Cafe des Spores

Went to Cafe des Spores on Monday night. Trusted the Time Out guide with this one, chancing the place to be overrun with 'mericans in sweatpants. (Wait, that was mean. I have more faith in the readers of the Time Out guides... apologies, but the comment stands.) The good part was, Time Out didn't actually put the resto on their map, so that might have put off the lazier variety of tourist. Either way, there was only French heard upon our arrival. I asked for a table for two and told the waitress we didn't have a reservation, and she responded (in English! My pronunciation is THAT good!) that it wasn't a problem.

(A few thoughts about the whole trying to speak French but being responded to in English thing. Really, I prefer it. If you know English and hear me speaking in poorly pronounced French, step right in and change the language up, why don't you? It's easier for the both of us. I have shown you respect by starting off in your language [instead of marching in and speaking in MINE, expecting it of you], but you've busted me on my skill level at it so why don't we just speak in a language that's easy for both of us... which happens to be English? The *worst* thing is when someone pretends they can't speak English for well over 15 minutes [I'm looking at you Hier et Aujourd'hui in Paris!] forcing you to stumble through a reservation dispute while they fuss about seating you [even though the room is not full and never fills up], only to translate the menu and speak in English to you the rest of the night. Hurumph!)

We chose to sit upstairs, overlooking the tiny kitchen. I was rapt, watching the chef all night. The food was glorious, fresh, and simple. The only miss was the creme brulee of cepes and foie gras. I appreciated it's lightness, but it turned out to be almost bland. As Byron said, it might have been nice to have some salt on top of the burnt sugar lid. But still, I appreciated something done with foie gras that didn't leave me clutching my gallbladder and cursing the richness.


Here is the view from upstairs. The place was so cute and simple, we wanted to move in. There wasn't a wine by the glass for over 6 euros. We tried three new whites, as recommended by our server.

The menu changes daily, and as implied by the name of the resto, mushrooms are featured in every dish. I mean, what's not to like?? This was asparagus, wild garlic leaves, mushrooms (forget which kind) and a poached egg with fresh herbs. Amazing. This is how I want to cook at home.

Byron enjoys another dish of meatballs with shiitakes, potatoes, herbs, and pepper. So good. All dishes were brought to our table in the pans, and we just shared them directly from there. Love everything about this restaurant. Came home to find that it was in the Wallpaper City Guide for Brussels, as well. No wonder.