French Fries with Spicey Mayonaise
Beer, chocolate, waffles and fries. Need i say more?
It's about 530 in the afternoon here, and I've just come back from a very enjoyable day out and about in Bruxelles (as it's spelled locally). Brussels is a really interesting city that seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis. On the one hand, its a very old city and shares many architectural overtones as Paris, but on a smaller scale. On the other hand, as the seat of the European Union it is the capital of the new Europe which is evident from the armies of so called "Eurocrats" walking around in expensive suits. Much of the older neighborhoods are being torn down to make way for new office towers and the amenities that come with being a major center of political power. I've heard this has caused much greef to the residents of the city, and I can understand why.
I started off the day by walking from my very centrally located Hostel to the Grand Palace in the heart of the city. It's a square of old baroque style buildings around which there are countless cafes, churches, statues and everything of old europe. After walking around for a long time and taking an obscene amount of pictures I decided it was time for lunch.
To that end I went to one of the many sidewalk "frite" stalls that are all over the place. A guy sitting nearby who clearly understood that the look of my face meant "I dont know which kind of mayonaise to get" walked me through the different kinds and helped me decide on a spicy, curry mayo they called "samuri". With fries in hand, he and I got to talking and it turns out he owned the place. He was an American expat from New York City who married a woman in Brussels while on vacation. When I asked him about the different kinds of mayos Belgians like to put on fried potatoes, he went behind the counter and set up a whole tasting of them. they were good! really good! really really good! screw ketchup!
As odd (or sensible) as it may sound, my favorite ended up being the "Americaine sauce". Though the name would have you fooled, there is no such thing as "Americaine sauce" in America unless you've had mayonaise so spicy that it made you sweat bullets.
After getting a soda to cool down, and thanking the owner I decided to walk into the newer part of Brussels that makes up the EU capital. It was actually a lot like walking around the center of an American city, since the architecture was all so new. On my way out of the new part of the city I stopped by a church and watched a music group from Ireland perform before heading to the grocery store and back here.
Tomorrow I'm headed out to Bruges which is an old city in the Flanders part of Belgium. I've been told is a sight not to be missed and I'm really looking forward to it.
try some mayo on your fries.
Andrew
It's about 530 in the afternoon here, and I've just come back from a very enjoyable day out and about in Bruxelles (as it's spelled locally). Brussels is a really interesting city that seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis. On the one hand, its a very old city and shares many architectural overtones as Paris, but on a smaller scale. On the other hand, as the seat of the European Union it is the capital of the new Europe which is evident from the armies of so called "Eurocrats" walking around in expensive suits. Much of the older neighborhoods are being torn down to make way for new office towers and the amenities that come with being a major center of political power. I've heard this has caused much greef to the residents of the city, and I can understand why.
I started off the day by walking from my very centrally located Hostel to the Grand Palace in the heart of the city. It's a square of old baroque style buildings around which there are countless cafes, churches, statues and everything of old europe. After walking around for a long time and taking an obscene amount of pictures I decided it was time for lunch.
To that end I went to one of the many sidewalk "frite" stalls that are all over the place. A guy sitting nearby who clearly understood that the look of my face meant "I dont know which kind of mayonaise to get" walked me through the different kinds and helped me decide on a spicy, curry mayo they called "samuri". With fries in hand, he and I got to talking and it turns out he owned the place. He was an American expat from New York City who married a woman in Brussels while on vacation. When I asked him about the different kinds of mayos Belgians like to put on fried potatoes, he went behind the counter and set up a whole tasting of them. they were good! really good! really really good! screw ketchup!
As odd (or sensible) as it may sound, my favorite ended up being the "Americaine sauce". Though the name would have you fooled, there is no such thing as "Americaine sauce" in America unless you've had mayonaise so spicy that it made you sweat bullets.
After getting a soda to cool down, and thanking the owner I decided to walk into the newer part of Brussels that makes up the EU capital. It was actually a lot like walking around the center of an American city, since the architecture was all so new. On my way out of the new part of the city I stopped by a church and watched a music group from Ireland perform before heading to the grocery store and back here.
Tomorrow I'm headed out to Bruges which is an old city in the Flanders part of Belgium. I've been told is a sight not to be missed and I'm really looking forward to it.
try some mayo on your fries.
Andrew
posted by Andrew at
11:32 AM
1 Comments:
Hey, Andrew
Sounds like the themes are: food, tourism, food, etc. You have your priorities straight!
Just as there's no "sauce americaine" in the US, there's also no French dressing in France. Go figure. You know, even though I spent a year in Paris, I've never set foot in Belgium. Your blog makes me want to go, especially since the "old" Belgium may not be around much longer. Love reading your posts.
By
ChristineP, at 8:58 PM
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