Lobzilla is here again

I’ve always had fun at Belgo’a, from team nights out where the generous Mike Gooley would regard us with a few hundred pounds to go and get drunk and have fun after a few months of happy selling.

Belgo’s became a popular night out spot at Trailfinders, not only because we ate well, but we were all and they probably still are lovers of great beer.

B is for Belgium @ Belgo Centraal

Well this madcap adventure continues into round 2 with the letter B. We had many choices with this letter. Belarus; Bulgaria; Benin; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belgium; Brasil; Bolivia and Burmese to name but a few.

After much deliberation over the countries we narrowed it down to Belgium, Bulgaria and Burma. After more deliberation we decided on Belgium, as only 1 of us (me) had been to Belgium, and only two of us had eaten at a Belgium restaurant before. Bulgaria was discounted as two of us had eaten at a Bulgarian place quite recently, and the cuisine is very similar to Polish, which is going to be P. Well we have one Pole amongst us, so it has to be. In that case then, C is gonna have to be Colombia as 50% of us are.

Burma was discounted as only I am a white imperialist, and still call it Burma. Not Myanmar. So that could be M I guess. This seems to be sorting it self out by itself.

I only know of a few places that do Belgium food. Many that does Belgium beer, but not many that do the food. Well when I say many, I just mean the different branches of Belgos.

I do enjoy eating at Belgos even though the food isn’t brilliant, and it will never win any awards for culinary excellence, but it is still quite good for what it is. But the main attraction here is the beer, although the menu does seem to have shrunk since my last visit.

We all jumped straight in for some beers and food. We were told we had the table for 2 hours, which in Belgos is a pretty long time. Between us we had a beef carbonade, the spit roasted chicken with ginger and chilli sauce, moules Florentine and the moules mariniere, but most importantly a Judas, 2 Kwaks and a Cristal. Nothing is more important than those fine Belgium beers.

Even though I am not religious, and really have a disdain for the Church. You have to hand it to those monks who in ways of making money and of course making sure the local population had clean drinking liquid to guzzle on, made some of the best beer on the planet. God bless them.

I never got to try the beef carbonade or the moules Florentine, but I was reliably informed they were very very good. Remember they are non-sharers. The spit roasted chicken with ginger and chilli sauce tastes as it always does and should. It’s a posher version of a Nandos chicken, as Nandos unfortunately do not have ginger and chilli sauce. Maybe they should, as it would save me a lot of cash.

My moules mariniere were made with cream and a little to much of it was added. I think the chef has a twitch as he was pouring it into the pan. But otherwise the mussels were plump and well cooked. Well you’d have to be one shit chef to fuck up cooking mussels wouldn’t you.

I like eating at Belgos. It is as good as you make it really. It’s a good time place to go with friends, have a nice meal, drink a few good beers with a good vibe, then go off somewhere else to finish the night off, as it is rather expensive, and for beers the Lowlander is slightly cheaper and has more choice.

Now looking forward to C. Although I can be sure Canada won’t be winning. I think it’s time to hit Africa for the next one.

Lowlander & Belgo Lobster Fest

Once upon a time I used to work for a large travel agency, but after some 5 years I had to get out. It was becoming too much for me.

But whilst I was there, some friends used to organise many a night out or nights away on a pilgrimage to drink quality European beer.

Most of these included nights out at Belgos or Lowlander, both in Covent Garden. Other times we were more adventurous and travelled to the source. Nights away in Brussels and Bruges allowed us to try a wide variety of Belgium beers that are not available in London.

As I haven’t worked there for a few years now, the nights out have all but disappeared with my old work mates. But a few I still keep in touch with. But with a few we still keep up the tradition, which has included nights out to the Dovetail and Lowlander. A night in Belgium was planned, but alas I am here in India.

The last night out we did, was a couple of nights before I headed out for 10 weeks of hotel visits. Last count 73. Maybe more. As you can see I wrote this somewhere in India.

Belgos, every year do a Lobster Fest, and what better way to see me off than a good night of Belgium beers.

We started the night off at Lowlander, a bar that every connoisseur of Belgium beer has been to on many an occasion.

It was a beautiful evening and most people were standing outside taking in the warm glow of the sun before it bade us good night for another day.

As this happened back in mid June I have no idea what I drunk, as after a night of drinking beers with an average 8% alchchol, I was kinda drunk. The stinger at the end of the night, which gave me a stinking hangover the next day, and near total memory loss, was a 10% monster. Not touching that again at the end of an evening.

What I do remember was that we wandered down to Belgos to eat some lobster. Thankfully they seemed to have ditched those monks outfits. They did look a bit silly.

Surprisingly, it was pretty empty. Normally during their Lobster Fest, it’s standing room only.

I do remember (just), that the lobster was sweet and juicy. Perfectly cooked, but then again my taste buds were slightly distorted. But it tasted very good and that is all that matters. The fries rocked also, but they always do. That’s about all I can remember of that portion of the night, apart from, as ever good times ensued.

Much later we returned to Lowlander, as the beers are cheaper and the atmosphere is nicer to drink in. This is where everything gets fuzzy. I remember we read that from a particular beer, some of the profits go to a hamster rescue farm in Belgium. Don’t ask, we couldn’t figure it out, but had to order a round. No idea of the name or what the beer tasted like, but I still get a warm feeling knowing I helped rescued hamsters live out the rest of their days cage free and happy somewhere roaming free on a farm in Belgium. It was one of those nights.

I have since received an email stating the trip to Belgium has been postponed till October. Nice, it’s still on. I feel though we should make a side trip to that Hamster Sanctuary and see where out money has gone to.

As for Belgos and their Lobster Fest. It was as ever a quality night out with friends, which for me is what Belgos is all about. I could never imagine eating there alone.