With so much to see and do over my 48 European hours, I needed to keep fueled, which meant I didn't feel an ounce of guilt about expanding the limits of my taste buds between sites and beers. Call this sense one of the more deprived ones over the past couple months. Though there's a lot of good food in Morocco, its not the type I'd grown up with and have developed a deep affinity. My preference is for home-cooked, Midwestern meat and potatoes, which Belgium also hankers for at all hours of the day.
We were in luck to find an authentic place in downtown Brussels. After a savory appetizer consisting of minced meat and bread, my veal and mashed potatoes appeared, and my jowls dropped. The 15 minutes that followed can't be written about in a manner appropriate for public reading. I left the restaurant in a meat coma, only half-acknowledging the need to loosen my belt while not stepping out in front of traffic.
The next morning, my tour guide - and aspiring chef - whipped up an authentic Belgian breakfast where I learned how to properly eat a soft-boiled egg (open the top third and retrieve the goods with either bread or spoon) and which sauce (chocolate or Belgian peanut butter) or meat and cheese to put on the several types of bread (to include pumpkin-seed crusted) displayed in front of me.
Shortly after, our tour began with the first stop being the Ghent Meat House. A cultural landmark probably since the beginning of the city, handmade cheeses, meats, chocolates, ham, eggnog, mustards, beers, and gins sat in or on top of its glass display counter. According to Gaelle, farmers used to come here on cold winter mornings for a 10:30 am shot of gin to warm their spirits.
Next on the agenda was the Gravensteen Castle. On the way, we passed by the Ghent Fish Market, whose facade featured statues of Zeus and Poseidon under renovation. Inside, I'm pretty sure that we could've found what they appear to be looking for.
After an hour in the castle, I was somehow hungry again and hankering for a nutritious snack, knowing that lunch was going to be spent in a Vegan restaurant. Thankfully, there was one of the local fritteries along the way to our next stop. Belgians love french fries, and the fritteries feed on-the-go masses every minute. With more than 20 different toppings to choose from (to include seafood) in my stand, I felt like I was standing in a Baskin Robbins. After minutes of tenuous debate, I opted for one of the local favorites: mayonnaise and minced meat sauce. Like my experience with the veal, you'll have to trust me that it was good.
After a couple more sites, it was off to the only "happy" vegan place in Ghent, according to my bubbly tour guide. When we arrived, I was introduced to a mix of personalities that all valued living life over making money. Given the long preparation and recovery process, the restaurant is only open for three hours at lunch, giving them time to do other things, like spend time with family or travel after work.
We shared a bowl of Jerusalem's Artichoke Soup, which was absolutely delicious, if not entirely healthy. Next, we got one of the plates of the day, which included a 50%, 30%, 20% mix of grains, proteins and vegetables. Providing the split was a warm mix of brown rice, lentil stew, sated say ton, beat root, brocolli salad, tofu, pumpkin and carrots.
Not expecting this micro-biotic concoction to be any good, I hesitantly began picking through what I knew: the rice. A second bite confirmed what I thought after the first: this is GOOD. With my doubts immediately erased, I quickly moved between each little pile until they all disappeared. Without question, this was the unexpected treat of the trip. Just as delightful as the meal was the apple cider that Gaelle shared. Neither sore throat nor cold temperatures could be felt after that beverage slid down the back of your throat. Here's to being open-minded and trying new things!
Once our city tour concluded around 5:00 pm, it was time again to eat. Fortuitously, my guide's family owned and operated a couple of pancake houses in the area. By this point, I ended up waddling into the Gwenola Pancake House downtown and ordered a couple of pancakes (or crepes, if you prefer). With over 40 types of pancakes to choose from, I again defaulted to my culinary expert's opinion and ordered two dishes: one savory, one sweet to balance the experience.
I started with buckwheat pancakes wrapped around a slab of ham and topped with a fried egg. After my warm up, I moved to a lighter pancake filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce. Both were sublime. Having felt like I actually ate the whole day with interludes to the sites, I exited the house convinced I just finished dessert.
