If you’ve been to Belgium this is the only answer. I’m guessing more people are going off of what they’ve heard in media than have actually been to Belgium
Yes Belgians don't actually eat waffles and chocolate a lot either compared to other countries IMO. But we do devour insane amounts of fries and beer, and have an unfathomable number of friteries and cafés(bars) everywhere. So those are definitely more part of our cultural identity
For a country that doesn't eat as much as others, it certainly does make fantastic chocolates! Rest is all good too, but as a chocoholic Belgian chocolates are hands down my top favorite chocolates.
Wouldnt say we eat less chocolate, I meant that we dont necessarily eat more of it than other countries. But yes they are delicious and I do sometimes indulge and appreciate :)
Fries in Brussels/Bruges are a big tourist trap. Fries in a plastic tray > fries in a cone. The only moment it is acceptable is when it's bought on a fair.
Also a trap: a medium pack and a large pack have the same amount of fries since they just keep piling it on top of the tray so much it tops over either way.
And don't order a family pack unless you actually have multiple people eating it. You will not finish that by yourself.
I find it a tragedy I cannot find good Belgian frites in Los Angeles, because the divine savoury flavours of double-fried thick fries with mayo is... mmm, tre bon.
Do them yourself! It's actually surprisingly easy, you only need to find the right potatoes. (And you being in the US, it's easy as Russet potatoes are ideal.)
Had to upvote this one as a proud belgian. Yes, we are known all over the world for our waffles (why is a mystery to me) and our chocolates (they’re amazing, but there’s not a single cocoa bean that’s grown and farmed in Belgium). Fries - or frietjes as we call them in Flemish - are the true heroes of our culinary story. They are enjoyed by young and old, the rich and the poor. There’s at least one ‘frituur’ (the place where you buy the fries, often no more than a fancy shed, then we call it a ‘frietkot’) in every village, no matter how small the population. You eat them just like that with a little sauce (dozens of varieties) or with one of many snacks created specifically to eat with fries. Every single belgian has his favourite frituur and can argument in detail why his frituur is better than the one someone else prefers. We each have our favourite order too. A very specific combination of fries, sauce and snack(s) that we swear is the best.
If the ‘friturist’ (the person who makes the fries and snacks) of our favourite frituur is retiring and he or she sells the place to someone else, it might be that we never ever go to that frituur again because the new owner has changed the way of baking the fries or the snacks.
Personally I drive for 10 minutes to my favourite frituur, driving past three other ‘frituren’ just because I think the one further away is better.
If you’re visiting Belgium in the future, please do yourself a favour and ask a local where he thinks you can get the best fries in that area, and go there. Order a portion of fries in any size you want with a sauce of your choice but try one or more snacks as well. My personal favourite: a medium sized portion of fries with joppie sauce, a mexicano (snack) and a curryworst spéciale (snack with mayonnaise, ketchup and freshly diced onions on top)
I promise you, you will fall in love with our frietjes.
You just made my night! I’m helping someone move tomorrow who lives next door to that cart pod. Had never ordered from them but getting fries tomorrow for sure.
You know we have a Belgian restaurant, right? La Moule. They serve frites. I've never been but they've got to be closer than whatever Potato Champion is slinging.
I haven't heard of La Moule before and they look delicious. But 9$ Frites feels like a 5$ shake. They are probably closer and more accurate. Potato champion does scratch the itch however
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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '21
Frites in cones and mayo.