The best mussels I ever ate were in a big restaurant called Auberge de Fonteyne in the center of Ghent in Belgium on the third day of our honeymoon. The mussels were awash in what they called a wine sauce, although it seemed more like a cream sauce to me. It’s a Belgian classic, and no place in the world is more enthusiastic about mussels than Belgium.

Mussels are very inexpensive, so buy plenty of them. The best are the black-shell mussels from Prince Edward Island in Canada. (I do