Let’s hear it for the humble waffle.
The delicacy, found on pretty much any street corner in the main tourist areas of Brussels, Antwerp, and Brugge, became a staple of my daily diet during the ten days I spent in Belgium.
It all started very innocently when I was coming off the disappointment of seeing the Manneken Pis for the first time. Just beyond the little peeing boy, two €1 waffle stands, bathed in the dying light of the setting sun, were hawking their wares to the tourist droves that had arrived en masse to see the world-famous Manneken.
It was my first day in Belgium and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. A waffle would do me no harm, I thought.
I could have opted for the “tourist” waffle, piled high with fruit, syrups, and a towering mound of whipped cream but I decided to go for the less decadent version. Ordering a plain waffle with just a dusting of powdered sugar, I indulged in the sweet treat for which Belgium is so famous.
Mmmm. Mmmmmmmm. Oh, yeah baby. Mama likey.
If that had been my only waffle, I think I would have been okay. But it wasn’t. Let’s just say I didn’t stop at just one waffle. Or two. Or three or four. Or even five.
Stop me anytime. No, please.
I ate a waffle a day in Belgium.
Everywhere I went, it seemed, there were waffles to be had. There was the knobby, golden Liege, king of the street waffles, a cheap and quick snack that I’d grab on the go when I felt a bit peckish. The buttery Belgian, not as sweet but much less doughy, which I sampled in an upstairs tea room in Brugge. On my last day in Belgium at the famous Dandoy, there was the quiet Brussels, light, crisp, and oh-so-good.
Each day, I’d seek out the confection with a single-minded devotion and with each new waffle, I’d become riddled with guilt. The voices berated me from inside my head. So unhealthy! What are you doing? Do you want your pants to fit or not?
Whatevs.
I’d turned into a waffle junkie, at least for the short-term. I knew my time in Belgium was limited and before long, there’d be no more waffles, so enjoyed them while I could. There was the chocolate-drenched confection on the streets of Brugge. The train-station waffle in Antwerp. The waffle-from-a-truck on the streets of Brussels. If there was a waffle to be had, I had it–the waffle had become my weakness.
It’s hard to give up rituals, even the small, unimportant ones, so when I got back to the States after my trip, I had delusions of attempting to recreate the crisp, golden-gridded treats I’d relished so much in Belgium. I knew I’d never be able to recapture the sensation of munching on a waffle in the middle of the day, carefree, on the streets on Belgium but goshdarnit, I was going to try.
I never did. I haven’t had a waffle since.
And I’m okay with that.
To tell you the truth, I’m probably all waffled out. Maybe one day I’ll dig around the Internet for a proper Belgian waffle recipe, but I’m not there yet. When I do decide to break out the ol’ waffle iron, I don’t know if the taste and aroma will take me back to those devil-may-care days. For now, I’m content to remember how it was and to relish the sweetness of the days I spent discovering a new country and one of its most famous foods.
At first I thought you meant you ate more than five waffles in one sitting! Even I, with my rabid sugar tooth, couldn’t handle that. But a waffle a day for 10 days? Good for you 🙂
Mmmm…I love waffles and just found out about a place in Los Angeles that serves Red Velvet Waffles! Oh be still my heart. I can totally relate to the waffle a day (or more) while in Belgium. Did you have the pomme frites as well? The carbs in Belgium can be very addicting! I always try to lose weight before I go on a trip because I know when I travel I will gain weight pigging out on everything that I can’t get at home.
I love this! You enjoyed what you were supposed to enjoy when you were there. Nothing wrong with that. I’d think you were crazy if you didn’t eat waffles while you were in Belgium. (And I don’t think waffles have calories if you’re eating them on vacation. Situational nutrition, you know.)
LOL at “situational nutrition.” The truth? I actually lost a couple of pounds while I was in Belgium. Probably from humping that 40 lb. backpack around…
Thanks, now I’m craving waffles and I just don’t think my eggo waffle will do the trick.
Food and travel is such a love/hate thing for me. I love trying new food when I travel, but I hate not being able to recreate it at home. That being said there’s something special about leaving your food memories perfectly untarnished back in Belgium.
Eggo definitely will not satisfy your cravings once you’ve had a proper Belgian waffle, LOL!
That’s an interesting argument: is it better to restrict your experience with a food as part of being in the moment when you travel, or do you try to recreate that moment by making the food at home? Something worth thinking about.
This is such a fun post! Clearly we are of like minds; I’m reminded of my unhealthy-yet-much-healthier obsession with fruit juices when I was in Brazil 🙂 And I’m definitely in the “try to recreate it at home” camp, although my success ratio is on the low side 🙂 Still, I now have a steamed ginger pudding recipe that tastes identical to the one I had at the King’s Arms in Llandudno, Wales (the recipe for which they naturally refused to share)!
Marsha, have you been to the Waffle Truck in NYC? Officially it’s called Wafels & Dinges (@waffletruck on Twitter) and they serve the most amazing Belgian Waffles I’ve ever had (granted I haven’t been to Belgium) but I am totally hooked! Curious to hear your comparison thoughts if you have tried their waffles!
I actually saw it a few weeks ago when I was in the city but I was running late and couldn’t stop. By the time I got back, it was gone. And then a couple of weeks ago, another friend mentioned Wafels & Dinges. I’m dying to go try it out–probably need to make a run to the city before the summer’s out to have a taste!