal is softened with a mallet, then is dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and finally fried in butter. It’s served with potatoes, salad and lemon slices and seasoned with vinaigrette.

Generally, these dishes are easy to cook and delicious, but not so glamorous. That’s not the case with schnitzel, presented as an haute cuisine specialty. It might be because of the elegant way Viennese people cooks it.

Even the veal is the main ingredient for the classic version of this dish, pigmeat is often used and is more popular. There is also a version made of chicken or a veggie made of tofu, seitan or soy.

In Vienna you can try this meal anywhere in the city centre. This is a list with some of our favorites so you don’t leave the city without trying the Viennese schnitzel.

Figlmüller
Wollzeile 5, | Bäckerstraße 6, Vienna

Schnitzelwirt
Neubaugasse 52, Vienna

Gasthaus Poschl
Weihburggasse 17, 1010, Vienna

Strandcafé Wien
Florian-Berndl-Gasse 2,1220, Vienna

Café Einstein
Rathausplatz 4, 1010 Vienna

There is not only wiener schnitzel in Austria gastronomy. Even it’s a little country, it has a long culinary tradition, mixing many European specialties. You shouldn’t miss a chance to try more typical dishes like tafelspitz (boiled beef), milling trout (Forelle nach Müllerin Art), Kaiserschmarrn (sweet), Palatschinken (Crêpes), Apfelstrudel (apple cake) or Sacher cake. Yummy!

Picture by Kobako

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