Hi, the mayo we eat in Belgium is not the same as yours. It has a much higher egg content. It has to have a certain amount in it to be called mayo(naise). A big majority of Belgium prefers mayo to ketchup on fries.
Well, if u want to eat proper mayonese it must have eggs, period. Actually it's been made in Spain for centuries, even lost of the people nowadays calls it "Mayonesa", its real name is "Mahonesa", which means "from Mahon", the City in the Isle of Menorca where it originally comes from 😉 and yes, you even eat chips sandwiches with mayonese, not bad 😋
I am from The Netherlands and have been to Belgium and i have eaten the Fries and i can tell you, they are Amazing!! And not only Fries, Everything is next level! In Belgium they really know what they are doing!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I loved how movie director Oliver Stone once stated that if you want to find the best French restaurant you had to look for one with a Belgian chef running the kitchen. 😁
@@tigeriussvarne177 I agree. The guy in the video said this funny sentence about best beer :) Czech... hmmm Urquell is nice but for me german beer is another level. Ok, I'm german hihi But fries, chocolate and waffles... Belgium is the place to be
Belgian here and quite happy they say these overloaded waffles are only for tourists. We eat them with sugar, butter or whipped cream. Sometimes some ice cream next to it. Everytime I enter a 'Belgian chocolate' store abroad I rarely see stuff I recognize :D Belgian speculoos (cinamon biscuits) is the most addicting thing to eat!! Belgian beers are on another level. The pils / ale are not really what we are known for (that's basically the for the Czech and Germans). We are more known for the heavy speciality beers which mostly only come bottled. St Bernardus 12, Omer, Westmalle, Carolus triple are some of my favourites. But be warned, these hit hard if you're not used to it (10%+ alcohol sometimes!) Every pub nowadays has at least 10, 15+ beers on the menu! Every beer also has it's unique glass, I have quite some collection at home already as I hate serving beer in the wrong glass. It's like drinking wine from a cup. In general Belgian food has the finesse of French kitchen, but is more hearthy like the German kitchen. One thing you'll rarely find in restaurants are oven dishes: single pan dishes with potatoes, meat, vedgetables and creamy sauce. Super hot and hearthy to eat, so perfect in cold miserable days! The Belgian love goes through the stomach they say! As she showed the filet americain, be prepared to encounter a lot of cold raw beef/porc. We can eat fries with everything, we don't consider it a vedgetable, we eat them like potatoes or rice.
Probably everything he said , but add Karmeliet and paix dieux to thé best Beers 😊. And for chocolate , u have to find the chocolate line in Brugge, probably the best
About mayonnaise: American mayo is REALLY different than Belgian mayo. The only ingredients for real Belgian mayonnaise are eggs, natural vinegar, water, mustard, some oil and salt. No sugar, no artificial flavoring and no additives. Have a try! A couple of well known Belgian beers you could try: Duvel, La Chouffe, Kwak (see Kim's nice glass at 14:44), Chimay, Orval and St. Bernardus Abt 12. In Belgium and The Netherlands, these are commonly available in most supermarkets, maybe you can find some of them in the US.
1. Fries are fried twice. 2. Mayonnaise and the sauce for fries (frietsaus) are 2 different things. 3. Frikandellen were invented in The Netherlands. 4. I've never eaten mussels with a fork. The shell of the first mussel is used as "pincer" for the rest.
Clearly from the Netherlands? 😂 I would say frietsause is a disgrace.. it's not mayonaise and it does not belong in the facinity of fries (or anything else probably). 2. Did you ever tried Belgian "frikandellen"/curryworst? It's not comparable to what I was ever presented in the Netherlands
Heya Ian, As a Belgian I agree with the dishes suggested in the video. However, Brussels is quite touristy and it shows in the prices. It does have nice monuments, although Manneke Pis is quite underwhelming. A beautiful city I can DEFINITELY recommend is Ypres (Ieper). The city and surrounding region (the Westhoek) is known worldwide for its strong bonds with the First World War. The main entrance to the city is known as the Menin Gate, a huge British monument bearing the names of 54 000+ soldiers that died there during WWI. Each night at 8 p.m., the Last Post is played underneath the monument, in front of hundreds of tourists and locals. So absolutely recommended. Ghent is also a nice city, as well as Courtrai (Kortrijk, because of its Medieval history, see Guldensporenslag). Some other dishes I recommend: Stoofvlees (beef stew with a beer-based sauce) with fries (ofc) 'Ghent Waterzooi' (a velvety and creamy chicken soup/stew with vegetables and potatoes) Rabbit with prunes Shrimp and/or cheese croquettes Endives with ham and mashed potatoes, out of the oven (winter dish) Hutsepot (a stew made by boiling potatoes and winter vegetable for hours) Asparagus 'à la Flamande' (asparagus covered in molten butter with crumbled egg on top) Tomate-crevette (hollowed out tomato stuffed with a shrimp/mayo mix) Lotus (Biscoff) speculoos/spread Jenever And so much more...
Amazing video. Just one thing, I've never seen a belg eating mussels with their fork. Most of the time, we use the shells as little thingies to get the other mussels out of their shells
Belgium is a super place to visit, spent ten days in and around Leuven back 20 years ago and between the food, the bars, the people and the architecture, it's hard to beat. I'd recommend it if you decide to take a tour over to Europe.
You're going to find Stella Artois, Leffe and Duvel in USA. These are pretty "mainstream" over here. Duvel is good, but I personally like Omer, Delirium Tremens, Tripel Karmeliet, ... But if you ever get to Belgium you will be totally amazed about the choice you have.
It's been so long since I've been to Belgium. As good as that video was it still undersells just how good the street food and the beer is. You have to experience it for yourself. Belgian waffles as they are sold in supermarkets here in the UK don't give you a clue about how good a fresh cooked waffle from a waffle stand is. They are two entirely different things. If I lived in Belgium I'd weigh double what I do now.
Yes! I went to school there, and there was usually a waffle van outside the gate at lunchtime. Freshly cooked, slight bitterness from the burnt sugars, wrapped in a bit of paper... can't be beaten.
It is truly quite a good video on belgian food. You would enjoy it here I think. The mayo is different than the one you know, so don't discard it before you have tasted it. We have so many nice things to explore!
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It's hard to judge the authenticity of food based on pictures. What makes Belgian specialties special are the technique and ingredients. For exemple, at a time when most countries single fried "french fries", they double fried them for extra crisp and used animal fat to cook them for extra taste.
To be more precise to those who want to try to make fries belgian style, it's first fried in vegetables oil at 150 celcius degrees (sorry don't know the value for Fahrenheit degrees) for about 5 minutes (it's good when the fries all have turned frow white to yellow) then put in another frier with animal based oil (we usually use beef based oil called "blanc de bœuf") at 190 celcius degrees and fried then for about 3 minutes (depending on if you prefer then more or less crunchy, but usually we stop then when they start to turn lightly brown on the edges) and another little tip, when you've done frying then, put an absorbing paper in the plate you are putting them, it will absorb some of the extra oil. Hope this can help some people, and I'm sorry if my English wasn't great but it's the 4th language I've learned so I'm still learning it 😅
I have visited Belgium lots of times, I’m part Belgian my maternal great grandfather was born in Antwerp the diamond 💎 capital of the world. I have visited Brussels three times the last time I came by Eurostar from St Pancras station in London I came for the Christmas Market, while I was in The Grand Place (it appears in the video) there was a spectacular light display. You can’t go to Brussels without visiting The Mannekein Pis which was in one of its costumes in the video I have seen it without a costume. As you heard in the video they speak Flemish in northern Belgium it’s similar to Dutch. I have eaten mussels on numerous occasions in Belgium the last time was in the town of Ieper last July. I mainly visit Belgium 🇧🇪 to visit the battlefields, cemeteries, memorials and museums of The First World War. I have visited the village of Waterloo near Brussels were just outside the village in 1815 allied forces led by The Duke of Wellington Sir Arthur Wellesley thrashed the French, 99 years later the first shots of The First World War were fired down the road.
Filet Américain (American Filet Meat) is basically fresh meat grinded and mixed with seasoning (onions, capers, and so on) it s eaten raw and cold. it s pretty good and most meat places got their own recipe. For beers my personal favorites are Rodenbach which is a sour ruby colored beer and St Feuillien which i grew up a few hundred meters from the brewery.
@@Bioshyn similar but different, tartar is mostly grinded meat with assorted seasoning but the customer is free to prepare it how it see fit, tartar can also be quickly grilled to maintain integrity. but yeah mostly similar. (but Belgians do it better :) )
@@flitsertheo by law filet américain is composed of 100% beef and preparé is a mix of beef and pork. The main difference between tartar and filet américain is the cut. Tartar meat is minced while filet américain is grinded to more of a paste consistency
In case you were curious about the glass at 15:00, it's one of the "common" beers (for beer cafes) with a unique hour-glass shaped glass called "Kwak" (pronounced Quack). The reason it's shaped that way is because (in olden days) it was possible to drive a horse and carriage without spilling your beer while also allowing the driver to take the glass out of the holder easily. The other unique shapes are boot-shaped and horn-shaped. Those are not unique to Belgium though, you can find them in Germany as well. My personal favorites (I'm Belgian) are: - Chimay Bleu (Blue Chimay) - Bush Ambré (Amber Bush)
You're maybe wondering what the special "form" of the beer the woman is drinking is all about; the beer she's drinking is called "KWAK" beer, which according rumours was a choach-drivers beer; and it's glass was shaped like this, so it could fit into the ring next to the driverseat of the coach; there is however a side effect to the glass;you must be mindfull when drinking the beer out of this glass, because, at a certain point, due to the shape of the bottom half of the glass, while drinking, the beer suddenly rushes out from the bottom and can surprise you! hence the name KWAK
Hi Ian, I’m an expat living in Belgium. I gotta admit that there is nowhere does the frites/frietjes (fries) better than the Belgian, hands down. Double frying technique, with blanc de bœuf (beef fat) and the variety of potato used for fries, I mean you cannot resist to stop by a frietkot (friterie) and grab some, yummy. For waffle, it’s gotta be Liège waffle, buttery rich yeast-raised dough with crunchiness of caramelised speckles of pearl sugar, omg screaming deliciousness. Despite living in Belgium I’m no much of a beer drinker so I can go as far as Lambic beer, Kriek - cherry flavoured (~3,5%), light and refreshing especially in a hot summertime afternoon or Cherry Chouffe (~8%) for a chilly evening. Cheers, mate! 😊
15:07 The Kwak beer glass is shaped that way because it was originally made for chariot or horse carriage drivers and it would fit in a holster so it wouldn't fall off.
