Food in Belgium

I'm just back from a little holiday in London, that's why it was quiet here for a while.
And, getting ready for new exams today so I had to study! So, I'm sorry for the little quiet period.

When I was in the United Kingdom, I kept thinking on what I could write about. One of the items that came to mind was when I was talking to someone in a restaurant. He told me he visited Belgium some time ago; saw Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. The one thing that he was surprised on was the wonderful food in Belgium.
 
And yes, next to fries (which I talked about in a previous post) we have really good food. When I start talking about food during the walks -and there's a lot to tell on Belgian food- people quickly ask "what's typical Belgian food?".
 
The guy in London ate "something", he told me, but forgot what it was.
He just walked into a restaurant and ordered 'a typical Belgian dish'. From his description I could make out he had mussels. No, not muscles, that's something else... Yes, the joke on the "Muscles from Brussels" is obvious.
 

But those mussels are a real, typical Belgian dish. It’s shellfood, for those of you with allergies. You can have them with fries (mostly at restaurants) or some prefer them with bread. There are different kinds of sauces you can have them cooked in: white wine sauce is most common. But just 'natural' is what I find the best.
Don't go eat them with knife and fork... when you get the pot, you take the mussel with your hand, open the shell and pick out the “flesh” of the mussel out of its shell with a fork.
Sometimes you get a mussel sauce with it. That's kind of like a mayonnaise, but a little sourer and more running. Dip the mussel in the sauce (don't drop it!) and enjoy.
 

The second typical Belgian dish is sooooo Flanders: Flemish stew. That's tender beef, cut in cubes (4-5 cm/2 inch), stewed and then served with brown beer gravy. With that, you have to eat fries. Preferably a bit of mayonnaise with it, at least, that's how I (and most Flemish people) love it.
 
I know what you're thinking now... you're hungry! And the question you have: "where can we find this food in Bruges?".Well boys and girls, there is one place I can recommend in Bruges. “Het vagevuur”. Try to pronounce that! In English translated? The purgatory.
It's a name guys, don't be afraid to go in. It's a real cozy place where they serve all different kinds of Belgian food. Even the vegetarians can find good things here. I'll add the link to their website at the bottom.
 

And, when you do the walk with us, we cut you guys a deal. So, what are you waiting for?
http://www.restaurant-vagevuur.be