Valérie Leplat opened her first sandwich shop in Brussels in a former pharmacy just off the Sablon. Her aim was to revive the traditional Brussels pistolets – the round white buns that Belgians would pick up at the local bakery on a Sunday morning.
After testing out some recipes on her friends, she developed a range of pistolets with unusual fillings like roast beef with horseradish sauce, and bloempanch (blood sausage) with sliced apple. She also invited acclaimed Belgian chefs to come up with their own ideas.
Lepla went on to open a second shop in the European Quarter, and a third address in a lane next to the Galeries Saint Hubert, but both ventures sadly failed, leaving just the original shop in Rue Joseph Stevens. It’s a bright, colourful place with the look of an American deli where you can drop in for a taste of Belgium.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
