We’ve reached the part of my Belgium story where I try to tell you about everything else I ate without boring you to tears.
Mosselens
I was really hoping I could write about eating mussels in Brussels (just so I could write that), but I had them in Gent. Twice. The first time was almost a fail because we were attempting to find a place for dinner pretty late and a lot of restaurants were closing or already closed. But our perseverance paid off, and that steaming pot of mussels with white wine was delicious. I had mussels again on our last night in Gent at Brasserie Borluut.
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| Mosselens at De Witte Leeuw |
Stoverij
I loved this dish. This was my first dinner in Belgium, and it was a wonderful way to start our trip. The hardest thing about it is trying to figure out how to pronounce it! It is like a beef stew that is made with beer, hearty and delicious. And of course it is served with fries and mayo.
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| Stoverij at Aba-jour |
In Brugge we also tried the street meat version of it. I’m so glad that Kendrin has mastered a recipe for this since we’ve been back…it will hopefully be easier to bribe her to make it for me than to try to go to Belgium every time I want it!
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| Street stoverij in Brugge |
Frietjes (“Life’s too short to eat bad fries”)
Belgians certainly know how to make great fries, perhaps it’s because they are fried twice or perhaps it is because everyone grows up with a deep fryer in their kitchen (lots of time to practice). Either way, they are delicious, and usually unlimited if they come with your meal. And there weren’t too many meals that didn’t come with fries!
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| Delicious frietjes |
Paling
We were lucky to have the opportunity to have lunch at the Siphon in Damme. The Sonnevilles have been going there for 50 years. We ordered three different eel dishes to try, red, green, and cream. I liked the green and the cream sauce the best, but it was so fun to be able to try all three.
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| Green and cream sauce |
Other highlights
- Croque Monsieur at A la Mort Subite in Bruxelles
- Tomaat garnaal (tomato filled with shrimp) at ‘T Braboke in Antwerpen
- Garnaalkroketten, kaaskroketten (fried potato croquettes with shrimp/cheese) at ‘T Braboke in Antwerpen
- Stoemp with sausage (basically sausage over mashed potatoes) at Fin de Siecle in Bruxelles
- Vol-au-vent (chicken in a puff pastry) at K. Zeppos in Antwerpen
- Spit burger at the Gentse Feesten (a fancy ham sandwich)
A bientot, Belgium, until we meet again!
Kara Cooks and Eats 