In Belgium (Flanders) we have the typical "farmers food" (boerekost). It is just potatoes, some vegetables and meat like sausage or other "cheaper" meat. My favorite meal is "witloof in den oven". It is basically cooked chicory rolled in a slice of good ham, bechamel over it whit a layer of grated cheese (no cheddar!!) In the oven and served with some mashed potatoes.
Ok, I’m Belgian. The “filet americain” comer colder than the devils heart. In fancy restaurants the cut the steak into small pieces on a board cooled with ice. It is delicious, it’s like carpaccio but creamier. Good taste with the unions and the mustard in there. Vol-au-vent, the chicken dish, is like biscuits and gravy, but a way fuller taste. Nobody here cares about the waffles but they are good. Most families will bake waffles once or twice a year and that’s that. Fries are the best. Our Mayo is fuller and less sweet than yours, you’ll probably like it here. Mussels with white wine is a dish from heaven, but the most important one I think is “stoofvlees” a Belgian beef stew with brown full Belgian beer, unions, mustard en bread. It is a heavenly dish. I can give you the recipe and what beer to get.
13:14 The cuberdon is already a little older. When they're really fresh, the inside is fluid. I had some in a factory, really delicious. BUT: very sweet.
I remember standing in line at a Waffel place here in Bruges and this American infront me straight up asked : "I'd like a Belgian Waffle" to which the guy behind the counter just replied : "Sir... you 'are' in Belgium by definition every waffel you see here 'is' a Belgian Waffle" I could stop myself from bursting out laughing. Oh the look he gave me, thanks god he didn't go all Karen.
5:30 In Belgium we have a law how to make mayonaise. (I know most countries place it in a cooking book, but Belgium in the law.) The Belgian mayonaise tastes a lot better than American mayonaise.
the restaurant could be more belgian. like the waffles served differently than in belgium (can be seen on the photos) and they don't use a container to sell fries (this is not a joke) in belgium fries are mainly sold in "barakken" aka containers that are converted into small frie stores, oh by the way "barakken" is Dutch for barracks
Hello, I'm Belgian myself and this video can indeed give you some examples of what we eat. However, if many people here indeed eat Liège's waffel, we commonly just eat a "standard" version. The versions you saw with the cream + chocolate is definitly more "uncommon" (it's not hard to find but nobody shall eat that every day). If you want some examples of biers to try, well it depends of what kind of beers you like but you can try: leffe blonde, orval, kasteel rouge, cuvée des trolls, quintine, westmalle triple. About the restaurant you show before starting the video, you should try the chimay blue. For the duvel, that's 50-50. Some people really like it but I think that it's too heavy on the stomach. There are indeed some food that makes you think about Belgium but also some strange meals. For example, when I saw omelette + 2 waffels I was like "hu ? What ?" --> that's strange. If you eat an omelette, you will likely eat that with fries, not waffels.
Lachouffe blonde is probably a good introduction to belgian beer. I love it, and isn't to heavy and still reasonably close to traditional lagers. Duvel can be divisive indeed.
To be fair the frikandell speciaal is technically dutch. Not sure if they use ketchup but hete its made wit. Mayo onions and a curry sauce. But its true their fries are delicious. And im pretty sure i have the exact same t shirt as she is wearing lol
3.20 euro for a curryworst/frikandel are tourist prices lol. 🤣 I would recommend going to Antwerp for food and Gent/Ghent and Brugge for the aesthetics I prefer Gent it's like walking back in time (in a good way). 👍
How convinient - I am going to Brussels in March (for the 20th time or so :) ) However - one time I expirinced a bad case of food poisoning over there. @15:36 this "filet americain" - was not invented in Belgium. It originatest from the east, and it came to Europe with Tatar invasion - that it why it is typically known as "Tartar steak" - we have the same thing in Poland - and yes it is raw beef served cold (plus some additional ingridients like onions, dills, marinated wild mushrooms, mustard, capers, salt and pepper and raw quail egg yolk on top).
Correction : in Belgium, we have more than 3.500 differents beers (produced in the country)... And fun fact : did you know that the Budweiser brand is owned by the Belgian company Interbrew?
Actually, Interbrew merged in 2004 with the Brazilian AmBev and became InBev. In 2008 InBev acquired Anheuser-Busch to become Anheuser-Busch InBev or more commonly known as AB-InBev. Rumors have it that the last name change was to please the shareholders of Anheuser-Busch during the acquisition. After the merger with AmBev, InBev owners were accused of preferring turnover over the Belgian beer culture. An example was the attempt to close the brewery in Hoegaarden and move the brewing of Hoegaarden beer to the brewery in Jupille, which failed because they did not get the taste right in Jupille. For that reason I avoid beers from AB-InBev, luckily we have plenty of alternatives in Belgium.
Hello :) Just an fyi Ian doesn’t have a Telegram or a WhatsApp. That comment below is a scammer pretending to be Ian. Please be careful. Ian’s real channel says only IWrocker and has a checkmark next to it :) thank you
The nose candy is great to get, the inside isn't chewy really, you bite straight thru it. The chicken stew (17:50) is absolutely amazing, a must try! The most typical Belgian beer would be Jupiler. About the wafels, yes, the Belgian normally eat them without all the stuff on it, but strawberry with chocolate it a great combination too.
5:28 Mayonnaise, like many other foods in Europe, tastes different there because the EU actually regulates what can go into products and still bear the name of the product, unlike the US. So, in the case of mayonnaise, there are actual guidelines (produced by “Europe's Federation of the Condiment Sauce Industries”) specifying what types of oil and how much egg must be in the product or else it can’t be called mayonnaise. In addition, consumers in Europe are far more discerning about what they will and will not purchase. In the US, no such guidelines exist, which led to a heated discussion I had recently with someone who assured me that the white goo on my supposedly vegan sandwich (I cannot eat eggs) was indeed “vegan mayonnaise” (sic). Such a thing cannot exist in Europe, and US consumers are (ahem) less discerning. You may be able to find actual European mayonnaise in the “imported foods” section of upscale supermarkets.
it seems we only eat fries and chocolate and only drink beer. I dare to say Belgium has the most elaborate food culture in the world. Thanks to the fact we love to be influenced by foreign things and tastes we love.
The restaurant in New Mexico is definitely a good start but I haven’t seen really typical dishes like mussels with fries, carbonades (Flemish stew), vol-au-vent, boulettes in tomato sauce with purée or croquettes etc. Moreover they could have more appetizers like cheese or shrimp croquettes, scampi diabolique etc. And then having all of that with great Belgian beers 👍👍👍. Ooooh and I almost forgot about the divine desserts 😋
Nice video! Many of us Belgians we are foodies! Enjoying food and drinks (mainly beer but also wine) is part of our hardworking lives. When you would visit Belgium you will see far more full terraces, cafés and restaurants with people that are spending their free time enjoying life than in our surrounding countries. These habits probably date back from the 14th century when we were the jewel of the Burgundy country and remained when the Spanish took over in the early 16th century and which lasts ever since!! Food is excellent and we are all convinced our beers are the best of the world!! ❤ And we love Americans and our neighbours very much ❤
In your video the dish : "American preparé" is eaten cold. There's also a typical "national" dish called "Carbonades flamandes" in French, or "Stoofvlees" in Flemish. Pieces of beef stewed for 3 hours with onions, brown sugar, mustard, butter, beer (Belgian, of course), etc., and, depending on the region or family recipe, gingerbread or even Liège syrup (apple + pear syrup). Serve with boiled potatoes or French fries. A delicious treat. In Liège, another recipe is quite similar in taste, but accompanied by meatballs and called "boulettes sauce lapin". Another must-try dish is "waterzoeï". A soup from Ghent (Gent), made with chicken, fresh cream, butter and vegetables. Yum... About Belgian beers. It's difficult to recommend one brand or another. Because the tastes can be very different, even quite the opposite, and there are so many of them. ..You have to try different kinds and not stop at one particular flavor or color. And remember that the first sip is not necessarily the one that defines the subtlety of the brew. The "green eels" in your video are now either farmed eels or imported wild eels. In Belgium, eels can no longer be fished as they once were, for two reasons. They've become very rare and therefore endangered, and then, like seafood, especially crabs, etc., because of the way they're eaten, they contain a high percentage of heavy metals and other pollutants. But if you're only going to eat it once, it's worth a try.
When I lived i Belgium Curry worst speciaal met frieten elke vrijdag avond was zekker must 😂 great video btw. Kinda took me back thru the memory lane. Wepa!
Translation: When I lived in Belgium "Curry worst (=sausage) speciaal" with (French) fries every friday afternoon was a must. I still don't get why they call it french fries when it's obviously belgian, I mean just look at this: ChatGPT: “I have found an article that supports the Belgian origin of fries. The article from the Center for Agricultural History (CAG) describes how fries have become a typical Belgian phenomenon. The first reliable sources refer to the existence of fry stalls or fry establishments in Belgium around the middle of the 19th century. The Belgian fry culture is distinguished by traditions such as double frying of fries, which is a recipe from 1892 mentions. The combination of mussels with fries, which became popular in the 1860s-1870s, has also contributed to the unique Belgian fry culture.” For more detailed information, you can read the full article on the website of the Center for Agricultural History (CAG).
Belgian beer can be found everywhere but the export beers aren't necessarily the best ones. Stella Artois is probably the most common abroad but it's also pretty ordinary beer; nothing really special about it. Leffe can also be found outside of Belgium quite easily. But the best beers are to be found here. My favourite ones that can be found in most supermarkets here are Chimay, Delirium Tremens, Grimbergen, and Gouden Carolus.
