Europe, you haven’t been a common guest around these parts. Well, there’s always this place, still trudging along after all these years. You see, I like to treat my readers to the unfortunate brainchildren of the world– olive and asparagus juices, garlic dish-washing soap– and those happen to call Asia home. With that said, let’s skip to the other side for a spell, to take a peek at one of the “Great Carbohydrates of the World,” Belgium’s Belgian Waffle, or Gaufre Brussels if you wanted to be brownnoser/correct.
Introduced first at Expo (19)58 in Brussels and soon after in 1962 to the US audience at Seattle’s Century 21 Exposition, this fluffy and fundamentally light dessert proved to be a huge hit at both events. Thereafter, nothing happened. But then, I stopped in Brussels for a few days in 2007, and became well acquainted with its eponymous waffle. Which isn’t to be confused with Hong Kong’s waffle…oh sorry, I just HAD to bring in another Asia reference. Fear not Belgium, for Hong Kong’s version tastes much more like a braised sofa.
But what an anonymous wafflemonger sold me somewhere near the Grand Place was nothing short of excellence. Put another way, I don’t ordinarily get a dessert at restaurants, unless I’m there only to get something sweet. Even then, I’ll likely fill up on whipped cream, because that wasn’t permitted in the house in my formative years. In any event, the one in Brussels had it goin’ on. The waffle, the whipped cream, the chocolate sauce, and equally important, the textures. Somewhat crunchy, yet also chewy and at the right temperature to boot. Great for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but only if you’re itching to ask for a airplane seat belt extension by the age of ten.
—
Have you tried a Belgian Waffle? Have you tried two?
Collateral Lettuce 