Would You Like Fries With That?

Brussels has no shortage of great food options. Restaurants abound with classics like fresh Mussels, Flemish Carbonnade and Waterzooi, and cafés, offering all manner of sweet, delicate pastries. We had every intention of showcasing these gastronomical delights during my sister and her boyfriend’s recent visit to Brussels. But somehow, we ended up on a crazy adventure trying out damn near every friterie/frietkot we could find.  

Frites from Friterie Miroir, Place Reine Astrid, Jette

Truthfully, our initial mission was to encourage her boyfriend to try at least 3 new beers a day … the fries were just along for the ride. But when it quickly became apparent we had set the bar too low for our over-achieving drinker, our focus shifted to the fries themselves.

We should have known…

Belgian frites are just too good to resist.

So what is the lure of these humble, deep fried potato sticks?  Frites in French, frieten in Flemish, whatever you call them, anyone who’s tried them will tell you there is something seductively delicious about Belgian fries that’ll keep you coming back for more … and more.

Chasing beer with Frites from “Super Frites”, Tournai, after happening upon the 2nd annual beer festival

Origins

While there are different theories as to the country of origin, Belgians claim these crispy little gems as their own, noting that people in the Meuse valley (home to towns like Namur & Dinant), first turned to frying cut up potatoes when the river froze over in winters and they could no longer fish. As for the etymology of “French” fries, Belgians believe the term came about when American soldiers were introduced to the fried potatoes while stationed in Belgium during World War I. Apparently they called them French friend potatoes, knowing French was the official language in the region. Whether you believe some, all or none of the story, seeing as how I’m in Belgium, writing about Belgian frites, I’m going to run with that version of things.

Different is Good

There are many versions: the British call their thick-cut style chips, the French love their match-stick thin style, and the Canadians manage to get theirs to a dark brown, oil laden state, then smother in cheese curds and gravy (I will defend our poutine to the day I die!).

So what makes the Belgian variety so delicious?

Apparently, it’s in the double frying process. Yes, double frying.  Fried first at a low temperature, they are cooled and then fried again at a higher temperature just before serving to achieve the crispiness that is synonymous with Belgian frites. They are best enjoyed right away, which is why eating them in a ‘cornet’ in the street is so popular.

Frites in Dinant – Andalouse and some other sauce I can’t remember …

Sauce things up a bit

While North Americans are an almost 100% “fries with ketchup” eating population, a menu board at any local friterie attests to the fact that Belgians are wild about sauces.  Typically, no less than six choices are offered, with some shops getting really creative and proposing as many as twenty. Samourai, Brasil, Tsigane, Curry, Tartar, Andalouse and Americaine are just some of the mysterious options with which you can top your fries. Whether the flavours differ greatly or whether there are only subtle differences is a matter of opinion, but it can be both an indecisive consumer’s nightmare or a sauce lovers paradise.

Like any type of food, everyone has their own preferences and favourite spots to eat it, which bodes well for merchants, since a friterie exists in almost every neighbourhood. Some fries are crispier than others, some fleshier than others, and truth be told, I don’t always find the touristy or popular ones that great. I’ve been sorely disappointed by popular friteries at Place Flagey and Place Jourdan, but swear by my local joint at Place Reine Astrid.

Whether you prefer yours with mayonnaise, samourai or even boring ketchup, in a cornet or small carton, whether you eat them with your fingers or the handy little fork pick, one thing is certain, fries are so much more than just a snack, they are a serious business and a way of life. In Brussels, it seems only two things are certain, there will be rain, and by God, there will be fries.

 

The Last of the Christmas ‘Warme Wijn’

While twinkle lights cast a warm glow on the little Christmas village, the gluhwein warms our insides. What’s not to love about a Christmas market – old-fashioned, wooden shacks, a crisp winter breeze on your face, that Christmasy spirit all around and smiling vendors enticing us with everything from charcuterie and fresh cheeses to hand-knit mittens.