Imagine living somewhere that has no Vol-au-vent... it's so freaking good. Also I once tried American mayonaise and it was extremely bland, mayonaise generally in all of Europe as far as I know has way more taste. Also many variants as we use it as a base for many different sauces.
hello Belgian here, the restorant in the bigining looks good they even have some good belgian beer. But there is def a big amount american inflounce Some extra insingt on our food: (i am not a fish lover so a can't really say anything about that) Moelleux au chocolat is a French invention, but that doesn't take away that it is f*cking amazing. Beer is very important culture, if you dare to touch a dutch beer (aka heineken) you are a dead man. We "eat" a lot of soup, tho it can really depend from family to family. Most family's have a weekly day (mostly friday) to eat fries, eather we get them at the local "frituur" or make them ourself. We also consume a lot of potatoes, not the most but among the highest of the western country's. Same goes for vegetables, but this time we do consume the most among the western country's. As for breakfast and lunch, we mostly eat bread with al different kind's of spreads. A sandwich (made with quality baguette, no soft/muchie crap like in subway) is also a popular lunch for at work. And a lot more bit i need to go to bed. by
Dutch guy here. Belgium beers are the absolute best in the world. They're not bragging, they're just being factual. Chimay Blue also happens to be my favorite beer.
Hello! Mrs. IWrocker here. That is a good recommendation. Also please be aware that the comment below with the Telegram title isn’t Ian, IWrocker does NOT have a Telegram or a WhatsApp. That’s a scammer and please just be aware that ian will only have IWrocker on his channel and a checkmark next to it. Ian isn’t giving away prizes on comments. Thank you
Looks amazing. I would love to go to Belgium some day - maybe on the way to Paris or so. Not such a fan of waffles, but the mussels looked mouth watering.
@@flitsertheo haha, yea ... but Paris is Paris and kind of special. Not saying Paris is essential and super beautiful - but it sure is worth going to. Belgium .. i dont know enough about it. For me, it is just "the country next to France". Maybe it is like Iceland and Faroe. Many people actually have an idea about my country .. you know, geothermals, volcanos and sweaters .. but how many people really have an image in their mind about Faroe? Its just "the island next to Iceland"
@@Alfadrottning86There are some beautiful cities in Belgium. Brussels isn’t even seen as Belgian by a lot of people. It’s just a place full of tourist traps and foreigners. Come to Ghent, Bruges, Leuven, hell even come to Antwerp.
Most of the mussels come from the Netherlands, but Belgium consumes more than 80% of them. There are many ways to prepare them, but I would recommend white wine (don't worry, there is NO alcohol in it because it evaporates completely while cooking). PS. try our mayo: it's different than in most countries: there are a lot of eggs in them but it also has a sourness from either vinagre or lemon juice. Unlike German mayo, we do not put sugar in mayo. PSPS Belgians do not eat those waffles with tons of whipped cream and other stuff on them. When I was a child my mother could make waffles in maybe 20 different fashions, all by mixing the dough with eg apples, fruit from the garden, anything.
Now if I went to Belgium I'll end up sugar overloaded🤣👍chocolates delights and I have tasted some Belgian sweets. As for the beer my goodness European ales very delicious indeed.
Born and raised in the Belgian province of Limburg, there is also a province Limburg in the Netherlands. Nobody has yet mentioned Limburgse Vlaai, a pastry made of yeast dough with a filling of fruit, pudding, rice pudding, semolina pudding, sugar or a combination thereof. Everything is baked together. Since January 2024 the EU has given it a Protected Geographical Indication.
@16:14 The Filet Americain is served cold. Filet Américain is a spread made with raw lean and premium beef cuts are used in this Belgian classic, and because the meat is served raw, it should be as fresh as possible. When the meat is ground, it is usually generously seasoned and enriched with onions, capers, mustard, MAYONNAISSE! lol raw eggs, tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce, which also help in holding the spread together. It is believed that Joseph Niels invented the dish in 1924 and was the first to serve it in his restaurant in Brussels.
at 17:51 He says "vol au vent" translates to "koningehapje", but that is not exactly right, "kongingehapje" is wat je see on his plate ; the pastry stuffed with the creamy chickenstew, the chickenstew on itself is what is actually called "vol au vent", wich can be used as a stewy sauce on top of... wel you guessed it "belgian fries" :D ... of course in combinaton with mayonaise.
A few of my favorite brews: - brugse zot - maredsous (in a stein) - westmalle trippel - duvel - tripel d'anvers - westvleteren - leffe (blond or brown) - chimay - most of the 'gouden carolus' line - the occasional 'hoegaarden' Also, can't go wrong with 'moeder overste', judas or 'gulden draak'.
@@stefanoasis Kaiser... back in high-school, not enough cash to go out and predrink stella or jupiler... I did usually settle for kaiser. I'd take a cara over a heineken, but that is about it.
@@gertdillen8495 Carrefour now sells Atlas, Kaiser pils is gone, although i did find Kaiser pils Forte in a Spar. Wish i could have it still. Cara gives me the shits haha
(1) A real Belgian eats mussels without a fork. They use the shells as a utensil. (2) Most Belgians eat Mayonnaise with their fries. We Belgians think it's weird eating it with ketchup, but there are some crazy Belgians that still prefer ketchup :) Our mayonnaise is fundamentally different and much better from what you can get in the US. It's richer in flavour and contains more egg yolks, and is made with vinegar or lemon juice and doesn't contain artificial flavourings or sugars. So do try it when you're in Belgium, I promise that you'll like it. (3) You won't find a place anywhere in the US that serves or sells Filet Americain, because (I read somewhere that) it's banned by the FDA. Americans might know this better as "Steak Tartare", which is the French version of this dish (the French add a raw egg yolk on top of it). Filet Americain is served cold. Belgians have many variations of this dish, next to Filet Americain, we also have Martino, and Preparé. These variations are used to prepare sandwiches for lunch or breakfast. (4) And the Belgian beers that I like are (not in order): Westmalle Tripple, Trippel d'Anvers, Corsendonk Apple Wit, Hoegaarden, Kriek (in particular Belvu, Waterloo and Kasteel Rouge), De Koninck (aka "bolleke"). De Koninck has it's own little event in Antwerp, somewhere in August I believe, called "Bellekesfeest" (of the festival of "bolleke", which is how people from Antwerp call this beer)
Regarding the best Belgian beers, here are my favourites: 1. Oude Geuze, 2. Orval, 3. Westmalle tripel, 4. Duvel (Devil) from whiskey barrels, 5. La Chouffe Blonde, 6. Gouden Carolus tripel, 7. Omer, 8. Tripel Karmeliet, 10. Gulden Draak (Golden Dragon) Classic, 11. Tank7, 12. Brugse Zot, etc etc 20:19
I know the video is over a year old but my favorite beers from my country: Westmalle Triple, Westvleteren, Chimay, Kwak (the one the lady was drinking with the special glass), triple karmeliet, Gordon Finest Platinum (12% alcohol), Zeunt ( a local beer from the city of Geel), Tongerlo, Dobbel Palm (basicly a version of Palm that is centered around xmas), Leffe, La Chouffe, Duvel (the 8.5% version. If you take a lower kind you get the wrong impression). There are a lot of great beers, and some are at higher alcohol levels. I know many people abroad consider it strange or too heavy but in my opinion it adds to the flavor.
I'm surprised to see a Gordon's beer in that list, it's not very Belgian, it does come from Belgium but the recipe and founder are english more than Belgian
@@Gaeldx I understand your opinion. But i genuinely like it. And to be fair, it is great to get wasted. But still, i like the taste. Maybe it's not for everyone, but i do like it. Not the carbon one, the 14%, that's too strong and it fuxles up the taste, but the platinum and below, i really like.
Well for breakfast waffels are that common. An egg, some homemade jam or chocolate spread but mainly. We take pride in our bread, sandwiches, pasteries.
I spent a fair amount of time in Belgium a few years back - lovely place - and one of the foods I'm surprised that they didn't mention is 'carbonade', or Belgian beef stew. It's made with beer, just to start with (although personally, I couldn't really taste it), and it's just a really fantastic beef stew - cooked 'til the meat is super-tender, slightly sweet, very dark and a little tangy. My mom is not a beef fan, and she tried a bite of mine and immediately said something like 'yeah, I'd order that.'
I'm a Belgian, and every Thursday, there's a nice market in my hometown. If you ever get the chance, you should visit one of these local markets, because the food at those stands is sent straight from heaven. (+ It isn't overpriced, like the food in cities like Ghent, Bruges...)
Belgian here, so yea you probably already figured it out but those waffle toppings from the restaurant in America are not authentic. The powder sugar actually is the only original one. The description of the waffle itself was very accurate, those big sugar crystals are a very important addition. And a waffle never is a breakfast option here, it's dessert. Loved the video itself very good food tour. I think the only one I really missed from the famous dishes was our beef stew with fries. The meat usually is a tough cut like the shoulder slow cooked for hours until it gets soft, but these days instead of beef you also find variations with pig cheeks. and the sauce is probably best described as a gravy with dark beer in it, thicken with bread and mustard or gingerbread. It's always one of the 2 bread and mustard or the gingerbread. We got some more local classics but they're not well known to tourists, probably because most restaurants don't serve them. For the filet Americain, from what I have heard (I'm not the expert here on this topic) it's invented in a hotel named hotel America or Americain (not so sure here) in Brussels, and that's where the name comes from. Yes it's served cold because it's raw meat, and it's really good. The idea of eating raw meat (beef or veal) might sound weird to some Americans, but it's pretty safe to eat here. Belgium has one of the highest food standards around the world.
If you are in Belgium look up manneken frites and they are cheaper than fritland with better fries and side dishes and way bigger choices. Mayonaise, bearnaise, samurai, house made rootn tootin hot chili, tartar, andalouse, cocktail ( a mayo-ketchup with wiskey blend), pickles, different beer sauces, bbq, super hot bbq and about 50 others Also you want to drink belgian beer, some coming directly from the brewer, look up "A La Becasse"... its practically near the grand place
As a Belgian I can tell you this is a very good video. For once something more then waffles and fries being presented as belgian food only. Of course there are other dishes, so many, but lets mention the flemish beef stew (beef stewed in a beer sauce) or the belgian endives with ham and cheese sauce in the oven…
I'm Belgian! And the beer I'll recommend I'm convinced you've never heard of before. "Cuvee de trolls" It's a very humble Belgian ale with a bitter taste but sweet aftertaste. Good beer when you "crack a cold one with the boys" or while eating meat.
