Land of Waffles and fries

Belgium is rich UNESCO Heritage Places. It has 12 cultural sites, an impressive number for the small country.

• Historic Center of Brugge
• Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex
• Flemish Béguinages
• La Grand-Place, Brussels
  
• The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs, La Louvière and Le Roeulx (Hainaut)
  
• Belfries of Belgium and France
  
• Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
  
• Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (Mons)
  
• Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai
  
• Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex
  
• Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  
• Stoclet House
  
• Major Mining Sites of Wallonia
  
• The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement

Taste Belgium

Belgian chocolate: A long tradition has given Belgian chocolate a superior refinement process that is recognized worldwide. The best chocolates are from: Pierre Marcolini, Mary (the Royal family providers) and the Elisabeth´s “orangettes”.

Mussels are a firm favorite and a side-dish of Moules et frites/Mosselen met friet (Mussels with French fries). The traditional way is to cook them in a pot with white wine and/or onions and celery, then eat them up using only a mussel shell to scoop them out. The top season is September to April, and as with all other shellfish, do not eat the closed ones. Belgium’s mussels always come from the nearby Netherlands. Imports from other countries are looked down on.

Balletjes/Boulettes are meatballs with fries. They will either be served with a tomato sauce or with the sauce from Liège, which is based on a local syrup. For this reason they will often be introduced as Boulets Liégeois.

Frikadellen met krieken are also meatballs, served with cherries in a sauce of cherryjuice. This is eaten with bread.

Stoemp is mashed potatoes and carrots with bacon and sausages. It is a typical meal from Brussels.

Stoofvlees is a traditional beef stew and is usually served with (you have guessed it already) fries.

Witloof met kaassaus/Chicons au gratin is a traditional gratin of chicory with ham and a cheesy bechamel sauce, usually served with mashed potatoes or croquettes.

Konijn met pruimen: rabbit cooked in beer and dried plums.

Despite the name, french fries (frieten in Dutch, frites in French) are proudly claimed as a Belgian invention. Whether or not this is true, they certainly have perfected it — although not everybody agrees with their choice of mayonnaise over ketchup as the preferred condiment (ketchup is considered to be “for kids”).

Every village has at least one frituur/friterie, an establishment selling cheap take-away fries, with a huge choice of sauces and fried meat to go with them. The traditional thing to try is friet met stoofvlees, but remember the mayonnaise on it .

Steppegrass is originally speciality from Limburg. Steppegrass is traditionally served as a mountain of very thin fries, crispy and golden yellow on your plate. It is usually served with steak or pork tenderloin underneath this golden mountain of fries.

Waffles (wafels in Dutch, gaufres in French) come in two types:

• Gaufres de Bruxelles/Brusselse wafels : a light and airy variety.
• a heavier variety with a gooey center known as Gaufres de Liège/Luikse wafels.

The latter are often eaten as a street/ take-away snack while shopping and therefore can be found at stands on the streets of the cities.

More on: https://wikitravel.org/en/Belgium