A walk through the Brussels Christmas market is like a magical trip back in time for me, my mind giving free rein to my wild imaginings of Christmases and people past.

Vendor in Brussels market in Place St. Catherine

Over the past few years there has been a bit of change, not only in terms of the number of stalls, but in the diversity of products offered and creative utilization of the market as an artistic venue.

Light installation “Nuage Bamboo” in Place St.Catherine

Trendy stalls have popped up tempting consumers with all manner of new products and even shots offered by the dozen (grab 11 friends or 1 … ). Thankfully, traditional Belgian favourites such as cuberdon and speculoos are still there!

Old-fashioned carousel and ferris wheel in the distance

Spending most of this December traveling, and then the holidays at home in Toronto, I did miss out on most of the Christmas vibe here in Brussels this year. However, I did get back in time to see the Christmas market in all its splendor before it packed up for the year, and to sip the last off the 2012 ‘warm wijn’!

Vin chaud/warme wijn vendor in Place St. Catherine

Christmas Crimes 2012

Christmas at my parent’s house is steeped in tradition. From our Christmas tree loaded with ornaments made as children and collected over the years, to our Christmas Eve movie to the music we listen to, almost everything brings back memories and has its own reason for being.

This year was different. So different that we started calling it ‘Imposter Christmas’. Ok, so that’s a little dramatic, but thank God for that, cause at least our penchant for drama has remained!

A little list of changes to Christmas this year:

• No Christmas mass attended together, with all our coats (which have been heavily marinating in Christmas dinner seasonings and spices), giving off a scent and each of us sniffing and silently wondering “why is that incense so pungent this year!”
• No White Christmas and no Bing! (gasp!)
• No ridiculous amounts of christmas cookies and holiday treats baked
• No copious amounts of food and leftovers in the fridge
• And the craziest of all – No Christmas Tree (double gasp!!)

Despite these out of the ordinary happenings, we still managed some family classics: cheese straws and christmas cake, our annual family awards night, and my can’t-live -without-at-Christmastime “It’s a Wonderful Life”. At the end of it all, it was still great to be together as a family, and that’s what counts.

So my silver lining to forgetting my annual christmas tin chock full of cake and christmas eats … ? I’m going to have some seriously soaked rum cake when I get home this summer. Christmas in July anyone? 😉

Viva Espagna!

In an attempt to try and recreate the tapas and the vibe we enjoyed on our trip to Barcelona last year, I decided to have a tapas night last friday. The sun was shining, the temperature was actually warm and there was something in the breeze that just said, you should be on a balcony drinking Sangria!

Apparently the Sangria we had in Barcelona restaurants was for the touristas, but I don’t care… it was so tasty, and I was totally in the mood for some hot music, great food and something cool to drink.

Tapas Menu

Pintxos: Salmon & cucumber and Meat & cheese

• Patas bravas

• Some kind of bean salad I concoted (no I don’t think it was Spanish, but it sort of had that creamy quality of their “Russian salads” that we had in Barcelona)
• Classic Tortilla

• Prawns in garlic sauce

I did have help with the recipes. I found a tapas site with loads of great recipes.  The recipes for the classic tortilla, prawns in garlic sauce and sauce for the patatas bravas are all from here. They have tons of other recipes and I am just waiting for tapas night to come around again to try more!

http://www.tapasbonitas.com/

Flanders Fields

This Friday was a day of extremes. On one end of the spectrum, a triumph – my first ever solo road trip in Belgium! Driving a standard car has posed a bit of a challenge for me in Brussels – where the traffic flow is very different to North America, and lanes often more of a ‘guideline’…  However, I love the open road and after finally gaining the confidence to drive on my own, and the car all to myself this week, I knew I had to take a road trip.

I have visited a lot of Belgium’s more touristy cities in the last few months, so I decided instead to make a pilgrimage to some of the battlefields where Canadian troops fought during World War I.  So to this end, it was also a very somber day.

