You can discover Belgium through its food even though this small country is not high on anyone’s list of famous cuisines. Neglecting Belgian cuisine from the world’s menus cheats the human race of sampling how to cook simply and rightly to the extent of being a tragedy.

The stuff that makes Belgian cuisine stand out from other countries’ are things Americans think of as humble meals: french fries, waffles, chocolate bars, and beer.

In a country that celebrates simple things prepared to perfection, Belgium has no equal. Belgium is a country that maximizes its enjoyment of simple ingredients to the level of great street art. From what Americans think of at breakfast food (waffles), or side dishes (pommes de terre), children’s treats (chocolate), or something to slug down at the workday’s end in front of the TV (beer), in Belgium these dishes are an art rather than a commodity. They are enjoyed and savored rather than consumed for their own sake.

The country offers combinations of flavors that demand to be savored but often aren’t in most places on the globe. Belgian cuisine is what makes a visit so much more enjoyable, eye-opening, and tongue-popping an experience that sticks to a visitor’s ribs, palate and taste buds.

These guys know how to make the most of what they have and we aren’t only talking about lowly potatoes. Mouline frites are french fries and mussels. It’s much better than fish and chips, more humble and more tasty, and available only in Belgium where it is enjoyed as a national, regular dish. Think about it and roll that thought over your tongue — mussels and french fries as a regular satisfying meal to get you through the day.

You think you’ve eaten a waffle? You haven’t tasted the real thing until you’ve had a Belgian waffle bought fresh on a the street corner. The same can be said of any food familiar in your kitchen freezer. In Belgium, the standards are higher, the ingredients fresher, the quality better. Belgians raise the bar of perfection.

You think you’ve tasted chocolate? You think you’ve eaten peas or parsnips? You haven’t tasted anything until you’ve dined in Belgium. They’re available wherever a shop or kiosk is open for business. Fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, good ingredients, pride in preparation — these are the hallmarks of Belgian cuisine, and after a swallow you’ll find it hard to go back to eat the way you did before.

A Belgian waffle is a soft pillow of crenelated and pockmarked dough coated with fresh fruit compote and powdered sugar, not a hard, factory-made slab slathered with margarine and imitation maple syrup. A Belgian chocolate is a marriage of cacao and milk crafted by craftsmen, not a factory-fresh bar with the consistency of plastic stamped with a corporate trademark. A glass of draught beer could have been tended by monks or brewmasters, but no matter who did the brewing, it got its taste and its flavor from attention to details often overlooked in industrial processes but appreciated during the sipping.

Belgium knows how to make food right!

Images courtesy of wolfgangstaudt (1 + 2), hragvartanian, bhamsandwich, ykjc9, c3lsius, Smabs Sputzer, tirolerbua, avlxyz (1 + 2)

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