We were in luck to find an authentic place in downtown Brussels. After a savory appetizer consisting of minced meat and bread, my veal and mashed potatoes appeared, and my jowls dropped. The 15 minutes that followed can't be written about in a manner appropriate for public reading. I left the restaurant in a meat coma, only half-acknowledging the need to loosen my belt while not stepping out in front of traffic.
The next morning, my tour guide - and aspiring chef - whipped up an authentic Belgian breakfast where I learned how to properly eat a soft-boiled egg (open the top third and retrieve the goods with either bread or spoon) and which sauce (chocolate or Belgian peanut butter) or meat and cheese to put on the several types of bread (to include pumpkin-seed crusted) displayed in front of me.
Shortly after, our tour began with the first stop being the Ghent Meat House. A cultural landmark probably since the beginning of the city, handmade cheeses, meats, chocolates, ham, eggnog, mustards, beers, and gins sat in or on top of its glass display counter. According to Gaelle, farmers used to come here on cold winter mornings for a 10:30 am shot of gin to warm their spirits.
The Ghent Meat House
Next on the agenda was the Gravensteen Castle. On the way, we passed by the Ghent Fish Market, whose facade featured statues of Zeus and Poseidon under renovation. Inside, I'm pretty sure that we could've found what they appear to be looking for.
One of the More Impressive Fishery Facades
Our Little Frittery
Mayonnaise and Minced Meat - Get your own, Gaelle!
We shared a bowl of Jerusalem's Artichoke Soup, which was absolutely delicious, if not entirely healthy. Next, we got one of the plates of the day, which included a 50%, 30%, 20% mix of grains, proteins and vegetables. Providing the split was a warm mix of brown rice, lentil stew, sated say ton, beat root, brocolli salad, tofu, pumpkin and carrots.
Not expecting this micro-biotic concoction to be any good, I hesitantly began picking through what I knew: the rice. A second bite confirmed what I thought after the first: this is GOOD. With my doubts immediately erased, I quickly moved between each little pile until they all disappeared. Without question, this was the unexpected treat of the trip. Just as delightful as the meal was the apple cider that Gaelle shared. Neither sore throat nor cold temperatures could be felt after that beverage slid down the back of your throat. Here's to being open-minded and trying new things!
The beat root with herbs (lower right) was my favorite. The say ton (above the beat roots) is like tofu or tempay but made with flour instead of soybean.
A short while later, we needed to temper my chocolate fix. My guide's favorite was a place called Van Hodrbeke Chocolatiers, and inside the window displaying giant, hand-crafted, chocolate easter bunnies, eggs and other delactables, I relieved them of a 40-count box of their hand-made collection. Along the way to our next monument, I learned that Belgian chocolatiers usually train for a couple years to perfect their craft.
A Chocolatier in the middle of a three-step chocolate process
Once our city tour concluded around 5:00 pm, it was time again to eat. Fortuitously, my guide's family owned and operated a couple of pancake houses in the area. By this point, I ended up waddling into the Gwenola Pancake House downtown and ordered a couple of pancakes (or crepes, if you prefer). With over 40 types of pancakes to choose from, I again defaulted to my culinary expert's opinion and ordered two dishes: one savory, one sweet to balance the experience.
Dessert, Part I
Dessert, Part II
Perfecting the Crepes, Most Employees at Gwenola have been at it for over 10 years
Gaelle, who's "Coupe Gaelle" is number 80 on the menu
I have no idea how you ate ALL of that food- have you called the Guinness Book people to throw your hat in the ring for "most guilt-free calories consumed in one day while on a food tour in Belgium?"
ReplyDeleteMy SIL is vegan, and I'm always amazed at the meals she cooks. Still, I'm not willing to give up meat. I wish I could recall the name of the restaurant in Florence where we had one of the best steaks ever. Of course we had been in Italy for a month living on mostly pasta and seafood, which was great, but we were starving for beef. It's always fun trying the local foods - thanks for sharing your Belgium feasts.
ReplyDeleteYup, that's a lot of food - went down easily though! BB - I'm not giving up the finer foods in life either; will be trying out Italian culinary creations on my next European trip!
ReplyDelete