First Waffles, because we apparently invented them all together: we eat Liege waffles as a snack, bigger supermarkets, shopping streets/malls often have a stall where they're freshly made. So you can have a "fresh warm waffle". The Brussels waffle, we only do sugar or whipped cream. We do not eat waffles as breakfast. I do eat pancakes ("crepes", not the American version) as breakfast sometimes. Then the menu of the restaurant: if a Belgian enters, these are the items we would consider: We would not consider the "Original Liege waffles", because we're at a restaurant, and the waffle we would eat on the street. - "House salad" and "Cesar Salad" would be lunch or dinner - "Pain Perdu", as breakfast, but with bread (so we'ld settle for toast) - "Freshly baked Croissant", for breakfast, but not with meat, only butter and jam. - Toast with bacon. yes. - BBB - "Breakfast special", with bacon and toast but not the rest of the options - "Create your own omelet", with toast and bacon and maybe cheese. People do add tomatoes, spinach, onions but then usually it's not as breakfast. - "Eggs Florentine" and "Eggs Benedict" are eaten at restaurant, but not for breakfast. We do eat a lot of breads and "breadlike" items. Now, there will be another Belgian in the comments disputing some of the things I said. We don't all have the exact same habits.
yesterday on Telly a cook showed how to bake real frenched fries Belgian style: cut a bunch of potatos in a nice portion of fries wash and dry them bake them for a few minutes in melted fat of about 150°C dry them again and cool them down in a freezer just before serving, get them out of the freezer and bake them crispy in the melted fat at around 180°C
The weird looking chemist lab glass was used by horse cariages, they hung it on the side of it. Because the shape of the glass it has very good stability.
Do you know why the classic fries in Belgium are so tasty? Although it's use is kinda forgotten, the REAL BELGIAN fries are NOT baked in oil(like they mostly are now)... But in Ox-fat(ossewit in our language); VERY delicious, but high on cholesterol! Also our mayonnaise is quite different than yours, due to the amount of eggs in it, which gives a much better taste, but again, cholesterol! A very good combination of Belgian fries is with the classic beef-stew(made with the other Belgian "speciality";our beer) or mossles.
every time i visit Belgium I eat so many chips with mayo, so much chocolate, and drink so much beer it's just ridiculous. great country. you can even snort cocoa at The Chocolate Line 🤣
The restaurant you talked about looks great. The menu to. But yes it is completely "anericanized" as you said. I am from Luxembourg and far east so 15 minutes from belgium. Super great food (no doubt). But as much that we love hating the French, their food is so good when you know where to go (2 hours in the car to get to the best restaurants in Normandy). Me and my GF make a great week-end out of it. But nobody makes as good fries as the Belgians. I don't even know why you call it french fries even the french say it is from belgium (they never claimed it)
I liked his taste of beer. Blue Chimay is definitely one of my favorites! There is also a pretty sour beer called Orval that I have enjoyed on some occasions. Delicious!
My favorite beer is: Westmalle dubbel (Westmalle double) its a dark brown beer, very good! Also try fries with mayo and "stoofvlees" or a "julientje" (origin in Ghent where i'm from, its fries with mayo, stoofvlees-sauce, viandel (the frikandel saucage from the beginning but with a crust), deep fried crispy onions and spices)
The Fille Americain is cold, It is cut up meat, mainly beef but can also be pork or mixed. and my favorite way to eat it is on a sandwich, especially if you add some things to it like eieren, sla, wortels....
You can try the 'tartare' sauce (like mayo with herbs and spice), or a hot 'chasseur' sauce (brown sweet sauce with corynth raisins or plums). As for my favourite Belgian beer, it would be the Brussels Gueuze Pécheresse Lindemans (peach flavored gueuze beer from the Lindemans brewery) or the Kriek (gueuze flavored with dark cherries). Cheers from Liège, Belgium. 🇧🇪
Hi belgian here: favourite beer list sort of: 1: Omer, its from the town i live in so heavily biased 2: Tripel karmeliet: if im in a bar so it can be a little more fancy 3: kasteelbier ROUGE: good dessert 4: kerel: this one is 15° and tastes like lychees, if you want to make it an evening. 5: most of the trappists but harder to get 6: duvel: never can go wrong with this classic. 7: le fort: for cooking 8: kwak: when i feel like its an amber-day 9: wittekerke blonde: alterbative for soda on a hot day 10: cara pils: tastes pretty crap but does the job when you run out of money, can be drank while not refridgerated
if you ever go to Belgium, i recommand seeing if you go near a place called Maredsous, it's a "rehabilitated" abbey turned into a restaurant, they make their own bread, beer and cheese
also depending on which beer brand you find, there's different types of beer, there's a lot of beer partially made with fruits, for exemple with cherry,...
A beer you can probably find in the US (although it will cost a lot more than over here), is Duvel. It's something unique and is really ease to drink. Make sure you find the correct glassware to drink it from. And it's 8,5% so not to strong. Other recommendations: Orval, Geuze (ex. Cantillon, 3 fonteinen, oude Hansens, Boon Marriage parfait), Gouden Carolus Whiskey Infused, Rochefort 10, sint Bernardus abt 12, Vedette, Chimay 150, Westmalle Tripel, Hoegaarden, Omer, Keizer Karel Robijnrood, Ommegang, Rodenbach, Bolleke, ...
There are so many to choose from, but I will put some very different taste of beers here; KRIEK(cherry-beer, a sweet beer with a deep read color) DUVEL(means DEVIL; a light golden color with a very high alcohol rate!), Trappist(beer that is brewed by monks/friars in abbeys or convents; there are several different trappist-names according to which abbey they come from)PALM(has nothing to do with the tree which name it bares; a beer made out of several grains, and has a similar grainy-taste)LEFFE(is also a beer brewed from a recepy from an abbey, has a slight bitter-taste and can be blond or darkbrown of color)
4:59 Dang, not I want fries. If you come to Belgium, Ian, try the mayo. It's great! The "friterie" they chose, I've been there. If you go at lunchtime, or actually any time, there will be a long line of Belgians.
a dish imissed in this overview is Stoverij/Stoofvlees/Carbonade a la Flamande; a beef stew with onion and beer, In the city of Ghent they serve a version with pork cheeks instead of beef. Speculoos; a very popular biscuit. Pancakes.... In the westof Belgium Pancakes are more popular than waffles; not pancakes as in the US, more like crepes in France (Brittany) but softer structure and only slightly bit ticker than the french crepe; traditionally served with butter and brown sugar. Mattentaarten, originating from the city of Geraardsbergen, is a little tart (cakestructure) made with buttermilk. Savory spreads to be put on bread; for breakfast or lunch (thinks like "kipcurrysalade", "hespesalade", "prei-hamsalade",.....) "garnaalkroketten"; grey shrimp croquet,aspeciality from the city of Oostende ...
Hi, the mayo we eat in Belgium is not the same as yours. It has a much higher egg content. It has to have a certain amount in it to be called mayo(naise). A big majority of Belgium prefers mayo to ketchup on fries.
Well, if u want to eat proper mayonese it must have eggs, period. Actually it's been made in Spain for centuries, even lost of the people nowadays calls it "Mayonesa", its real name is "Mahonesa", which means "from Mahon", the City in the Isle of Menorca where it originally comes from 😉 and yes, you even eat chips sandwiches with mayonese, not bad 😋
I think it's the same across Europe - the American stuff is vile.
I love Mayo with fries/hot chips 😋 but only what they call whole egg Mayo. I’m Australia we call that last dessert chocolate lava cake 😋 delicious!!
@@angelruiz4992 didn't know that, thanks
Fries, mayo and curry ketchup for me please :) And indeed, the mayo with egg is my favorite. A Fricandel Speciaal is my dessert most of the time.
I am from The Netherlands and have been to Belgium and i have eaten the Fries and i can tell you, they are Amazing!! And not only Fries, Everything is next level! In Belgium they really know what they are doing!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
dank U , nedrlandse vriend !
Dank u buurman 😉😉
I loved how movie director Oliver Stone once stated that if you want to find the best French restaurant you had to look for one with a Belgian chef running the kitchen. 😁
veel bedankt, but you in holland have Maatjes and Cheeses on the World Cup league and... Maastricht Carnaval! Te gek!!😉
Thanks I really like our fries to.
As a German I can agree, belgian foods are very tasty.
Esp. the belgian beer is nice, and chocolate, and of cause the best Fries world wide!
you're right, buuuuut belgian beer best in the world? Hold my beer 😉
@@dh1ao No no no, the Fries are the best world wide. ;) But with beer, I go with the Czech Republic, even tho my favorite beer is German.
@@tigeriussvarne177 I agree. The guy in the video said this funny sentence about best beer :) Czech... hmmm Urquell is nice but for me german beer is another level. Ok, I'm german hihi
But fries, chocolate and waffles... Belgium is the place to be
@@dh1ao Auf jeden! ;D
For pils/ale I agree, this is for the Czech and Germans. But the heavy (mostly bottled) beers are Belgian's thing and I'll die on this hill !!!
Belgian here and quite happy they say these overloaded waffles are only for tourists. We eat them with sugar, butter or whipped cream. Sometimes some ice cream next to it. Everytime I enter a 'Belgian chocolate' store abroad I rarely see stuff I recognize :D
Belgian speculoos (cinamon biscuits) is the most addicting thing to eat!!
Belgian beers are on another level. The pils / ale are not really what we are known for (that's basically the for the Czech and Germans). We are more known for the heavy speciality beers which mostly only come bottled. St Bernardus 12, Omer, Westmalle, Carolus triple are some of my favourites. But be warned, these hit hard if you're not used to it (10%+ alcohol sometimes!) Every pub nowadays has at least 10, 15+ beers on the menu! Every beer also has it's unique glass, I have quite some collection at home already as I hate serving beer in the wrong glass. It's like drinking wine from a cup.
In general Belgian food has the finesse of French kitchen, but is more hearthy like the German kitchen. One thing you'll rarely find in restaurants are oven dishes: single pan dishes with potatoes, meat, vedgetables and creamy sauce. Super hot and hearthy to eat, so perfect in cold miserable days! The Belgian love goes through the stomach they say!
