Pommes Frites

I recently blogged about Belgian waffles.  Today I'm blogging about Belgian fried potatoes, otherwise known as pommes frites and/or a Flemish name I can't remember.  More specifically, it's about a tiny take-out joint in New York City called Pommes Frites that sells nothing but pommes frites.  In short, heaven.

Or so I thought.

First, a little background:  Six months of living in Brussels taught me that Belgian food (and drink) is good.  The waffles!  The chocolate!  The beer!  But for my money the best of all were the frites.  The hot, crispy, served-in-a-cone, dipped-in-a-sauce frites.  I've always been a fan of salty food, especially fries, and the Belgians take this delicious treat to a whole new level.  I went to Brussels' famous Maison Antoine more times than I care to admit.

Needless to say, I was beyond excited to try New York City's own frites shop, conveniently located one block from my former apartment.  I ordered a regular sized cone with ketchup and Irish curry sauce for dipping, and tucked in for what I hoped would be a delicious afternoon snack.  Instead, I got "blah."  The frites didn't taste Belgian at all.  They were too dense, too large, and not nearly crispy enough.  I would call them "steak fries," which can be tasty, but are most definitely not what you find at a Belgian friterie. 

Three months of living in New York City taught me that Belgian food abroad is hit and miss.

Belgian Food Truck: Wafels & Dinges

It's been tempting me for weeks: That bright, canary yellow food truck promising "Good Things Belgian" and appearing in places around the city where I'm sure to get a whiff of its wares. I had to try it before leaving New York, so when a quick Thursday call to their Waffle Hotline told me the truck was in the environs of my office building (Midtown) and that if I gave the truck operators the stink eye I could get a discount on my order, I made a beeline for Wafels & Dinges. Or, in English, Waffles & Thingamajigs.

Torn between the "brussels wafel" (light and crispy) and the "liège wafel" (soft and chewy) I opted instead for the special "throwdown wafel." A winner from the Food Network's "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," the throwdown wafel is a liège topped with speculoos spread and whipped cream.  Merci beaucoup.  With my $1 stink eye discount, that tray of sweet Belgian deliciousness was mine for only $5. And, sorry Belgium, it was better than any waffle I ever ate in Brussels.

If you go:

Wafel & Dinges
Everywhere, New York City
Truck Location Hotline: 1-866-429-7329
Twitter: @waffletruck

Culture Shock: U.S. Observations

When you move back home after living in a foreign country, you're bound to experience culture shock. For me, this often involves weeks of remarking on the simple pleasures, maddening differences, and random realities of my old new home. Everything has a certain novelty to it - I can pay for things in dollars! The sidewalks are dog poo-free! - and I start rediscovering my home country the way I previously discovered my adoptive one. Freshly back from Brussels, here are some of the things I'm noticing about life in the U.S.

1. Friendly people are everywhere.

It started with the Customs and Border Protection Officer who chatted me up while stamping my passport. Then there was the cab driver who asked me about my trip and talked to me about everything from the recent snowstorms to the pros and cons of a GPS system. The cashier at Target gave me a beaming smile and asked if I found everything alright. Not to mention the woman I sat next to on the plane who became my best friend in a little under eight hours. After six months of living with guarded Belgians, I'm in awe of the openness and friendly nature of Americans.

2. Where are all the boots?

Belgian women wear boots. French women too, for that matter. In fact, once summer turned to fall it was hard to spot women who weren't wearing ankle, mid-calf or knee-high versions of les bottes. But in Washington, DC, such footwear is few and far between.

3. I'm no longer a human pinball.

In addition to generally being a friendly bunch, Americans have the incredible ability to walk without running into each other. Wandering the streets of Brussels should be considered a contact sport, as people who could easily alter their path to avoid bowling you over simply choose not to. Here in the U.S., this morning's crowded rush hour commute on metro didn't result in me getting hip-checked by random strangers. Amazing!

4. American television commercials are obnoxious.

Ok, so I didn't have to move overseas to figure this one out. However, renewed exposure to U.S. advertising only reinforces my belief that the best thing to do during a commerical break is to hit "mute."

5. Everything is big, new, and clean.

After living in Brussels, with its narrow, winding streets, dirty sidewalks, and buildings that date back to the 1600s, everything here feels spacious, fresh, and modern. I love Europe's historic atmosphere, but I think U.S. modernity is pretty cool as well.

6. There is this thing called "the sun."

The amount of cloud cover Brussels receives is truly impressive. I'm still not quite sure what to make of that shiny thing up in the DC sky, but I think I like it.

Cheap Stuff in Brussels

For an American who earns her paycheck in dollars, living in Belgium is a financial nightmare. The exchange rate being what it is ($1.50 to the euro as of today), every single purchase is a losing proposition. Thankfully, there are a few things in Brussels that are so inexpensive to begin with that even changing dollars into euros doesn't render them sticker-shock worthy. Here are some of my favorites, otherwise known as the exhaustive list of cheap stuff in Brussels:


1. Fresh Flowers

At my neighborhood's weekend market I can purchase an enormous, perfectly arranged bouquet of colorful fresh flowers for €10, or about $15. I recently bought 20 yellow roses for €6.90, which is roughly $10.35. The cost of fresh flowers in the U.S. usually keeps me away from them, but here in Brussels the Saturday shopping isn't done unless I have my weekly bouquet in hand.

