Before they were covered over in the 1870s, canals used to dominate the Ste-Catherine neighborhood. An old harbor and its accompanying fish market brought nautical color to the area, along with scores of fish restaurants. The harbor has long since disappeared, but Ste-Catherine remains a destination for seafood lovers. The marché aux poissons is still running (albeit only weekly) and the fish restaurants have happily stayed put.

Many of these (Bij den Boer, Jacques, le Pré Salé) are old-school joints with low ceilings and traditional recipes. But a relative newcomer has been making waves with its trendy style and tweaked approach to cooking. I had heard of Vismet before, but finally raced over to reserve when Jordan Greenwood - the man behind the famous Linkebeek cheese shop - told me it was one of his favorites.

We were seated on the terrace with a good view of the waiter gently turning away a procession of un-reserved hopefuls. Happy to have snagged a spot, we tucked into the two croquettes that arrived as an amuse - upscale versions of the Brussels bar staple. My starter came from the regular menu, salade de pinces de crabe fraîche, avocat et agrumes, and my friend chose mussels from the list of nightly specials. 

As tasty as my crab salad was (fresh claw meat, homemade mayo on the side, perfect grapefruit), I couldn't keep my hands off those mussels. I'm normally not a fan, but these were moules de bouchot, raised on elevated platforms in Normandy to be small in size, sweet and nutty, without any trace of sand. They were sautéed simply with garlic and some smoky mild peppers. Our house white was chilling in a wine bucket cleverly stuck to the side of the table, leaving us plenty of table surface to jostle for the last shell.

After polishing off the last of our starters, I wandered inside to check out the main dining room. As lovely as the terrace is in summer, Vismet's interior looks right for a cold Belgian night. Warm wood, expensive lighting and an open kitchen create a theatrical setting for the performance of Tom Decroos. The jovial chef earned his stripes at the renowned Sea Grill, but unlike that two-star training ground, Vismet is moderately priced and draws a relaxed and trendy crowd.

When I returned to the table, my friend was still brooding over the loss of so many mussels. He brightened when the main dishes arrived - my grilled swordfish with sauce salmoriglio (lemon, garlic, olive oil and herbs) and his filet de merlu à la palermitaine.

I found myself again making sneak attacks across the table. My plate was perfectly fine, but the Palermo-style hake was simply outstanding - crispy and and flavorful skin atop melting interior flesh. With an eggplant gratin and a side of fries, it was enough to feed four.

After so much food, we passed on dessert but said yes to complimentary bubbly. My crab salad had been a mistake (I'd ordered something else) but I didn't fuss because the error looked (and was) very delicious. The champagne "sorry" was a nevertheless a nice touch and a perfect finish.

The damage: 87€ for two, with wine

Vismet; 23 place Ste-Catherine, 1000 Brussels (Ste-Catherine)

Basin de la Villette.                                                                                 Paris Tourist Office/Marc Verhille  

The northeastern side of Paris is unknown to most visitors. Far from the center and not packed with 'must-see' monuments, this area is doesn’t make it onto many agendas. That’s a shame, because the 19th arrondissement is filled with lovely things. The wild and hilly Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is here, along with the Parc de la Villette and its many concert venues, film festivals, and exhibitions. But my favorite place to spend time is along the water.

As the Canal St. Martin travels north from trendy area around Chez Prune, it widens into the Bassin de la Villette. The area around the Bassin has transformed dramatically in recent years and now hosts a pair of charming movie theaters, the northern satellite of Paris Plages, and a slew of cafés and restaurants.

St. Christopher’s Inn

It also has beds – many beds. In recent months, two new options for accommodation have sprung up along the water. The first to arrive was St. Christopher’s Inn, the “most modern backpackers’ hostel in Paris.”

This brand-spanking new facility on 159 rue de Crimée makes backpacking easy by offering free wifi and organizing pub crawls and bike rental.

Most importantly (although this isn’t written in their brochure), the location affords access to Bar Ourcq, one of the coolest places in town. The area in front of Bar Ourcq is on warm evenings filled with hundreds of young people who gather to picnic and play pétanque.

It’s exactly the kind of crowd that most young travelers are hoping to find, and they’re sitting just outside the hostel doors waiting to be chatted up. Prices, as you’d expect, are low at the hostel. They vary according to the day, but a bed in a 10-person dormitory generally runs about 30€ per night, and a private room with double bed & bath is 45€ per person (90€ total).