As she showed the filet americain, be prepared to encounter a lot of cold raw beef/porc.
We can eat fries with everything, we don't consider it a vedgetable, we eat them like potatoes or rice.
I love our speculoos !!!
Probably everything he said , but add Karmeliet and paix dieux to thé best Beers 😊. And for chocolate , u have to find the chocolate line in Brugge, probably the best
no love for our amazing sour beers 😢
About mayonnaise: American mayo is REALLY different than Belgian mayo. The only ingredients for real Belgian mayonnaise are eggs, natural vinegar, water, mustard, some oil and salt. No sugar, no artificial flavoring and no additives. Have a try!
A couple of well known Belgian beers you could try: Duvel, La Chouffe, Kwak (see Kim's nice glass at 14:44), Chimay, Orval and St. Bernardus Abt 12. In Belgium and The Netherlands, these are commonly available in most supermarkets, maybe you can find some of them in the US.
Yum, that’s why I used to make it at home. I should do that again.
Finding Orval in a supermarket is uncommon even in Belgium.
@@ManWithBeard1990, no it isn't. You can buy Orval in the Delhaize and Colruyt, probably other supermarkets too.
@@lorrefl7072 You can, but far from everywhere. The Delhaize I shop at has it occasionally and when they do they only sell one sixpack per customer.
Add to this list one local one like : Philomène brewed next to Namur....
1. Fries are fried twice. 2. Mayonnaise and the sauce for fries (frietsaus) are 2 different things. 3. Frikandellen were invented in The Netherlands. 4. I've never eaten mussels with a fork. The shell of the first mussel is used as "pincer" for the rest.
Clearly from the Netherlands? 😂 I would say frietsause is a disgrace.. it's not mayonaise and it does not belong in the facinity of fries (or anything else probably). 2. Did you ever tried Belgian "frikandellen"/curryworst? It's not comparable to what I was ever presented in the Netherlands
Heya Ian,
As a Belgian I agree with the dishes suggested in the video. However, Brussels is quite touristy and it shows in the prices. It does have nice monuments, although Manneke Pis is quite underwhelming.
A beautiful city I can DEFINITELY recommend is Ypres (Ieper). The city and surrounding region (the Westhoek) is known worldwide for its strong bonds with the First World War. The main entrance to the city is known as the Menin Gate, a huge British monument bearing the names of 54 000+ soldiers that died there during WWI. Each night at 8 p.m., the Last Post is played underneath the monument, in front of hundreds of tourists and locals. So absolutely recommended.
Ghent is also a nice city, as well as Courtrai (Kortrijk, because of its Medieval history, see Guldensporenslag).
Some other dishes I recommend:
Stoofvlees (beef stew with a beer-based sauce) with fries (ofc)
'Ghent Waterzooi' (a velvety and creamy chicken soup/stew with vegetables and potatoes)
Rabbit with prunes
Shrimp and/or cheese croquettes
Endives with ham and mashed potatoes, out of the oven (winter dish)
Hutsepot (a stew made by boiling potatoes and winter vegetable for hours)
Asparagus 'à la Flamande' (asparagus covered in molten butter with crumbled egg on top)
Tomate-crevette (hollowed out tomato stuffed with a shrimp/mayo mix)
Lotus (Biscoff) speculoos/spread
Jenever
And so much more...
Amazing video. Just one thing, I've never seen a belg eating mussels with their fork. Most of the time, we use the shells as little thingies to get the other mussels out of their shells
This mans reaction to everything he saw just made my whole day ❤, thanks for doing my country
Belgium is a super place to visit, spent ten days in and around Leuven back 20 years ago and between the food, the bars, the people and the architecture, it's hard to beat.
I'd recommend it if you decide to take a tour over to Europe.
You're going to find Stella Artois, Leffe and Duvel in USA. These are pretty "mainstream" over here. Duvel is good, but I personally like Omer, Delirium Tremens, Tripel Karmeliet, ...
But if you ever get to Belgium you will be totally amazed about the choice you have.
La chouffe for the win 👍
Kasteel Rouge for me :D
tripel karmeliet is great 👍🏻
Have you tried Philomène ? One of my favourites...
It's been so long since I've been to Belgium. As good as that video was it still undersells just how good the street food and the beer is. You have to experience it for yourself. Belgian waffles as they are sold in supermarkets here in the UK don't give you a clue about how good a fresh cooked waffle from a waffle stand is. They are two entirely different things. If I lived in Belgium I'd weigh double what I do now.
Yes! I went to school there, and there was usually a waffle van outside the gate at lunchtime. Freshly cooked, slight bitterness from the burnt sugars, wrapped in a bit of paper... can't be beaten.
It is truly quite a good video on belgian food. You would enjoy it here I think. The mayo is different than the one you know, so don't discard it before you have tasted it. We have so many nice things to explore!
Hello. IWrocker does NOT have a Telegram account. Please ignore the scammer comment saying something about a contest, there is NO contest. It's a scammer. Thank you :)
@@midnightkitchen8379 I figured as much. 🙂 thanks!
It is getting harder and harder to be the first commenter. Dang. hahaha. Those Belgian fries are incredible.
It's hard to judge the authenticity of food based on pictures. What makes Belgian specialties special are the technique and ingredients. For exemple, at a time when most countries single fried "french fries", they double fried them for extra crisp and used animal fat to cook them for extra taste.
CONFIRMED !
at different temperature
To be more precise to those who want to try to make fries belgian style, it's first fried in vegetables oil at 150 celcius degrees (sorry don't know the value for Fahrenheit degrees) for about 5 minutes (it's good when the fries all have turned frow white to yellow) then put in another frier with animal based oil (we usually use beef based oil called "blanc de bœuf") at 190 celcius degrees and fried then for about 3 minutes (depending on if you prefer then more or less crunchy, but usually we stop then when they start to turn lightly brown on the edges) and another little tip, when you've done frying then, put an absorbing paper in the plate you are putting them, it will absorb some of the extra oil. Hope this can help some people, and I'm sorry if my English wasn't great but it's the 4th language I've learned so I'm still learning it 😅
I have visited Belgium lots of times, I’m part Belgian my maternal great grandfather was born in Antwerp the diamond 💎 capital of the world. I have visited Brussels three times the last time I came by Eurostar from St Pancras station in London I came for the Christmas Market, while I was in The Grand Place (it appears in the video) there was a spectacular light display. You can’t go to Brussels without visiting The Mannekein Pis which was in one of its costumes in the video I have seen it without a costume. As you heard in the video they speak Flemish in northern Belgium it’s similar to Dutch. I have eaten mussels on numerous occasions in Belgium the last time was in the town of Ieper last July. I mainly visit Belgium 🇧🇪 to visit the battlefields, cemeteries, memorials and museums of The First World War. I have visited the village of Waterloo near Brussels were just outside the village in 1815 allied forces led by The Duke of Wellington Sir Arthur Wellesley thrashed the French, 99 years later the first shots of The First World War were fired down the road.
Your grandfather had to be a cool cat because Antwerp is the greatest city in the world!
Filet Américain (American Filet Meat) is basically fresh meat grinded and mixed with seasoning (onions, capers, and so on) it s eaten raw and cold. it s pretty good and most meat places got their own recipe.
For beers my personal favorites are Rodenbach which is a sour ruby colored beer and St Feuillien which i grew up a few hundred meters from the brewery.
yeah it's steak tartar (i think that's what americans call it)
@@Bioshyn similar but different, tartar is mostly grinded meat with assorted seasoning but the customer is free to prepare it how it see fit, tartar can also be quickly grilled to maintain integrity. but yeah mostly similar. (but Belgians do it better :) )
I know the grinded meat without any seasoning (except salt or pepper) as (filet) Américain and the seasoned meat as "Américain préparé".
@@flitsertheo by law filet américain is composed of 100% beef and preparé is a mix of beef and pork. The main difference between tartar and filet américain is the cut. Tartar meat is minced while filet américain is grinded to more of a paste consistency
@@L3MechaBuilders you literally get the wiki page for steak tartare if you switch to english on the site.
Thanks for sharing this Ian. Lovely to see another part of the world.
In case you were curious about the glass at 15:00, it's one of the "common" beers (for beer cafes) with a unique hour-glass shaped glass called "Kwak" (pronounced Quack). The reason it's shaped that way is because (in olden days) it was possible to drive a horse and carriage without spilling your beer while also allowing the driver to take the glass out of the holder easily.
The other unique shapes are boot-shaped and horn-shaped. Those are not unique to Belgium though, you can find them in Germany as well.
My personal favorites (I'm Belgian) are:
- Chimay Bleu (Blue Chimay)
- Bush Ambré (Amber Bush)
You're maybe wondering what the special "form" of the beer the woman is drinking is all about; the beer she's drinking is called "KWAK" beer, which according rumours was a choach-drivers beer; and it's glass was shaped like this, so it could fit into the ring next to the driverseat of the coach; there is however a side effect to the glass;you must be mindfull when drinking the beer out of this glass, because, at a certain point, due to the shape of the bottom half of the glass, while drinking, the beer suddenly rushes out from the bottom and can surprise you! hence the name KWAK
US mayo is not the same as in EU even withing the EU there different tasting but the US mayo you cant even call that mayo here in the EU
Seems to be a trend lol.
Hi Ian, I’m an expat living in Belgium. I gotta admit that there is nowhere does the frites/frietjes (fries) better than the Belgian, hands down. Double frying technique, with blanc de bœuf (beef fat) and the variety of potato used for fries, I mean you cannot resist to stop by a frietkot (friterie) and grab some, yummy. For waffle, it’s gotta be Liège waffle, buttery rich yeast-raised dough with crunchiness of caramelised speckles of pearl sugar, omg screaming deliciousness. Despite living in Belgium I’m no much of a beer drinker so I can go as far as Lambic beer, Kriek - cherry flavoured (~3,5%), light and refreshing especially in a hot summertime afternoon or Cherry Chouffe (~8%) for a chilly evening. Cheers, mate! 😊
Maes Lemon is really cool in the summer served very cold ! Pure pleasure too !