I knew I wanted to learn more detail before heading to Ypres to really understand what happened there and have spent the better part of this week reading about the Ypres Salient and the many battles fought in the area during World War I, especially those where Canadians were involved.

Canadian Memorial on Canadalaan, former site of Crest Farm in Passchendaele village. It took troops 10 days to reach the church, 700 m in the distance.

After a few photos, the pages of my highschool history textbooks came flooding back as I recalled learning about the pivotal role Canada’s troops played, particularly at the Second Battle of Ypres, Passchendale and Vimy. I remember reading soldier accounts as a young student, trying to comprehend what it must have been like to be a young soldier in the trenches…

Pouring over detailed military accounts of the battles, exact positions occupied by the Canadian and Allied battalions along the front lines and google maps, I retraced events and located streets and fields where battles took place. It became something of an obsession to understand where the exact lines were drawn, when events occurred and how anyone could really have managed to live through that … but I realized after awhile, it really is incomprehensible. We could read a thousand accounts and still never wrap our heads around the reality of it, nor the senselessness of it all…

Cloth Hall in Ypres, rebuilt after WWI

I stopped first in the town of Ypres itself. After recently viewing so many photos of Ypres razed to the ground during the war, I was struck by the reconstruction of the town, and the tower of the cloth hall. After a short walking tour of the main square I headed along the canal to the Ramparts cemetery.  As the first war cemetery I have ever seen, I was struck by the ages of so many soldiers who were buried there. So young and such a waste of life, day after day as evidenced by the dates on the headstones.

From that point on, the whole experience was quite overwhelming … probably more so after all the research I’ve been doing.

Walking through the Menin gate, and knowing that I was walking the same road that thousands of soldiers walked on their way to the front lines, seeing the sheer thousands of names of soldiers from all over the world etched into the stone, standing at the crossroads in the town of Sint Julian where the first gas attack happened and on the crest of the hill in Passchendale, metres away from the church, where Canadians fought and died really marked me.

Cloth Hall in Ypres, rebuilt after WWI

Canadian Memorial – The Brooding Soldier – in the town of Sint Juliaan

Canadian Memorial on Canadalaan, former site of Crest Farm in Passchendaele village. It took troops 10 days to reach the church, 700 m in the distance.

Hooge Crater Cemetery

The inside and outside of the gate are covered with thousands of names

With the landscape and fields very little changed from what it must have been like then, it was hard not to get caught up in an alternate reality. I almost felt ridiculous at the contrast of the former battlefields and getting into my car after each stop and turning the radio on to some peppy music.  But at the same time, the people who live in these towns today, these areas and fields which100 years ago were witness to so much suffering, do that everyday. The countless cemeteries that dot the countryside are a constant reminder of what transpired there – there is no way to forget … but they go on about living their everyday lives. That life, with all its ups and downs, has returned to these areas, this may be the biggest tribute of all.

When I got into my car after my last stop at Hooge Cemetery, I felt something in me lift. While there may always be a heaviness that hangs in the air at the thought of what happened in those farmers fields, I also felt a profound sense of gratitude.

Canadian Memorial – The Brooding Soldier – in the town of Sint Juliaan

And as I put my CD in and cranked up the volume,  I realized I am doing what thousands of young men fought and died for – I am living life, and I am living freely. For that I am eternally grateful.

Lille Patisserie

A recent afternoon shopping expedition to Lille turned into an eating experience when we capped off the night with delicious traditional ‘patisserie oriental’.

We found a quaint little Japanese restaurant for dinner, and although it had some interesting combos, it was nothing to write home about.  Admittedly, I’m probably spoiled.  Coming from Toronto, we have countless Japanese restaurants with great quality, and prices you can’t beat.  I can’t ever imagine paying the equivalent of 40 Euros in Toronto for what we ate, but hey, at least it was good enough.  And, I must admit, the ‘boulette’ and ‘boeuf et fromage’ brochettes were pretty good.  Yes, I know, beef and cheese on a skewer are not really Japanese, but when in France … 🙂  At any rate, I’m not really talking about Japanese food, so back to the dessert!

