Belgian cuisine
Belgium's kitchen is quite diverse, since it combines both the culinary traditions of Belgium itself and the traditions of nearby countries - Germany, Holland and France. In general, the Belgian cuisine satisfying enough, although in the coastal regions more attention is paid to fish and seafood, and in the internal areas the meat is more popular.When it comes to the Belgian cuisine, beer, chocolate and waffles immediately come to mind. Indeed, this is exactly what is worth trying, resting in Belgium, because the manufacture of beer, chocolate and waffle have pretty ancient traditions.
Chocolate
The production of chocolate in Belgium originates in the 19th century, then chocolate was sold in pharmacies as a medicine healing a variety of diseases. Currently, Belgian chocolate has a huge number of different varieties - bitter, milk, chocolate with dirty fillings, chocolate candies and much more. In Bruges (especially in the city center) there is a huge number of shops selling chocolate, their range is quite rich - we have seen individual pieces of chocolate (they are sold in weight), and packaging with various candy, and chocolate figures (we especially liked those Which was covered with chocolate crumb that created the effect of rust, in my opinion, it looked very interesting - for example, a large chocolate castle with a key from afar really looked like an old knasted castle) and much more. Prices I would not call low, for example, a piece of chocolate weighing about 300-400 grams by weight of about 18 euros, small boxes with candy cost from 10 euros, the prices on the figures began from 5-7 euros for quite small. Prices in all shops were about the same (they all were located in close proximity to the central square), may be on the outskirts of chocolate would cost and cheaper. I can add that chocolate was really very tasty, I liked it and to all the relatives who we brought him as a souvenir. So all the sweet kids recommend to try the Belgian chocolate and take it with him.
By the way, there is a chocolate museum in Brugge, where you can get acquainted with the traditions of its manufacture. The museum also has a store, but prices are there even higher than in street souvenir shops.
Wafli.
Many have heard about Belgian waffles, but not everyone knows that there are two types of waffles - Brussels and Liege - they differ in shape and test. Liedy waffles are solid, usually the form they have oval or round, while Brussels are softer, they are usually warm and have a rectangular shape. We tried waffles in the restaurant on the square, and to be honest, did not notice anything special in them. We ate Brussels waffles, we were filed with whipped cream and ice cream ball. Such waffles can be bought in Russia, we did not notice any special difference. Of course, they were pretty tasty, but no better waffles from the store.
Beer
In addition, Belgium is famous for his beer, in a restaurant, we have separately brought a menu with different beers, which could only fit on ten pages. The most famous varieties of Belgian beer are the following - Lambik, Creek (cherry beer), Goez, Trappist beer (something like strong ale). We drank a cry, we liked it, although in general we cannot call ourselves like beer lovers - it looks like a refreshing lemonade (due to the taste of cherries, of course), although it is rather sweet (in general, on an amateur). Those who love beer will probably find a variety of their taste - there is a description of each variety in the menu, and the percentage of alcohol content is indicated.
French fries
Another traditional dish of Belgium is Potato Fries, because it is in Belgium (by legend) and takes the beginning of this snack. The traditional Belgian method involves thick strips of potatoes, roasted in oil. Potatoes can serve as a separate dish (most often with mayonnaise) and as a side dish to meat or fish hot.Restaurants and Cafe Brugge
As I already wrote in other articles about Bruges, we spent two days there. In principle, over these few days, we have not been removed from the city center, since all the sights are concentrated there. In the center there are quite a lot of cafes, there are among them and traditional Belgian cuisine and international (we basically noticed Italian, Japanese and French restaurants). We, of course, chose local cuisine, judging that the rest could be tried at home. There are cafes and restaurants that are located right on the central square - we chose one of these, since we really liked the view - we could sit by the window, watch the square and there are. It was a restaurant at the Central Hotel, he was opposite the bell tower. I experienced the most positive impressions - local cuisine was introduced in the restaurant, I ate the Belgian chicken pie, there were a large number of different beers, we were ate waffles (I already wrote about them above). By the way, seafood is very popular in Belgium, so there were mussels in the menu in different ways - baked, baked with cheese, etc. I would call prices, as well as, and in all Belgium - it's not too cheap, especially in Cafes / restaurants (in stores, of course, cheaper). Lunch - the main dish, beer, dessert and tea cost about 25-30 euros per person (worth considering that the restaurant was in the very center of the city, I am sure that you can eat and cheaper on the outskirts). The service was also quite suitable for us, we communicated with the waiters in English, no problems arose (English they know everything very well).