You are Absolutely right on all these points! 😃
15:07 The Kwak beer glass is shaped that way because it was originally made for chariot or horse carriage drivers and it would fit in a holster so it wouldn't fall off.
In Belgium (Flanders) we have the typical "farmers food" (boerekost). It is just potatoes, some vegetables and meat like sausage or other "cheaper" meat. My favorite meal is "witloof in den oven". It is basically cooked chicory rolled in a slice of good ham, bechamel over it whit a layer of grated cheese (no cheddar!!) In the oven and served with some mashed potatoes.
Stoemps are the shit, broccoli, carrots, spinache, goes so well with a porkchop or sausages 😋
@@Gaeldx Sooo good!
Ok, I’m Belgian. The “filet americain” comer colder than the devils heart. In fancy restaurants the cut the steak into small pieces on a board cooled with ice. It is delicious, it’s like carpaccio but creamier. Good taste with the unions and the mustard in there. Vol-au-vent, the chicken dish, is like biscuits and gravy, but a way fuller taste. Nobody here cares about the waffles but they are good. Most families will bake waffles once or twice a year and that’s that. Fries are the best. Our Mayo is fuller and less sweet than yours, you’ll probably like it here. Mussels with white wine is a dish from heaven, but the most important one I think is “stoofvlees” a Belgian beef stew with brown full Belgian beer, unions, mustard en bread. It is a heavenly dish. I can give you the recipe and what beer to get.
13:14 The cuberdon is already a little older. When they're really fresh, the inside is fluid. I had some in a factory, really delicious. BUT: very sweet.
I remember standing in line at a Waffel place here in Bruges and this American infront me straight up asked : "I'd like a Belgian Waffle" to which the guy behind the counter just replied : "Sir... you 'are' in Belgium by definition every waffel you see here 'is' a Belgian Waffle" I could stop myself from bursting out laughing. Oh the look he gave me, thanks god he didn't go all Karen.
hahahaha loool
5:30 In Belgium we have a law how to make mayonaise. (I know most countries place it in a cooking book, but Belgium in the law.) The Belgian mayonaise tastes a lot better than American mayonaise.
the restaurant could be more belgian. like the waffles served differently than in belgium (can be seen on the photos) and they don't use a container to sell fries (this is not a joke) in belgium fries are mainly sold in "barakken" aka containers that are converted into small frie stores, oh by the way "barakken" is Dutch for barracks
Hello, I'm Belgian myself and this video can indeed give you some examples of what we eat. However, if many people here indeed eat Liège's waffel, we commonly just eat a "standard" version. The versions you saw with the cream + chocolate is definitly more "uncommon" (it's not hard to find but nobody shall eat that every day).
If you want some examples of biers to try, well it depends of what kind of beers you like but you can try: leffe blonde, orval, kasteel rouge, cuvée des trolls, quintine, westmalle triple.
About the restaurant you show before starting the video, you should try the chimay blue. For the duvel, that's 50-50. Some people really like it but I think that it's too heavy on the stomach. There are indeed some food that makes you think about Belgium but also some strange meals. For example, when I saw omelette + 2 waffels I was like "hu ? What ?" --> that's strange. If you eat an omelette, you will likely eat that with fries, not waffels.
Lachouffe blonde is probably a good introduction to belgian beer. I love it, and isn't to heavy and still reasonably close to traditional lagers.
Duvel can be divisive indeed.
Yeah thé omelette and waffle 😂😂😂 i was like ...whut
11:00 I have never (!!) eaten a Liege waffle with anything on it. We eat them plain.
To be fair the frikandell speciaal is technically dutch. Not sure if they use ketchup but hete its made wit. Mayo onions and a curry sauce. But its true their fries are delicious. And im pretty sure i have the exact same t shirt as she is wearing lol
When you go to belgium you should try stoofvlees its really delicious
3.20 euro for a curryworst/frikandel are tourist prices lol. 🤣
I would recommend going to Antwerp for food and Gent/Ghent and Brugge for the aesthetics I prefer Gent it's like walking back in time (in a good way). 👍
How convinient - I am going to Brussels in March (for the 20th time or so :) ) However - one time I expirinced a bad case of food poisoning over there.
@15:36 this "filet americain" - was not invented in Belgium. It originatest from the east, and it came to Europe with Tatar invasion - that it why it is typically known as "Tartar steak" - we have the same thing in Poland - and yes it is raw beef served cold (plus some additional ingridients like onions, dills, marinated wild mushrooms, mustard, capers, salt and pepper and raw quail egg yolk on top).
8:20 i´ve never seen anyone in my life who has done that
I do it like that when I don't get a spoon and I know that I'm not the only one.
Correction : in Belgium, we have more than 3.500 differents beers (produced in the country)... And fun fact : did you know that the Budweiser brand is owned by the Belgian company Interbrew?
Actually, Interbrew merged in 2004 with the Brazilian AmBev and became InBev. In 2008 InBev acquired Anheuser-Busch to become Anheuser-Busch InBev or more commonly known as AB-InBev. Rumors have it that the last name change was to please the shareholders of Anheuser-Busch during the acquisition.
After the merger with AmBev, InBev owners were accused of preferring turnover over the Belgian beer culture. An example was the attempt to close the brewery in Hoegaarden and move the brewing of Hoegaarden beer to the brewery in Jupille, which failed because they did not get the taste right in Jupille. For that reason I avoid beers from AB-InBev, luckily we have plenty of alternatives in Belgium.
Lovely video 😊 it was a very nice variety of dishes, will definitely use it as inspiration when I go to visit next time
Hello :)
Just an fyi Ian doesn’t have a Telegram or a WhatsApp. That comment below is a scammer pretending to be Ian. Please be careful. Ian’s real channel says only IWrocker and has a checkmark next to it :) thank you
@ᴛᴇхᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛᴇʟᴇɢʀᴀᴍ👉 mate Iwrockers stop acting like your IWrocker. You’re a scammer and a fake
@@midnightkitchen8379 thank you so much for the warning 😊
The nose candy is great to get, the inside isn't chewy really, you bite straight thru it. The chicken stew (17:50) is absolutely amazing, a must try! The most typical Belgian beer would be Jupiler. About the wafels, yes, the Belgian normally eat them without all the stuff on it, but strawberry with chocolate it a great combination too.
5:28 Mayonnaise, like many other foods in Europe, tastes different there because the EU actually regulates what can go into products and still bear the name of the product, unlike the US.
So, in the case of mayonnaise, there are actual guidelines (produced by “Europe's Federation of the Condiment Sauce Industries”) specifying what types of oil and how much egg must be in the product or else it can’t be called mayonnaise. In addition, consumers in Europe are far more discerning about what they will and will not purchase.
In the US, no such guidelines exist, which led to a heated discussion I had recently with someone who assured me that the white goo on my supposedly vegan sandwich (I cannot eat eggs) was indeed “vegan mayonnaise” (sic). Such a thing cannot exist in Europe, and US consumers are (ahem) less discerning.
You may be able to find actual European mayonnaise in the “imported foods” section of upscale supermarkets.
The cheese that "A Bite Of Belgium" uses is Gouda which comes from The Netherlands and we never use it in our burgers
You have to try mussels, liège waffles means luikse wafels for those who don’t understand french
it seems we only eat fries and chocolate
and only drink beer.
I dare to say Belgium has the most elaborate food culture in the world. Thanks to the fact we love to be influenced by foreign things and tastes we love.
The restaurant in New Mexico is definitely a good start but I haven’t seen really typical dishes like mussels with fries, carbonades (Flemish stew), vol-au-vent, boulettes in tomato sauce with purée or croquettes etc. Moreover they could have more appetizers like cheese or shrimp croquettes, scampi diabolique etc. And then having all of that with great Belgian beers 👍👍👍. Ooooh and I almost forgot about the divine desserts 😋
I agree; Belgium also has good and special cheese that can come withe beer. Chimay beer with Chimay cheese; Maredsous beer, with Maredsous cheese....
Oh they really went for all the GOOD classics on this one! I love all of them!
Nice video! Many of us Belgians we are foodies! Enjoying food and drinks (mainly beer but also wine) is part of our hardworking lives. When you would visit Belgium you will see far more full terraces, cafés and restaurants with people that are spending their free time enjoying life than in our surrounding countries. These habits probably date back from the 14th century when we were the jewel of the Burgundy country and remained when the Spanish took over in the early 16th century and which lasts ever since!! Food is excellent and we are all convinced our beers are the best of the world!! ❤ And we love Americans and our neighbours very much ❤
In your video the dish : "American preparé" is eaten cold.
There's also a typical "national" dish called "Carbonades flamandes" in French, or "Stoofvlees" in Flemish. Pieces of beef stewed for 3 hours with onions, brown sugar, mustard, butter, beer (Belgian, of course), etc., and, depending on the region or family recipe, gingerbread or even Liège syrup (apple + pear syrup). Serve with boiled potatoes or French fries. A delicious treat.
In Liège, another recipe is quite similar in taste, but accompanied by meatballs and called "boulettes sauce lapin".
Another must-try dish is "waterzoeï". A soup from Ghent (Gent), made with chicken, fresh cream, butter and vegetables. Yum...
About Belgian beers. It's difficult to recommend one brand or another. Because the tastes can be very different, even quite the opposite, and there are so many of them. ..You have to try different kinds and not stop at one particular flavor or color. And remember that the first sip is not necessarily the one that defines the subtlety of the brew.
The "green eels" in your video are now either farmed eels or imported wild eels. In Belgium, eels can no longer be fished as they once were, for two reasons. They've become very rare and therefore endangered, and then, like seafood, especially crabs, etc., because of the way they're eaten, they contain a high percentage of heavy metals and other pollutants.
But if you're only going to eat it once, it's worth a try.
When I lived i Belgium Curry worst speciaal met frieten elke vrijdag avond was zekker must 😂 great video btw. Kinda took me back thru the memory lane. Wepa!
Translation: When I lived in Belgium "Curry worst (=sausage) speciaal" with (French) fries every friday afternoon was a must.