Delicious Tunisian Sweets

After dinner we felt like something sweet, and a chance drive by a particular street led us to l’Aziza, a Tunisian restaurant which also sold traditional sweets.  The front area was a little deceptive at first, with its outdoor grill area and takeout window, but upon entering the small restaurant, there was a counter laden with beautifully shaped and coloured pastries.

What I love about Patisserie Orientale is the delicate detail in each pastry, the moist yet flaky texture and the abundance of nuts! I love the flavours of almonds and pistachios and almost all of the pastries we bought from l’Aziza were chock full of nutty goodness.

Patisserie Extraordinaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devoured!

Crêpes in Lille

We were in Lille over the weekend.  In fact, we were supposed to go to Amsterdam, but at two in the afternoon when we hadn’t yet left the apartment, we knew we’d never make it to Amsterdam before the shops closed (especially with the speed at which I drive a standard car).

At any rate, as Lille is just about an hour’s drive from Brussels, we decided to save Amsterdam for the coming weekend and just take a leisurely drive to Lille.

After a quick tour of EuroLille, apparently one of Europe’s biggest malls, we headed over to the old town centre to look around and to find somewhere to eat. Lille has a lovely old town square with winding streets leading off in every direction. Decked out with lights, a ferris wheel and huge Christmas trees, the main square and the surrounding streets were beautiful.

I half expected to see the little wooden shacks of a Christmas market which I’ve become accustomed to at this time of year, but unfortunately it was in another section of city.

A turn down one of the cobble stoned streets led us to a little restaurant called La Crêperie. We were actually in search of a good Marmite du Pecheur, and have been ever since we had one a few years ago in Lille.  However, since that restaurant has now changed hands, we decided it was better to choose something entirely different than to be disappointed by a mediocre Marmite du Pecheur.  We’ll probably never duplicate that dish, and will have to be content with the memory of it …

La Crêperie turned out to be a lovely experience. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed with great chill out music playing in the background.  The menu was fairly extensive, with both sweet and salty crepe options, along with a few other items such as tartes and sandwiches. We opted for a crêpe with coquilles St.Jacques (scallops) and a shrimp tart.  Though shrimp mousse is not really my thing, the buckwheat crepe filled with leeks, cream and scallops was delicious. It was accompanied by a crisp salad and a rosé wine.

We finished the meal with a flambéd banana rum crêpe and ice cream – a scoop of rich chocolate and another scoop of salted caramel.

I don’t know if the meal beat out our pefect Marmite du Pecheur, but it certainly was a perfect ending to a leisurely saturday stroll in Lille.

Magical Bruges

I’m not sure if everyone who experiences Bruges feels the way I do, but from the first moment I laid eyes on the old city, I have loved it. With its medieval canals and mysterious alley ways, it is my imagination’s dream come true.  And if you are lucky enough to see at night, when the crowds have all faded and the cobble stone streets are dimly lit, it is magical.

I have been lucky enough to see Bruges in three seasons (summer, fall and winter) and went back again this weekend for a meal at one of my favourite restaurants: Poules Moules. It’s not a best kept secret or a hidden gem, but it has become my petit indulgence ever since I happened upon it three years ago.

It was one of the only restaurants open at three in the afternoon the first time I ate there, and after a morning spent in the rain I was delighted to sit near the fire place and dry off.  I ordered from the prix fixe menu, and to this day, it is one of the most unexpectedly delicious meals I’ve had.

I had a fresh salad followed by tender chunks of beef carbonnade and perfectly crisp frites.  Yes, I was stuffed after the large portion of Flemish stew, but somehow managed to still polish off the three scoops of ice cream that the dessert came with (yeah, you read that right, three scoops!)

