Random Things to Know about Liège, Belgium (Part II: Food Edition)

Last time I started a two-part series entitled Random Things to Know about Liège, Belgium, in which I talk about... well... random things about Liège, Belgium. This is the second part of that series, in which I'll delve into the world of Belgian food (and food typical of Liège).

So, without further ado, here we go again:

1. Fries (frites)

Frites with sauce andalouse

In case you're out of the loop, French fries are not French, they're Belgian (oh man... as a Finn and as a regular receiver of comments such as "But I thought Nokia was from Sweden," I feel your pain, Belgium). Traditionally, authentic Belgian fries are thicker than say, fast food fries, and usually double-fried. Also, they are often cooked in ox fat. 

Now, if you know this latter fact, you might have one up on a native Belgian in frite trivia, since - according to my non-exhaustive study that consisted of three whole Belgians - this information doesn't seem to be common knowledge in Belgium. However, If you've ever gone on a tourist tour in Liège, you are sure to have heard this shocking ox fat fact.

Sauces

Belgian fries are, of course, served with a sauce. Many non-Belgians are under the impression that this sauce is always mayonnaise, but that's only half the truth. Yes, mayo is on the list, but so are a gazillion other (albeit, mostly mayo-based) sauces.

An example of a sauce selection

Supermarket sauces

Not every frite stand will have the same sauces, of course, but there are a few regulars that tend to appear on every list. To help you navigate the fascinating world of sauces, I've prepared this handy chart:

2. Belgian beer

As you might know, beer is one of the culinary prides of Belgium, but what do you need to know before you pop your Belgian beer cherry? Here's my subjective list of a few facts:

1. The alcohol content in Belgian beers across the board is really high (from about 6 to 11 percent, depending on the beer). If you're a beer drinker, it's inadvisable to down this beer like apple juice (a very, very bad idea). So, keep that in mind and drink responsibly!

2. If you order a beer at a bar/restaurant, it'll come with its own special glass. Sometimes a cool glass is a good enough reason to order a beer.

Case in point: La Corne du Bois des Pendus

If you are accidentally served a wrong glass at a restaurant, this is often followed by profuse apologies from the person who made the glass faux pas and an immediate change of glasses. Now, it's important you don't make the mistake I did and suggest that perhaps you can just drink from the wrong glass. You can't, and the fact that you would even think that suggests that you don't really respect the authority of the glass. You are getting the right glass, so just deal with it.

3. If you (like me) are not big on beer in general, Belgium offers another alternative: cherry beer (also known as Kriek)! Since Kriek is not a 'real' beer in the eyes of beer purists', many people only love this gem of a drink secretly. Not me, though. I love it openly.

Pretty in pink, eh?

Although cherry beer is probably the most traditional fruity beer in Belgium, it's not the only one. Other options include (but are not limited to) raspberry beer (framboise) and peach beer (pêche). If you want to go for the ultimate weirdo beer, there's a coconut beer and a chocolate beer, for instance. So, even if you don't like traditional beer, there might still be options for you.

3. Adopt a chocolate bar (with a reduced price)

If you're an expat in Liège, somebody has undoubtedly told you, "Oh, you should totally go to the Galler (Belgian chocolate brand) outlet. It's in Liège!"

Now, before you congratulate yourself on choosing such a great living location, here's where you went wrong: when you thought you were told there's a chocolate outlet in Liège [ljɛʒ], you were actually told that there's a chocolate outlet in Liers [ljɛʁs].

Liège and Liers are, in fact, two different cities (though, technically, Liers is part of the greater Liège area). So, if you live in Liers, ding ding ding, you're in chocolate town! If you live in Liège however (a.k.a NOT chocolate town), all hope is not lost. You can take a train from Liège-Guillemins to Liers, which will take you about half an hour (plus another kilometer by foot to get to the outlet). Granted, you'll have to be a relatively serious chocolate aficionado to go through the trouble of getting there, but it's doable and, depending on your level of chocolate aficionadoness, probably worth it.

An actual photo of Heaven

As you may have guessed, at the Galler outlet you can buy chocolates that are, let's say, aesthetically challenged (but still delicious) with a reduced price. There's almost too much to choose from, but the good news is that the store offers pretty generous samples (in fact, it's easy to get your daily chocolate fix just by eating samples).