I still don't get why they call it french fries when it's obviously belgian, I mean just look at this:
ChatGPT:
“I have found an article that supports the Belgian origin of fries. The article from the Center for Agricultural History (CAG) describes how fries have become a typical Belgian phenomenon. The first reliable sources refer to the existence of fry stalls or fry establishments in Belgium around the middle of the 19th century. The Belgian fry culture is distinguished by traditions such as double frying of fries, which is a recipe from 1892 mentions. The combination of mussels with fries, which became popular in the 1860s-1870s, has also contributed to the unique Belgian fry culture.”
For more detailed information, you can read the full article on the website of the Center for Agricultural History (CAG).
Belgian beer can be found everywhere but the export beers aren't necessarily the best ones. Stella Artois is probably the most common abroad but it's also pretty ordinary beer; nothing really special about it. Leffe can also be found outside of Belgium quite easily. But the best beers are to be found here. My favourite ones that can be found in most supermarkets here are Chimay, Delirium Tremens, Grimbergen, and Gouden Carolus.
Seen duvel international as well. And Jup ofcourse.
Lupulus is my favourite, blonde or brown
Big tip for when you´re gonna eat mussles do not open the part you´re gonna eat, a lot of ppl do not like of it looks
Imagine living somewhere that has no Vol-au-vent... it's so freaking good.
Also I once tried American mayonaise and it was extremely bland, mayonaise generally in all of Europe as far as I know has way more taste.
Also many variants as we use it as a base for many different sauces.
hello Belgian here, the restorant in the bigining looks good they even have some good belgian beer. But there is def a big amount american inflounce
Some extra insingt on our food: (i am not a fish lover so a can't really say anything about that)
Moelleux au chocolat is a French invention, but that doesn't take away that it is f*cking amazing.
Beer is very important culture, if you dare to touch a dutch beer (aka heineken) you are a dead man.
We "eat" a lot of soup, tho it can really depend from family to family.
Most family's have a weekly day (mostly friday) to eat fries, eather we get them at the local "frituur" or make them ourself.
We also consume a lot of potatoes, not the most but among the highest of the western country's.
Same goes for vegetables, but this time we do consume the most among the western country's.
As for breakfast and lunch, we mostly eat bread with al different kind's of spreads. A sandwich (made with quality baguette, no soft/muchie crap like in subway) is also a popular lunch for at work.
And a lot more bit i need to go to bed. by
The container is called a frietzak . The green sauce with eels is probably parsley- based.
Dutch guy here. Belgium beers are the absolute best in the world. They're not bragging, they're just being factual. Chimay Blue also happens to be my favorite beer.
ooooh Chimay blue is so good
Truth. Beers and guns. Two things we can really be proud of.
Oh, I have seen this video from them, and several others, how cool is that!
Belgian here!
I'd recommend Westmalle Trippel.
It's one of my favourites, which I first tasted on a school trip.
Hello! Mrs. IWrocker here. That is a good recommendation. Also please be aware that the comment below with the Telegram title isn’t Ian, IWrocker does NOT have a Telegram or a WhatsApp. That’s a scammer and please just be aware that ian will only have IWrocker on his channel and a checkmark next to it. Ian isn’t giving away prizes on comments. Thank you
@@midnightkitchen8379 I report the telegram thing every time I see it, for being "misleading"
🤣 Love your reaction. Greetings from Antwerpen België 🇧🇪
The website you showed us looks more like an American restaurant with a belgian touch not that its bad, its just not realy same
Looks amazing. I would love to go to Belgium some day - maybe on the way to Paris or so. Not such a fan of waffles, but the mussels looked mouth watering.
'on the way to Paris' Who needs to see Paris if you have the whole country of Belgium to visit ?
@@flitsertheo haha, yea ... but Paris is Paris and kind of special. Not saying Paris is essential and super beautiful - but it sure is worth going to. Belgium .. i dont know enough about it. For me, it is just "the country next to France".
Maybe it is like Iceland and Faroe. Many people actually have an idea about my country .. you know, geothermals, volcanos and sweaters .. but how many people really have an image in their mind about Faroe? Its just "the island next to Iceland"
@@Alfadrottning86 If Iceland and Faroe are each worth a vacation then Belgium and France certainly are.
True Belgium is outside Brussels.
@@Alfadrottning86There are some beautiful cities in Belgium. Brussels isn’t even seen as Belgian by a lot of people. It’s just a place full of tourist traps and foreigners. Come to Ghent, Bruges, Leuven, hell even come to Antwerp.
Most of the mussels come from the Netherlands, but Belgium consumes more than 80% of them. There are many ways to prepare them, but I would recommend white wine (don't worry, there is NO alcohol in it because it evaporates completely while cooking). PS. try our mayo: it's different than in most countries: there are a lot of eggs in them but it also has a sourness from either vinagre or lemon juice. Unlike German mayo, we do not put sugar in mayo. PSPS Belgians do not eat those waffles with tons of whipped cream and other stuff on them. When I was a child my mother could make waffles in maybe 20 different fashions, all by mixing the dough with eg apples, fruit from the garden, anything.
Now if I went to Belgium I'll end up sugar overloaded🤣👍chocolates delights and I have tasted some Belgian sweets. As for the beer my goodness European ales very delicious indeed.
Born and raised in the Belgian province of Limburg, there is also a province Limburg in the Netherlands. Nobody has yet mentioned Limburgse Vlaai, a pastry made of yeast dough with a filling of fruit, pudding, rice pudding, semolina pudding, sugar or a combination thereof. Everything is baked together. Since January 2024 the EU has given it a Protected Geographical Indication.
I agree on the Chimay Blue. You might be able to find it in USA, I seriously hope so.
@16:14 The Filet Americain is served cold. Filet Américain is a spread made with raw lean and premium beef cuts are used in this Belgian classic, and because the meat is served raw, it should be as fresh as possible. When the meat is ground, it is usually generously seasoned and enriched with onions, capers, mustard, MAYONNAISSE! lol raw eggs, tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce, which also help in holding the spread together. It is believed that Joseph Niels invented the dish in 1924 and was the first to serve it in his restaurant in Brussels.
I love filet americain never knew it was belgian
Belgian is a cool place to visit, you really would love a European food tour (beer too). 😉😉
at 17:51 He says "vol au vent" translates to "koningehapje", but that is not exactly right, "kongingehapje" is wat je see on his plate ; the pastry stuffed with the creamy chickenstew, the chickenstew on itself is what is actually called "vol au vent", wich can be used as a stewy sauce on top of... wel you guessed it "belgian fries" :D ... of course in combinaton with mayonaise.
A few of my favorite brews:
- brugse zot
- maredsous (in a stein)
- westmalle trippel
- duvel
- tripel d'anvers
- westvleteren
- leffe (blond or brown)
- chimay
- most of the 'gouden carolus' line
- the occasional 'hoegaarden'
Also, can't go wrong with 'moeder overste', judas or 'gulden draak'.
Don't forget Cara and Kaiser Pils (rip)
@@stefanoasis Kaiser... back in high-school, not enough cash to go out and predrink stella or jupiler... I did usually settle for kaiser. I'd take a cara over a heineken, but that is about it.
@@gertdillen8495 Carrefour now sells Atlas, Kaiser pils is gone, although i did find Kaiser pils Forte in a Spar. Wish i could have it still. Cara gives me the shits haha
(1) A real Belgian eats mussels without a fork. They use the shells as a utensil. (2) Most Belgians eat Mayonnaise with their fries. We Belgians think it's weird eating it with ketchup, but there are some crazy Belgians that still prefer ketchup :) Our mayonnaise is fundamentally different and much better from what you can get in the US. It's richer in flavour and contains more egg yolks, and is made with vinegar or lemon juice and doesn't contain artificial flavourings or sugars. So do try it when you're in Belgium, I promise that you'll like it. (3) You won't find a place anywhere in the US that serves or sells Filet Americain, because (I read somewhere that) it's banned by the FDA. Americans might know this better as "Steak Tartare", which is the French version of this dish (the French add a raw egg yolk on top of it). Filet Americain is served cold. Belgians have many variations of this dish, next to Filet Americain, we also have Martino, and Preparé. These variations are used to prepare sandwiches for lunch or breakfast.
(4) And the Belgian beers that I like are (not in order): Westmalle Tripple, Trippel d'Anvers, Corsendonk Apple Wit, Hoegaarden, Kriek (in particular Belvu, Waterloo and Kasteel Rouge), De Koninck (aka "bolleke"). De Koninck has it's own little event in Antwerp, somewhere in August I believe, called "Bellekesfeest" (of the festival of "bolleke", which is how people from Antwerp call this beer)
Regarding the best Belgian beers, here are my favourites: 1. Oude Geuze, 2. Orval, 3. Westmalle tripel, 4. Duvel (Devil) from whiskey barrels, 5. La Chouffe Blonde, 6. Gouden Carolus tripel, 7. Omer, 8. Tripel Karmeliet, 10. Gulden Draak (Golden Dragon) Classic, 11. Tank7, 12. Brugse Zot, etc etc 20:19
I know the video is over a year old but my favorite beers from my country: Westmalle Triple, Westvleteren, Chimay, Kwak (the one the lady was drinking with the special glass), triple karmeliet, Gordon Finest Platinum (12% alcohol), Zeunt ( a local beer from the city of Geel), Tongerlo, Dobbel Palm (basicly a version of Palm that is centered around xmas), Leffe, La Chouffe, Duvel (the 8.5% version. If you take a lower kind you get the wrong impression). There are a lot of great beers, and some are at higher alcohol levels. I know many people abroad consider it strange or too heavy but in my opinion it adds to the flavor.
I'm surprised to see a Gordon's beer in that list, it's not very Belgian, it does come from Belgium but the recipe and founder are english more than Belgian
And honestly they are not that good, it's the kind of beer you buy just to get wasted 😅
@@Gaeldx I understand your opinion. But i genuinely like it. And to be fair, it is great to get wasted. But still, i like the taste. Maybe it's not for everyone, but i do like it. Not the carbon one, the 14%, that's too strong and it fuxles up the taste, but the platinum and below, i really like.
Well for breakfast waffels are that common. An egg, some homemade jam or chocolate spread but mainly. We take pride in our bread, sandwiches, pasteries.