I ate there again two summers ago with one of my best friends, and after building up the restaurant, I was so glad we were not disappointed.  Sitting at a lovely little table in the square, we dined al fresco sharing a never ending pot of moules and the carbonnade. There were so many mussels, we actually started to count at one point, but since the shells had been emptied by the wait staff, and by this time we had had a few belgian beers, we never did figure out how many there were!

This weekend’s fare was once again delicious.  After a brisk afternoon outdoors, we sat at a table near the fireplace and enjoyed the rustic ambiance of the 17th century building we were in. We ordered mussels in a wine sauce and a three course meal, which included a wonderfully smooth cauliflower soup, carbonnade and a sinfully rich pot de chocolate.

Like I said, Poules Moules is not an undiscovered gem or off the beaten path at all.  It’s rated and reviewed on travel websites and I’m sure tonnes of people know about it, but that hasn’t diminshed the quality of their food, or the pleasure of dining there. I guess sometimes the best things are not so secret after all!

Velouté de chou fleur

Moules Frites classique

Carbonnade à la Flamande

Pot de chocolat

Bellevue Kriek

Relax, have a beer!

I know very little about beer.  In fact, it’s really not my thing.  It tastes bitter, which apparently goes away after one ‘acquires a taste’ for it.  I’m much more into cocktails – fun, fruity and preferably with rum.  I know.  It’s sacrilege.

The irony of living here in Belgium, home to hundreds of varieties of great beers, is not lost on me either.  However, in my defence, I’ve drunk more beer in the few months I’ve lived in Belgium than I ever drank at home.  Alright, I admit, they may have been fruity – Kriek, Framboise, Pêche, but they’re still beer, right?

Or so I thought.

I was recently given a challenge by my sister.  Go out and drink a beer that I’ve never tried before.  I took my challenge to heart.  Not only did I drink a 100% organic & traditional Lambic beer, I visited the brewery and saw it being made!

Cantillon Brewery

For those who don’t know about Lambic – let me school you 😉  Cantillon Brewery is one of very few traditional breweries left in Belgium brewing Lambic beer.  A process called ‘spontaneous fermentation’ is used to produce Lambic, and I’m told it is in the type of fermentation process that the real personality of a beer lies …

The tour itself is self-guided, and the owner thoughtfully provided both the French and English booklets upon hearing my accent, as there was a lot of ‘specialized vocabulary’ as he put it. The equipment and machinery dates from the 19th century, which I loved. With almost anything, if it looks old and historic, I love it.  I was also lucky enough to happen upon part of the cooling process in action.

At the end of my tour, while tasting my complimentary beers – both the ‘Gueuze Lambic‘ and ‘Rosé de Gambrinus‘, I had the pleasure of speaking with the owner of the brewery. Brimming with life and information on all his beers, he humorously informed me that the syrup flavoured Krieks and Framboise I favour and had been drinking to this point were not fruit beers at all.  Where is the fruit in those he asked. As he put it, if you eat cherry yoghurt which has only red food colouring in it to give you the illusion of fruit, does it really make it fruit yoghurt?  Ditto for fruit beers he said … Point taken.

Barcelona

We recently got back from a wonderful trip to Barcelona.  Spain has been a destination I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time, so it was exciting to just arrive in Belgium and be whisked off almost immediately on a Spanish adventure!

The drive was long, but I’ll sit for 13 hours in a car any day to eat tapas, paella and drink the sweet sweet Sangria in Barcelona!

Eating Paella on Las Ramblas

As anticipated, the food was delicious, but one of the highlights of the trip for me was the unexpected beauty of the city’s buildings, and of course, the splendour of Gaudi’s landmarks – Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, the Basilica de la Sagrada Família and the magnificent colours of Park Güell.

 

 

Here are some photos from the trip.