Moules frites, typical dish of Belgium

There’s a typical food in Belgium: in any menu can not miss the mussels and fries, or what is the same, “les moules frites“, perhaps a mixture a bit exotic, even strange, however there is no restaurant in Belgium, luxury or not, that does not have among its dishes the moules frites.

Both, mussels and frites are symbols of the gastronomy of Belgium. You can prove the dish for all tastes. I have seen in a normal dish, or served in trays with moussels in one side and french fries in the other side, and in times, all mixed together in a black pot. Go catching mussels, and chopping the potatoes, that’s on your way.

Even, if you visit some shops of kitchens or housewares, you will find that these pots are called “pots of mussels”. They are a little bit different to the traditional pots, since the cover is a kind of pot more tiny where you have to leave the shell of the mussels. In the pot, the mussels come in its own juice, and cooked in many ways. Belgians serve them with vegetables, with cream or garlic cream…

The fries is also another very special world. In Belgium there is a devotion for this food, even there are museums of the fries, as the Frietmuseum in Bruges, and it is not difficult to find street stalls along the streets selling them. In addition, to accompany them, you can choose between more than 50 sauces. It’s so a famous food that belgians are very proud to say the better fries in the world are from Belgium.

They say that the better time to eat the best mussels is between September and December. In Belgium I believe that any time is always good, especially if you take a typical Belgian beer with it, and then for dessert a traditional chocolate. I know that seems a mixture something explosive, but Belgians love it, and if we are in Belgium, and this is a menu which is in all the restaurants, will it be by something, or not?

Photo by Martin Burns