6 Best Food & Beer Options In Belgium

Imagine a big pot of authentic, seasonal North Sea mussels served with fresh, original Belgian traditional french fries. That’s how we like it! Our Bike Across Belgium bike tour features this delectable dish, plus special tastings of waffles, french fries, Flemish stew, chocolate, a Trappist Abbey beer with cheese, plus many local beers. Take a look at what’s on tap.

Learn more about the adventures you’ll enjoy on our coolest bike tour ever–cycling across foodie haven Belgium!

Mussels & Fries

Believe it or not this is the most typical dish found in Belgium. Who knew? Although moules-frites are popular in France and around the world, the origins of this dish are tied to Belgium. It’s likely that it was originally created by combining mussels, a very economical food quite popular around the Flemish coast, and fried potatoes which were commonly eaten around the country in winter when fish or other food was scarce. On their own, french fries are also closely associated with Belgian cuisine by many Europeans. Belgium claims to be the birthplace of french fries, even though their origin is uncertain (and several other countries also claim the title).

Ciclismo Classico guide Isacco Colombo remarks about our mussels and fries evening during our Bike Across Belgium trip: “I think there is something outstanding and culturally unique about the foods we taste on our Bike Across Belgium trip. While many of our Ciclismo Classico Italian trips include a ‘pizza night’, in Belgium we have a great ‘mussels and french fries night.’ This happens in Oudenaarde, where we dine in a 16th century cellar just around the corner from the old main square and next door to the cool Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen cycling museum!

Waffles

Waffles were first made in the Middle Ages, and were sold as crispy and rich street food by vendors outside Churches in Belgium. Agriculture was the main subsistence pattern then, and barley and oats were quite easily available to use as ingredients. In fact, King Charles IX of France said that the vending stalls had to be kept at a safe distance from one another, because the eating of waffles had become such a popular phenomenon.

Most of us think there is just one kind of waffle. In Belgium there are several kinds of waffle, including the Brussels waffle and the Liège waffle.

In North America, Belgian waffles are a variety of waffle with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than ordinary American waffles. Belgian waffles were originally leavened with yeast, but baking powder is now often used.

Pralines & Chocolate

Did you know pralines are an invention of the Belgian chocolate industry? Belgian people have been making and eating chocolate in Belgium as early as the 17th century. The industry expanded massively in the 19th century, gaining international recognition together with the Swiss, and became one of the most important countries for chocolate producers in Europe. Although the industry has been regulated by law since 1894, there is no universal standard for the chocolate to be labeled “”Belgian.”” It just has to be produced inside Belgium.

Belgian Cheeses

Belgium has a long tradition of cheese-making going back to the Middle Ages. A lot of cheeses are still named after the abbeys where they are/were manufactured. Many abbeys (Chimay, Maresdous, Passchendaele, Westmalle) make both beer and cheese. There are more than 300 varieties of cheese–equal to France. But Belgian cheeses are made in very small quantities and rarely exported out of the country.

Flemish Beef Stew

‘Stoverij’ or Flemish beef stew is Belgium’s response to chili cheese fries. It’s a hearty, stick-on-your-ribs food that feels like a warm hug on a cold winter’s day. Even in summertime, nothing hits the spot more than fries and stoverij!

Flemish beef stew is traditionally served over hot and crispy French fries, but it’s equally as delicious with a few torn hunks of grainy bread. The meat is so tender and the sauce is so sweet, you’ll be sure to go back for seconds… and thirds. Just don’t forget to enjoy a nice full-bodied beer with it as the local Belgians consider it almost a mortal sin if you don’t.

Belgian Beer

Beer is king in Belgium. Belgians learn how to cook with beer the minute they’re old enough to hold a ladle. It’s a rite of passage. After all, with more than 71 different types of beer brewed and 350+ house labels to choose from, it’s the national drink of choice. Only 20 years ago, the country that is roughly the size of Rhode Island boasted 18 actively operated ‘national’ breweries and a few dozen local artisanal breweries for good measure. Pretty much every village has at least one ‘Trappist’ or ‘Catholic Benedict’ abbey where one could purchase abbey-brewed beer directly from the monks themselves. They each created their own flavor pallet, using age-old brewing methods passed on for decades.

To read more about these great beers check out Gabe Del Rossi’s story here.