+ I'm a fan of having little guides to reference when traveling. I mentioned a few when discussing intentional travel and one of my favorite resources is the New York Times “36 Hours in…” series. I’m going to borrow that idea and start doing city guides to share some of the cool things I’ve seen or, let’s be honest, the yummy things I’ve tasted while traveling.

Okay, Bruges, let’s do this! When we found out we were headed to Berlin for a week, we wanted to tack on a romantic weekend somewhere in Europe. Belgium has intrigued us for a little while, mostly because of the food. Waffles and Chocolate and Fries and Beer!

Bruges is picturesque because it wasn’t really impacted by either World War so many of the 13th-century buildings remain. It feels old and romantic, like a fairy tale. There are cobblestones, canals and amazing snacks! What we didn’t expect was to find some really modern inns and amazing Michelin-star food. We used the New York Times guide as a jumping off point, as well as the advice of a few friends who had visited (thanks W&L!).

THE ESSENTIALS IN... BRUGES

1. Rooms at La Suite Sans Cravate. Arrive by train and taxi to either La Suite Sans Cravate or St. Jacobs. Both have modern furnishings which are rare in Bruges but also amazing breakfasts. We stayed at La Suite. Check-in was a delightful experience as the owner Victoria showed us around, brought us champagne and some homemade macaroons.

One of the benefits of La Suite is its slight distance from the square. Bruges can get touristy during the day and so it was nice to be a ten minute walk from “downtown”. After getting settled, we walked to town, checking out shops and bars along the way. If the weather is warmer, exploring the city on foot or bike would be lovely.

2. Waffles at Chez Albert. We LOVED all snacks in Bruges but the waffles at Chez Albert were perfection! Also try the street waffles at Jantje Vanille near the Beer Museum. I may or may not have eaten hot crispy frites at every meal. 'T Brugsch Friethuys had some of my favorite.

3. Drinks at ‘t Brugs Beertje. There are lots of great little beer halls in Bruges. We went to ‘t Brugs Beertje and De Garre. Both have amazing selections and very helpful staff that can teach you more about Belgian beers. Oh, and not surprisingly, Belgian beer is a lot cheaper in Belgium!

4. Chocolate Shopping at BbyB. There are lace and chocolate and beer shops everywhere. The Bottle Shop has the best beverage selection including Belgian single malts and the best beer in the world. As for chocolate, check out BbyB, The Chocolate Line and/or Dumon.

5. Fancy Meals at Hertog Jan and Sans Cravate. Enjoy a lovely breakfast included at the inn! Lunch can be simple (fries and waffles?!) but we did have a great sit-down of moules frites at Poules Moules. As for dinner, maybe go all-out to a Michelin-starred restaurant. Our first fancy dinner was at Hertog Jan and our second was at Sans Cravate across the street from the inn! They both have smaller or a la carte menus on weekdays or for lunch which I would recommend. They are beautiful spaces with inspiring, delicious food. Hertog Jan even does beer pairings!

That was our 40 hours in Bruges. Will you go? Do meals of waffles and fries sound like heaven to you as well? And yes, all we really did on this trip was eat ;)

+ If we had had more time or more energy, we would have also added Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, Chez Vincent fries (he was closed) and the farmer’s market.

+ I’m starting a monthly series of guest posts for the blog! I’m asking some of the super talented people I know to share the essentials of something that really matters to them. Greg volunteered for the first spot and when I asked him about his topic of choice, he jumped in with “cocktails!” I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have any post ideas!

Jamie and I like to keep a home bar. We want using our bar to be a pleasing experience, suitable for relaxing after a hard day’s work, or entertaining some friends—not an exercise in archaeology.

Our bar used to sometimes feel unwieldy—at once littered with bottles of booze but somehow devoid of viable options for making a good drink. It consisted of random bottles left over from our last party, something weird we used once in a special cocktail, and some fancy bitters I picked up after seeing them used at a bar. We realized it came to be this way because we weren’t being intentional about supplying it. The solution was to stick to the essentials!

GREG'S TIPS FOR AN ESSENTIAL BAR:

1. Know what you like. The first step is to think about your preferences. Do you like drinking any liquors straight? Do you like simple mixed drinks (gin and tonic, martini) or more elaborate creations? Spirit-heavy drinks, creamy drinks, citrusy drinks? Narrowing down your preferences can help you distinguish between types of drinks you might want to have only occasionally versus those you want to stock ingredients for. This distinction is important if you’re going to keep your bar manageable!

A helpful exercise is to ask, if you could only have 3 drinks for the next year of your life, what would they be? Consider stocking just what you need for those. Mine would be a single-malt Scotch (but don’t ask me to pick just one distillery), a Mezcarita, and a Bourbon Manhattan. Jamie’s would probably be even more minimal.

2. Buy reusable ingredients. Liquor mostly has an infinite shelf-life, so unless you actually drink it or give it away, you’ll have it forever. When buying anything, stick with bottles that you’ll either use over and over in a favorite drink, or that will contribute to many different drinks you like.

For me, bottles of Cointreau and Angostura Bitters make the cut—they’re found in my favorite drinks, and also many others I like. By contrast, while I love Kahlúa or Green Chartreuse, they don’t have a place in my favorites and wouldn’t be reusable enough.

3. Rotate in variety—with limits. Just because you stick to your favorites doesn’t mean there isn’t room for play! Just be conscious of how many you have at a time.

One month we received some Orgeat and focused on making Mai Tais for a while, until we exhausted it. Then we had space to bring in new ingredients!

4. Be adventurous elsewhere. If you crave variety and like to try new things all the time, consider getting that fix at a local bar instead of at home. I love tasting new whiskies, but now I rarely buy bottles—I’ve just found places I can go get a single pour of something new and interesting whenever I feel adventurous. Ditto for cocktails—San Francisco has a fantastic bartending scene, and I’d be silly to mix them myself all the time and not sample the creations of our local artisans. This seems more expensive, but can actually save money since it’s less wasteful and doesn’t result in lots of half-drunk bottles of things you’re never in the mood for.

5. Hospitality can be simple. Another reason people stock a big variety of things is because they throw parties and want to be hospitable, providing their guests with choices. But it can be overwhelming to set up a bar for a party.

With a little planning, things can be simpler and more guest-friendly. And if anyone claims that you need seven different types of liquor and a bunch of mixers... we’ve had house parties for 50 people where we prepared and served only one cocktail plus wine and beer, and everyone found something to like.

+ One idea to use up those half-empty bottles is to host a leftovers party, where everyone brings random bottles of stuff and then you all make cocktails with them, or exchange with one another.

+ Alternatively, just take stock of what ingredients you want to “use up”, and make some drinks that include them. This is a great opportunity to learn and try something new! Just make sure you don’t have to buy a second, non-reusable bottle of something to go with what you’re trying to get rid of. :)

GREG’S ESSENTIAL BAR:
Bourbon (Eagle Rare or Black Maple Hill)
Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida or Xicaru Silver)
Scotch (Oban 14, Highland Park 12, Yamazaki 12, or Lagavulin 16, .. so many to choose from)
Cointreau
Angostura bitters
Vermouth (Carpano Antica)
Maraschino cherries (Luxardo)

Is your bar full of staples... or snowflakes? What are your three go-to drinks, and could you commit to stocking just their ingredients?

The Essentials in... Bruges

Guest Post: The Essential Bar