2. Breakfast

It's not hard to find an expresso and a croissant for around €2, total. While not quite the breakfast of champions, it's delicious, filling, and only sets me back about $3. Sold.

3. French Wine

A good Côtes du Rône can be had for around €4.50. I found a white Gascogne that goes well with everything for €3.75. A really good bottle - one that makes you swear off non-French wines forever - can be had for less than €15. Impeccable vins de France for as little as $7 a bottle? Try finding that in the U.S.

4. Health Care

My American health insurance doesn't cover anything short of a life-or-death situation while I'm overseas. Big deal: visiting a specialist in Brussels cost me €40, or about $60. The prescription she wrote me cost €5.25. At around $8, that prescription cost me less out-of-pocket than my prescription copay costs me in the U.S. Thank you, government negotiated drug prices!

5. Train Tickets

Within-country travel - say, from Brussels to Antwerp - is not only cheap, it's also easy. Just go to the station, hand over a few small euros, and hop one of the dozens of daily trains that service your route. If you plan to travel to another country, you'll have to do a bit more planning, but your patience will be rewarded with amazing deals. I just booked a round-trip ticket to Paris for €40, and last weekend I traveled first class on a high-speed train to Cologne, Germany for only €50.

6. Beer

There's no need to pay more than €2 for .25 liters of decent Belgian brew, to be enjoyed this time of year while cozily bundled up under the heated terrace of a café in Brussels. Yes, la vie est belle.

Sister Cities

Belgium is not France, but Brussels might be Washington, D.C. There are so many similarities between these capital cities that I’m starting to think the only things separating them are the Atlantic Ocean and approximately 800 years of history. Granted, those are big separations, but here are a few of the many reasons why Brussels and Washington, D.C. could be long lost twins:

1. Both are relatively small. Compared to the massive urban centers of New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London, Washington D.C. and Brussels are practially villages, with respective populations of roughly 590,000 and 1,000,000. New York City alone houses more than 8 million people. When you count both captials' surrounding areas their populations increase, but Brussels and DC proper remain small in size and in number of habitants.

2. Both are government towns. Washington is home to the United States Federal Government while Belgium hosts the European Union. A large government presence sets the tone in both of the cities, with much of the population working in public service.

3. Both have excellent public transportation networks...sometimes. In DC it's a never-ending cycle of track maintenance, single-tracking, and frustratingly poor night and weekend service on Metro. In Brussels, it's bus routes that change without notice and tram drivers who will exit the tram when their shift has ended, even if it's in the middle of the route. Both cities are lucky to have what they have. Both sets of citizens have a right to turn complaining about public transportation into a local sport.

4. Both go overboard with security. It's impossible not to know the president is nearby when you're in DC. Whether he's visiting the Department of the Treasury or his favorite burger joint he is always flanked by a massive entourage of black SUVs, cops on motorcyles and sometimes even a circling helicopter. Big shot EU types also have escorted motorcades and the metro station that sits underneath the major EU institutions is often crawling with security guards.

5. Both get a bad rap. Many Europeans consider Brussels to be a dull, drab, and soulless bureaucratic town filled with dull, drab, and soulless bureaucratic people. Washington, D.C. is sometimes refered to as "Hollywood for ugly people." Ouch.

6. Both have no native inhabitants. Ok, that's not entirely true, but let's just say that as a result of the U.S. Federal Government, the EU, and NATO attracting workers from far and wide, you could spend a long time living in both cities before ever meeting a true Bruxellois or Washingtonian.

7. Both attract protesters. From dairy famers blocking the streets in Brussels with cows and tractors, to gay rights advocates marching in front of the White House, if there's a cause to be championed you can bet these capital cities will hear about it.

Halloween in Brussels

I wasn't sure what to expect this Halloween. Back home it seems the jack o' lanterns, costumes and orange and black decorations make an appearance immediately after Labor Day. But Brussels? Would I even be able to find a pumpkin with suitable enough seeds for baking? I should have known better. The commercialism that is October 31st had already started to creep into France way back in 2003.

Neighboring Belgium had no where to hide.

I'm not a big fan of Halloween, but as an American I'm used to having it around to mark the peak of the fall season. Part of me was glad to see all things spooky starting to materialize around my neighborhood, and I've gotten into the spirit of the holiday as best I can by eating a lot of candy and accepting an invitation to a pumpkin-carving party. I also took a few pictures, demonstrating that Halloween in Belgium looks pretty much like Halloween everywhere else.

In Brussels, Even the Bus Gets a Vacation

August in Europe can only mean one thing: vacation. You probably already know that this is the time of year when European families, couples and singles take a few weeks to recharge their batteries and enjoy life. But did you know the same benefit - vacation time guaranteed by law - also applies to public transportation? Well, at least in Brussels it does. As an American friend recently pointed out to me, the schedule for the city's various transport options is currently reduced, running on what's called the "grandes vacances" timetable. This basically means that every hour (including the traditional rush hours) offers a few less options for hitching a ride. It hasn't been a major inconvenience or anything; I'm still able to get to work on time and find my way around town. But it did make me wonder: what exactly has my life come to when bus routes, a network of trams, and a subway system all have more vacation time than I do?