Holiday Inn Express

Those looking for something less youthful than a hostel need only walk around to the back of the building where a new Holiday Inn Express has just opened on 68 Quai de la Seine. I have great reservations in writing about a chain hotel (as does my Editor Louise), but this honestly isn’t a bad option for Paris. Here’s why:

The view from these rooms is incredible. Inside the rooms are (boring) corporate chic with flat screens and free wifi, but open the curtains and you’re gazing out over houseboats and old men playing pétanque. At ground floor, the hotel terrace is right on the water and not a bad place to take your morning coffee. Rooms run 120-160€ per night with breakfast included.

For those with reservations about staying “so far away,” Métro line 7 from Crimée is quick shot into the center city with stops at many popular tourist destinations. Line 5 from Laumière travels to Republique and Bastille, while line 2 from Jaurès will take you to Père Lachaise, Montmartre, and the Arc de Triomphe. Excellent Métro access will enable you to cross those monuments off your list, but at the end of the day you’ll be happy to return to your waterbed in this great and still undiscovered neighborhood.

On paper (or the computer screen) The White Hotel seems like a dream stay. It's on the avenue Louise with posh shopping, arty drinking, and good eating just a stroll away. It brings in recognizable design talent to color up its naked white rooms. Best of all, it's ridiculously cheap - 75€ per night. High expectations, however, can lead to a serious let-down.

When I arrived at the White Hotel, I smiled at seeing a pair of motorcycles available for daily rental at 18€. Things continued in a good vein as I checked out the lounge with its shelves of design books and deep booths with surf-ready laptops.

When I turned the key in my room, however, I was shocked to see a stark white room with no design elements at all. Wasn't that supposed to be the point?

Later on, when I descended to hand over the supplementary funds for wifi service, I asked the manager whether all rooms were like mine. "Some rooms have design, some do not," she barked. "You have to request a room with design (like the one below)." She went on to explain that not all of the rooms were finished, despite being open for more than two years. "Come back after our next 'Plastic the White Hotel' event," she told me. "More rooms will be done then."

A finished room at the White Hotel

In the meantime, a booking at the hotel is likely to land you a very white and undesigned room. My IKEA showroom surroundings included paper-thin walls and a shower that bubbled loudly whenever the neighbor flushed his toilet. This was pushing it, even for the low-low price of 75€.

A bright spot arrived the next morning in the form of a very sweet breakfast for no additional charge. The do-it-yourself espresso machine let me drink far more than my body needed, and the range of savory and sweet treats (including homemade cookies) was more impressive than I'd been expecting.

The bottom line: this will likely be, in the year 2010, a fully-designed design hotel. But in 2008, the White Hotel is more like a budget option with a good breakfast and a convenient location. Bring your ear plugs and low expectations.

The White Hotel; 2 avenue Louise, 1000 Brussels

Call us cheesy, but momondo has gone crazy for coagulated milk. We've given our writers the mission of uncovering 'le meilleur fromage' in Paris, 'il migliore formaggio' in Rome, the stinkiest cheeses in New York and the hands-down best cheeses in London, Madrid and Brussels. So grab yourself some bread and wine and join us on this tour of the best cheese shops in Europe.

Brussels 

After four years of living in Paris, I probably qualify as something of a cheese snob. But because French fromagers rarely stock foreign cheese, I'm also pretty ignorant to the traditions of other countries. During a recent jaunt to Brussels, I asked a food-obsessed local friend where I could learn more about Belgian cheese. He told me there was only one game in town: the Crèmerie de Linkebeek.

The Crèmerie de Linkebeek has been operating since 1902, making it the oldest cheese shop in Brussels. The epitome of old-school, the name Linkebeek comes from the nearby village where the original owners kept their cows. Today, after more than 100 years in business, the shop still has a very retro feel. Its future, however, lies in the hands of a young upstart couple.

Jordan and Laurence Greenwood took the reins four years ago, revitalizing the shop and turning it into a foodie destination. "We're trying to honor the shop's history while also putting our own personal stamp on the place," Jordan told me. You can buy raw milk in glass bottles here, just like in the old days, but you can now also pick up a bottle of wine and some fig balsamic condiment. 

As for their core business, Jordan and Laurence have sought out hard-to-find cheeses from small producers and have built the most impressive collection of Belgian cheeses to be found anywhere. Jordan explained that the main difference between the two traditions is that the French wash their rinds with with wine during the maturing process, and the Belgians use beer. That's because cheese production has traditionally taken place in monasteries – the same Abbeys that have been producing famed Belgian brew for centuries. In modern times, some beer companies like Chimay even make their own branded cheese. Jordan was explaining this all while illustrating with sample after sampe. I was in heaven.

