Belgian gifts?

April 23, 2004 12:27 PM

My Boss's husband is going to Belgium for work on short notice. She can't go and wants a really good gift. What should he buy?
posted by jmgorman to Shopping (13 answers total)

Crystal? The catalogue has plenty of jewelery.
posted by carter at 12:40 PM on April 23, 2004

Much, much chocolate.
posted by signal at 12:47 PM on April 23, 2004

Tell him to look for "Corne Port Royal" chocolate. My coworker came back from B yesterday and brought some in. I had a piece this morning and I'm still salivating.
(Licks drool from keyboard)
posted by grateful at 12:52 PM on April 23, 2004

There's a particularly popular chocolate with an egg liqueur center, very strong, very tasty, called an avocat. But yes, the answer is chcoolate.
posted by whatzit at 12:53 PM on April 23, 2004

chocolate, or designer clothes from Antwerp (if she trusts him on size, and taste)
posted by amberglow at 1:01 PM on April 23, 2004

Beer
posted by turbodog at 1:28 PM on April 23, 2004

I know that chocolate is the easy answer, but there were these little tiramisu hand-crafted chocolates that literally made a friend and I groan on the street as we ate them. We had to go back for another box before we left the country. Talk about a Meg Ryan moment!

Lace is another popular choice - a high-quality, handcrafted (even antique!) tablecloth or runner is easy to pack and can eventually become a family heirloom.
posted by fionab at 1:39 PM on April 23, 2004

I second amberglow- try Walter (Van Beirendonck), Het Modepaleis (Dries Van Noten) in Antwerp. In Brussels Wittamer is very good for chocolate.
posted by Bromley at 1:46 PM on April 23, 2004 [1 favorite]

Wittamer is wonderful--and get some speculoos there to take home too (out-of-this-world cookies). You might also be able to find something at the flea market in Brussels on Sunday (near Wittamer). I got some wonderful glass slides of someone's trip to Venice in the teens, for 10 bucks.
posted by amberglow at 3:44 PM on April 23, 2004

I third Wittamer, I would have said earlier but couldn't remember the name. Best chocolate ever, not of course desperately cheap, but if she's ungrateful then divorce her.
posted by biffa at 3:49 PM on April 23, 2004

Leonidas chocolates.
And for you (us) Atkins freaks, they make to-die-for sugar free assortments. (I'm relying on a source in Belgium to send them to me, but if anyone can find a way to order SF Leonidas online, let me know)
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:10 PM on April 23, 2004

Opposite Wittamer, you will find Marcolini: a former student of Wittamer and one of the only chocolatiers who still make their own covering chocolate (others buy it from ValRhona (Fr.) or Jacobs Suchard (Sw.)).

Unfortunately, I doubt that you can bring chocolate into the US.

Val St. Lambert crystal is a good choice, but what about a hand made Delvaux handbag? Definitely not cheap, but definitely exclusive. They seem to have a website (www.delvaux.be) but it's not working at the moment. And tell her husband to eat french fries on the Place Jourdan ('Chez Antoine'). Best in the world.
posted by NekulturnY at 5:59 AM on April 24, 2004

I brought chocolate back, wrapped, in Nov.03. No problem at all..it was in my carry-on, and i had the receipt just in case. Fresh is best, but 2-day-old Belgian chocolate in a wrapped box is still delish.
posted by amberglow at 7:58 AM on April 24, 2004