It has been raining and cold for days. What began in the Schwarzwald Region of Germany has continued in Belgium and the Netherlands. I was determined as a native of the Pacific Northwest, to not let cold, blustery wet days stop me (or my offspring) from exploring.
In Brussels we spent WAY too much time eating samples in the chocolate museum waiting for the rain to pass. As a matter of fact when we passed a chocolatier later that same day, my 10-year-old exclaimed, “Mom, please don’t make me eat any more chocolate!”
The next day our resolve was wavering when the skies opened up during the Bollekes Beer Festival in Antwerp. Merchants pulled their wares and ducked behind booths from the windswept rain. Just when we were feeling down and drenched and about to pack it in ourselves, I spotted something. I said to Ron, “What is a Frituur?”
Something smelled heavenly and we dashed across the main square in Antwerp named the Grote Markt. What did we find? A French Fry SHOP! That’s right, in the window of the this little shop was a mountain of golden cut potatoes. People shielded from the rain, under the awning, were all eating a paper cone full of crisp fries, topped with Belgium mayonnaise. Finding a french fry shop was a ray of sunshine on this dreary day and we were sold!
The piles of perfectly fluffy on the inside, and crisp on the outside, fries were gone in minutes of handing them off to the kids. We started spotting frituur shops all over Belgium and I must say it has made the winter like weather in August a bit more bearable. It is good thing we aren’t staying too long though because a meal made of french fries, with a nibble of Belgium chocolate for dessert is pretty hard to resist day to day. I can’t believe these shops have been around since 1842 and I am just discovering them. Perhaps that is a good thing!