I spent a fair amount of time in Belgium a few years back - lovely place - and one of the foods I'm surprised that they didn't mention is 'carbonade', or Belgian beef stew. It's made with beer, just to start with (although personally, I couldn't really taste it), and it's just a really fantastic beef stew - cooked 'til the meat is super-tender, slightly sweet, very dark and a little tangy. My mom is not a beef fan, and she tried a bite of mine and immediately said something like 'yeah, I'd order that.'
I'm a Belgian, and every Thursday, there's a nice market in my hometown. If you ever get the chance, you should visit one of these local markets, because the food at those stands is sent straight from heaven. (+ It isn't overpriced, like the food in cities like Ghent, Bruges...)
Belgian here, so yea you probably already figured it out but those waffle toppings from the restaurant in America are not authentic. The powder sugar actually is the only original one. The description of the waffle itself was very accurate, those big sugar crystals are a very important addition. And a waffle never is a breakfast option here, it's dessert.
Loved the video itself very good food tour. I think the only one I really missed from the famous dishes was our beef stew with fries. The meat usually is a tough cut like the shoulder slow cooked for hours until it gets soft, but these days instead of beef you also find variations with pig cheeks. and the sauce is probably best described as a gravy with dark beer in it, thicken with bread and mustard or gingerbread. It's always one of the 2 bread and mustard or the gingerbread. We got some more local classics but they're not well known to tourists, probably because most restaurants don't serve them.
For the filet Americain, from what I have heard (I'm not the expert here on this topic) it's invented in a hotel named hotel America or Americain (not so sure here) in Brussels, and that's where the name comes from. Yes it's served cold because it's raw meat, and it's really good. The idea of eating raw meat (beef or veal) might sound weird to some Americans, but it's pretty safe to eat here. Belgium has one of the highest food standards around the world.
If you are in Belgium look up manneken frites and they are cheaper than fritland with better fries and side dishes and way bigger choices. Mayonaise, bearnaise, samurai, house made rootn tootin hot chili, tartar, andalouse, cocktail ( a mayo-ketchup with wiskey blend), pickles, different beer sauces, bbq, super hot bbq and about 50 others
Also you want to drink belgian beer, some coming directly from the brewer, look up "A La Becasse"... its practically near the grand place
As a Belgian I can tell you this is a very good video. For once something more then waffles and fries being presented as belgian food only. Of course there are other dishes, so many, but lets mention the flemish beef stew (beef stewed in a beer sauce) or the belgian endives with ham and cheese sauce in the oven…
Born and raised in Belgium :) Belgian food is THE BOMB. However that restaurant you show in the beginning of the video is mostly americanized.....
Belgian beer is technically illegal in the USA. This is because Belgian beer contains living yeast, which is not allowed in the USA.
I'm Belgian! And the beer I'll recommend I'm convinced you've never heard of before. "Cuvee de trolls" It's a very humble Belgian ale with a bitter taste but sweet aftertaste. Good beer when you "crack a cold one with the boys" or while eating meat.
First Waffles, because we apparently invented them all together: we eat Liege waffles as a snack, bigger supermarkets, shopping streets/malls often have a stall where they're freshly made. So you can have a "fresh warm waffle". The Brussels waffle, we only do sugar or whipped cream. We do not eat waffles as breakfast. I do eat pancakes ("crepes", not the American version) as breakfast sometimes.
Then the menu of the restaurant: if a Belgian enters, these are the items we would consider:
We would not consider the "Original Liege waffles", because we're at a restaurant, and the waffle we would eat on the street.
- "House salad" and "Cesar Salad" would be lunch or dinner
- "Pain Perdu", as breakfast, but with bread (so we'ld settle for toast)
- "Freshly baked Croissant", for breakfast, but not with meat, only butter and jam.
- Toast with bacon. yes.
- BBB
- "Breakfast special", with bacon and toast but not the rest of the options
- "Create your own omelet", with toast and bacon and maybe cheese. People do add tomatoes, spinach, onions but then usually it's not as breakfast.
- "Eggs Florentine" and "Eggs Benedict" are eaten at restaurant, but not for breakfast.
We do eat a lot of breads and "breadlike" items. Now, there will be another Belgian in the comments disputing some of the things I said. We don't all have the exact same habits.
yesterday on Telly a cook showed how to bake real frenched fries Belgian style:
cut a bunch of potatos in a nice portion of fries
wash and dry them
bake them for a few minutes in melted fat of about 150°C
dry them again and cool them down in a freezer
just before serving, get them out of the freezer and bake them crispy in the melted fat at around 180°C
The weird looking chemist lab glass was used by horse cariages, they hung it on the side of it.
Because the shape of the glass it has very good stability.
US mayonnaise is way different to the mayonnaise you get in Belgium and some other European countries.
Do you know why the classic fries in Belgium are so tasty? Although it's use is kinda forgotten, the REAL BELGIAN fries are NOT baked in oil(like they mostly are now)...
But in Ox-fat(ossewit in our language); VERY delicious, but high on cholesterol!
Also our mayonnaise is quite different than yours, due to the amount of eggs in it, which gives a much better taste, but again, cholesterol!
A very good combination of Belgian fries is with the classic beef-stew(made with the other Belgian "speciality";our beer) or mossles.
every time i visit Belgium I eat so many chips with mayo, so much chocolate, and drink so much beer it's just ridiculous. great country. you can even snort cocoa at The Chocolate Line 🤣
The restaurant you talked about looks great. The menu to. But yes it is completely "anericanized" as you said. I am from Luxembourg and far east so 15 minutes from belgium. Super great food (no doubt). But as much that we love hating the French, their food is so good when you know where to go (2 hours in the car to get to the best restaurants in Normandy). Me and my GF make a great week-end out of it. But nobody makes as good fries as the Belgians. I don't even know why you call it french fries even the french say it is from belgium (they never claimed it)
I'd recommend Delirium as one of our best beers. Have it nice and cold, drink slow so it warms a bit and you get the whole bouquet.
I liked his taste of beer. Blue Chimay is definitely one of my favorites! There is also a pretty sour beer called Orval that I have enjoyed on some occasions. Delicious!
My favorite beer is: Westmalle dubbel (Westmalle double) its a dark brown beer, very good!
Also try fries with mayo and "stoofvlees" or a "julientje" (origin in Ghent where i'm from, its fries with mayo, stoofvlees-sauce, viandel (the frikandel saucage from the beginning but with a crust), deep fried crispy onions and spices)
The Fille Americain is cold, It is cut up meat, mainly beef but can also be pork or mixed. and my favorite way to eat it is on a sandwich, especially if you add some things to it like eieren, sla, wortels....
You can try the 'tartare' sauce (like mayo with herbs and spice), or a hot 'chasseur' sauce (brown sweet sauce with corynth raisins or plums). As for my favourite Belgian beer, it would be the Brussels Gueuze Pécheresse Lindemans (peach flavored gueuze beer from the Lindemans brewery) or the Kriek (gueuze flavored with dark cherries). Cheers from Liège, Belgium. 🇧🇪
I love mussels and eel. If I went to Belgium these would definitely be the first two dishes I'd order.
Hi belgian here: favourite beer list sort of:
1: Omer, its from the town i live in so heavily biased
2: Tripel karmeliet: if im in a bar so it can be a little more fancy
3: kasteelbier ROUGE: good dessert
4: kerel: this one is 15° and tastes like lychees, if you want to make it an evening.
5: most of the trappists but harder to get
6: duvel: never can go wrong with this classic.
7: le fort: for cooking
8: kwak: when i feel like its an amber-day
9: wittekerke blonde: alterbative for soda on a hot day
10: cara pils: tastes pretty crap but does the job when you run out of money, can be drank while not refridgerated
if you ever go to Belgium, i recommand seeing if you go near a place called Maredsous, it's a "rehabilitated" abbey turned into a restaurant, they make their own bread, beer and cheese
also depending on which beer brand you find, there's different types of beer, there's a lot of beer partially made with fruits, for exemple with cherry,...
A beer you can probably find in the US (although it will cost a lot more than over here), is Duvel. It's something unique and is really ease to drink. Make sure you find the correct glassware to drink it from. And it's 8,5% so not to strong.
Other recommendations: Orval, Geuze (ex. Cantillon, 3 fonteinen, oude Hansens, Boon Marriage parfait), Gouden Carolus Whiskey Infused, Rochefort 10, sint Bernardus abt 12, Vedette, Chimay 150, Westmalle Tripel, Hoegaarden, Omer, Keizer Karel Robijnrood, Ommegang, Rodenbach, Bolleke, ...
Belgian chocolate is known as the best in the world. The Swiss might argue and rightfully so but both great !
There are so many to choose from, but I will put some very different taste of beers here; KRIEK(cherry-beer, a sweet beer with a deep read color) DUVEL(means DEVIL; a light golden color with a very high alcohol rate!), Trappist(beer that is brewed by monks/friars in abbeys or convents; there are several different trappist-names according to which abbey they come from)PALM(has nothing to do with the tree which name it bares; a beer made out of several grains, and has a similar grainy-taste)LEFFE(is also a beer brewed from a recepy from an abbey, has a slight bitter-taste and can be blond or darkbrown of color)
4:59 Dang, not I want fries.
If you come to Belgium, Ian, try the mayo. It's great!
The "friterie" they chose, I've been there. If you go at lunchtime, or actually any time, there will be a long line of Belgians.
a dish imissed in this overview is Stoverij/Stoofvlees/Carbonade a la Flamande; a beef stew with onion and beer, In the city of Ghent they serve a version with pork cheeks instead of beef. Speculoos; a very popular biscuit.
Pancakes.... In the westof Belgium Pancakes are more popular than waffles; not pancakes as in the US, more like crepes in France (Brittany) but softer structure and only slightly bit ticker than the french crepe; traditionally served with butter and brown sugar.
Mattentaarten, originating from the city of Geraardsbergen, is a little tart (cakestructure) made with buttermilk.
Savory spreads to be put on bread; for breakfast or lunch (thinks like "kipcurrysalade", "hespesalade", "prei-hamsalade",.....)
"garnaalkroketten"; grey shrimp croquet,aspeciality from the city of Oostende
...
Bro carbonnade à la flamande with fries is just the best dish ever 😂
mayonaise tastes different in a lot of country's
The real one is from Dijon Burgundy France, my area.