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LA TRUFFE NOIRE is a special occasion restaurant. Judy and I successfully identified a great many special occasions during our time in Brussels.

We knew a little bit about LA TRUFFE NOIRE before our first visit. The restaurant and its owner, Luigi Ciciriello, had been featured on a “Fine Dining in Europe” program on one of the few Brussels television English language channels. We often saw his Italian red Acura NSX sports car, which was shown during the telecast, parked on Avenue Louise near our apartment. (Luigi and one of his daughters were in the process of opening a brunch/luncheon restaurant and fine food delicatessen on our block.)

Luigi has a flamboyant personality and is the star of LA TRUFFE NOIRE. He proudly wears designer clothes. A link with Luigi was forged on our first visit to LA TRUFFE when he and I discovered we were both wearing the same Versace tie. On our most recent visit to LA TRUFFE he informed us that he now favored Thierry Muglar. Luigi gave us a promotional post card with a bold “007” at the top above “LA TRUFFE NOIRE”. Two black truffles represent the “00”. Below this heading, a tuxedoed Luigi is pictured pointing a pistol at the viewer with his right hand while his left arm is wrapped around one blonde daughter. Another blonde daughter is pressed against his back while his blonde wife sits on the floor before him hugging his leg. All the ladies are wearing short sexy black dresses and dark stockings. The family pet, a snow-white fur ball of a dog, lies in front of Luigi’s wife completing this family portrait. The card is completed with the phrase “Mes diamants sont eternels” (My diamonds are eternal).

LA TRUFFE NOIRE is situated on the second floor of a mansion, considerably larger than the manor house of Le Table de L’Abbaye. The entrance to the restaurant is at the top of a long external staircase. The kitchen is on the first floor and Luigi’s family lives on the uppermost two floors. Luigi personally designed the restaurant’s custom patterned wool carpet and selected the art – all the paintings are brightly colored abstractions of what appear to be sunrises or sunsets. A pleasant outdoor garden is used for pre-dinner cocktails when weather permits. One of our favorite memories from Brussels is sipping champagne there before the evening dinner rush with Luigi, his wife, one daughter, and the family dog. We also enjoyed an amuse-bouche of scrambled eggs topped with ossetra caviar served on a porcelain Chinese soup spoon.

This is a gourmet French/Italian restaurant with an elaborate and imaginative menu and a long wine list. True to LA TRUFFE’s name, many dishes feature black truffles. (Luigi makes an annual trip around the Continent during truffle season and buys a year’s supply.) Older vintages are decanted into crystal carafes and some dishes are cooked at tableside. This is not the type of restaurant featuring tiny picture perfect creations on large white plates – Luigi’s servings are generous.

Judy and I usually start our evenings at LA TRUFFE with a glass of Champagne. (Luigi serves his own LA TRUFFE NOIRE Champagne and we purchase a bottle or two to bring back to Chicago whenever we leave Brussels.) An amuse-bouche is served with drinks before the first course.

Our first course is always “Carpaccio of Bleue des Pres ® à la facon de Luigi (With black summer truffles)”. This dish is prepared tableside, often by Luigi himself. Paper thin slices of very rare beef tenderloin arrive tableside on chilled plates. The server blends a small amount of mustard into fine olive oil before sea salt and coarse freshly ground pepper are used to season the Carpaccio. The olive oil/mustard mixture is then drizzled over the beef followed by a small amount of juice, hand squeezed from a lemon half. Next comes Aged Parmesan, finely shaved from a large block, and finally, black truffle is added, sliced generously from a good sized specimen. We always hoped Luigi would be our server for this dish as he became considerably more generous with the truffle slices as he got to know us.

We experimented with many main courses, both meat and seafood, and were very well pleased but never locked onto only one or two favorites. The variety and excellence of the menu kept us concerned that we might be missing something truly spectacular. Desserts presented a similar dilemma. All meals end with Frivolites, a collection of small candies including truffles (chocolate this time) displayed as fruit on a small sterling tree.

We also visited Luigi’s new luncheon restaurant, L’Atelier de la Truffe Noire (The Workshop of the Black Truffle) where we dined on large tossed garden salads covered with shaved black truffles while drinking Luigi’s Champagne – nothing like a good simple lunch.

We have gotten to know Luigi, and he us, over the year we lived in Brussels and a subsequent visit. The last time we were in Brussels, we ate at LA TRUFFE NOIRE twice. On our last visit, Luigi walked us out and down the outdoor staircase to the street where he hugged and kissed both of us. It was September 11, 2001.

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