Next up, I tasted some of the best-selling cheeses at Linkebeek - the Vieux Bruges, a hard cheese that seems the perfect partner for beer, and the Hervlon “extra piquant” double crème, a super stinky cheese that’s widely exported. Jordan said that the shop also carries a few cheeses that are on the verge of disappearing. Fromage de Bruxelles - a more pungent and salty version of fromage blanc - was devoured for breakfast by past generations of city-dwellers. Producers are dying off, so the older residents of Ste-Catherine flock to Linkebeek to get their fix while they still can. 

In helping his customers to choose the perfect cheese, Jordan switches seamlessly between French, Dutch and English. The English bears a slight Brooklyn accent because a portion of his childhood was spent in New York. The mixed heritage gives him a linguistic edge and, more importantly, his grandma Shirley's recipe for New York style cheesecake.

Some of his personal favorites at Linkebeek are the Fleuron de Bruges and the Lebailli - a nutty cow’s milk cheese that’s washed in wine. He also loves (and I agree) the Testun al Barolo. An Italian sheep's milk cheese that’s been rolled in the marc of Barolo wine – it was smooth and delicious, almost dessert-like. He's also a big fan of the herbed ham and other charcuterie that's available for takeaway.

For those (like hotel-bound travel writers) who can't do takeaway, the Crèmerie de Linkebeek operates a lunch table on the adjascent terrace. Without worrying about where to store the leftovers, the cheese-curious can order up a sample plate or a light tartine of fromage blanc, spring onion, and radish. I kept company on the sun-dappled terrace with a towering slice of of that New York style cheesecake. Made by Laurence using grandma Shirley's recipe, it was the best that I've ever had.

Crèmerie Linkebeek; rue du vieux marche aux grains, 1000 Brussels (Ste-Catherine)

When the tourists stagger out bleary-eyed from the Gare du Nord, coming from CDG airport or the Eurostar, they're often both hungry and exhausted. How else to explain the fact that the brasseries en face are nearly always full?

I walked past this restaurant row last night on my way to a new place. The barkers out front were in full swing, trying to seduce anyone with a suitcase or a square jaw. "My Miss - croque monsieur - we have!!!"

Declining this rare delicacy, I continued along my planned route to L'Ardoise Gourmande. Around the corner and less than five minutes from the train station, this is the better refuge. Open only three weeks, this place was already humming smoothly and has won my bargain-hunting heart.

The setting: a softly-lit dining room with slate walls and black velvet banquettes. Proper linens on the tables and a pair of chandeliers overhead.

All photos by Mu Foo

The service: perhaps the best I've ever had outside of a starred restaurant. Warm, knowledgable, and (maybe too) discreet - we almost wished they had rushed us when we realized it was 1:00 in the morning. This is most definitely the sort of place you want to bring someone for a lose-track-of-time tête à tête.

What I've told you so far isn't so out of the ordinary, certainly not in the posher parts of town. What makes this place special is that the sexy setting, kind service, and transport-friendly location are accompanied by a jaw-dropping €22 menu. Two courses (even at dinner) including wine. And we're not talking croque monsieur, either.

My friend and I both stuck to the menu (there are pricier options à la carte) and were very pleasantly surprised. Steve's entrée du jour was a pile of coppa (cured beef) with aged parm and balsamic drizzle.

The freakishly cold weather led me toward a camembert rôti sur mesclun. Not anything new, of course, but they were well-done and devoured.

Next up: an osso buco (the plat du jour) for me, and porc échinée à la sauge for Steve. Both came with fresh tagliatelli and shared the same glistening demi-glace, amped on Steve's plate by fresh sage. A half-bottle (1/4 per person) of very drinkable house red accompanied all this on the €22 menu.

While quite full from the generous portioning, we succumbed to the supplementary dessert carte. Always suckers for a cute name, we shared the pain perdu 'After Eight'. French toast and choco-mint ice cream were both tasty on their own without entirely working together. At these prices, one can be forgiving.

Sticking to the menu, a pair can escape here for an unheard-of €44. Throwing in a pair of Petit Chablis starters, a second half-bottle of wine, dessert and two coffees, our bill was in the seventies. Even so, that's still a deal and I will certainly be back. Hopefully before everybody else finds out about it...

L'Ardoise Gourmande, 12 rue de Belzunce, 75010