I'm not one to normally find myself nodding in agreement with the Huffington Post, but they sure nailed the highlights of Belgian cuisine. The article even mentioned a point that most other English-language descriptions of Belgian food seem to miss- that there's other sauces available for your fries besides mayonnaise. Anyone hungry yet?
Posted by
Wiesbaden, Germany
791 posts
I'm inclined to agree with the second one, moules-frites. One of my earliest memories in Europe was my first trip to Strasbourg, France back in '98, it was 4th of July weekend so it was hot and I started getting hungry. I was walking down some random street and ran into a Belgium style brasserie that served food. They had a sign out front saying the daily special was moules-frites and a large home brewed Belgian witbier for the equivilent of about 7 bucks. I'd read in my guidebook that moules-frites was sort of the national dish of Belgium so I sat at one of the outdoor tables and ordered it and wow, what a meal. A huge bowl of mussels comes out and just as I'm getting over the size of that bowl, an equal sized bowl of frites comes out. Combined with the witbier, it was just the perfect meal at the perfect moment. Certain meals over the past 16 years here stick out in my mind to this day and that is definitely one of them.
Posted by
OP
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Here's a secret about mosselen en frietjes (my proudly Flemish wife has thoroughly drilled the French out of my brain and replaced it with the Dutch terms)... the mussels are only in season for a relatively brief period each year. Go outside the tourist meccas, and you'll only see them offered from mid-summer to early autumn (I think, I can never seem to remember exactly). The difference between these large, succulent mussels and the shriveled stuff they serve tourists year-round are almost night and day.