Some samples

And although the chocolates at the outlet don't necessarily conform to the norms of chocolate beauty, some of them are downright adorable:

Introducing matcha chocolate with pink freckles 😍

My fiancé and I bought 2 kilos (!) of chocolate at the outlet. My initial endearingly naive comment (as I went through my mandatory buyer's remorse phase) was, "But these things expire in a month! How will we ever eat two kilos of chocolate in a month?" Well, apparently, I had never met us. After two weeks, the chocolates were gone.

4. The classics: Liège meatballs and gaufre

Liège meatballs

Liège meatballs in all their glory

Liège meatballs are a classic Liège thing, and everybody and their mother will pester you about trying them until you finally cave (unless, of course, you don't eat meat). Basically, the dish consists of two fist-sized meatballs served with fries and some salad. Traditionally, they come with something called sauce de lapin ("rabbit sauce", except it actually has nothing to do with rabbits, so you bunny lovers needen't worry) but there's also a tomato sauce option. On the menu, the traditional meatball dish is called Boulets à la liégeoise.

Now, I've had this dish a few times already but, unfortunately, in my opinion, it doesn't quite live up to the hype. Whenever I dare tell a Belgian that, however, they let me know in no uncertain terms that I just haven't found a good boulet place yet. Yeah, nice try, Belgians, but honestly, I've begun to think that Liège meatballs are nothing but that favorite Belgian child that can do no wrong in the eyes of the Liégeois. Not that I particularly dislike this dish or anything - and to each their own of course - but in my case, the boulets have yet to make me a bouliever (see what I did there?). 

Gaufre

A traditional gaufre in all its glory

The Liège waffle a.k.a gaufre is another thing you should try if you ever come to Liège. Gaufres are sold basically everywhere, but my favorite place is Pollux at Place de la Cathédrale 2 (by the way, they're not paying me anything for mentioning them), where you can get a traditional or a chocolate-covered gaufre, or one that has sticks of chocolate inside. The latter is my favorite, but if you are one of those people that hits their sweet limit very easily, be aware that this thing is super sweet!

5. Original French tacos

To clarify: Original French tacos - or, as my Mexican fiancé calls them, the biggest insult to Mexican people since the French invasion - are not a Belgian but a French concept that has spread to several countries, including, but not limited to, Belgium. Maybe they have weaseled their way into your country, too, but me, I've only known about their existence for about a year.

Now, what are Original French tacos? For the longest time, I used to pass by a restaurant that served these mysterious creatures and ponder on this very question. Then one day, while chilling at home with my fiancé, I decided to do the unthinkable, go against my better judgment, and utter the most daring words ever uttered in a Finnish-Mexican relationship:

"Honey? Would you care to join me for a bite of... Original French tacos?"

Like any good Mexican, my fiancé reacted by going through an initial phase of shock ("I can't believe you asked me that!"), followed by a full-on rebellion ("How is this even a thing? I'll never eat that stupid stuff!") until his natural curiosity of these rivaling tacos won out and he reached the state of reluctant acceptance ("Okay, let's go."). So, on that very same day, we made our way to an OFT restaurant that had just opened in Liège.

Now, what did this trip to the twilight zone teach us? Basically, we learned that an original French taco equals fast food wrapped inside a large wheat tortilla. You get to choose a protein, a sauce and some supplements. The base of these tacos is...DUNN DUNN DUNN... fries! I learned this the hard way as I asked for a side of fries to go with my "taco" and the nice lady at the counter had a hard time getting it through to me that "there are fries inside the taco." At first I thought my French was really not as good as I had thought, but - lo and behold - when I took the first bite, there really were fries inside the tortilla. I found this utterly fascinating, whereas my fiancé found that he had just lost all faith in the inherent goodness of humankind.

There are actual fries INSIDE the tortilla!

But even though the OFTs are not particularly to my taste, their concept seems super popular. The restaurant that serves them almost always looks completely packed. So, if you think you would like something like this, go ahead and try (at your own peril). 

Closing words

Just as last time, there were some foods that didn't make the cut for the sake of brevity of the post, such as those lovely lacquemant waffles. If you'd like to read more about Belgian food (or traditional food of Liège) or if you think a crucial dish is missing from the list, please write your suggestion in the comment section.

Until then, farewell! 😊