Waffles, that is. I was answering Elizabeth’s comment about food last night, and suddenly I started thinking about waffles. Belgian waffles. Gaufres, as they’re called in French. Or Gophers, as DH would say. But I digress.
They come in two basic styles: Bruxelles (Brussels), which are lighter and served with powdered sugar, or nutella, or ice cream, or whipped cream, or all of the above, and Liège, which are denser, with a caramelized sugar crust that comes from pearl sugar that cooks through the dough and caramelizes against the waffle iron. These are great as is, or with the previously mentioned toppings. I prefer these to the lighter Bruxelles waffles which seem to cry out for toppings, and which were more common in Paris.
(By the way, Elizabeth is one of my favorite food bloggers. So cool when I found out that she’s local!)
I started googling Liège-style waffles last night. I was still thinking about them this morning. After going to the gym, I coerced convinced my gym buddies to go to the Waffle Window.
I had a lovely waffle, plain, as it should be. It wasn’t quite as dense as the one we had in Bruges, nor quite as coated in caramelized sugar, but it was delicious.
My friends each had this. I can’t remember what it was called, but it had sliced pear, raspberries, chocolate, and whipped cream. I believe this may have negated the benefits of the gym. It’s close.
Have you tried either of these styles, Liège or Bruxelles? Do you have a preference? What else are are you craving these days?
PDXKnitterati 
She brought one home — didn’t even nibble the corners off of it. Boy howdy, it was good.
Oh yum. I think there needs to be some tasting testing.
Soon.
There’s one other place I need to try here in Portland; it’s a food cart (or food truck, as they say in other cities). I’ll report back when I know more.
I think the one I tried when I was in Belgium was a Brussels style, but I’m not positive. Either way, it was quite large and far too buttery for me. My dad makes waffles, though, which aren’t super sweet or anything, and definitely want to be topped, but as far as I’m concerned, all they really need is a good blop of maple syrup. Mmmmm.
Buttery, yes. These are made with a brioche-like dough rather than batter. Mmmmm, butter.
There is a food cart downtown, in the 9th & Alder pod, along 9th, I believe it has Gaufres in the name. I’ve had their plain waffle and the ABC (arugula, bacon & camembert) – both were delicious though I’ve never experienced a Liège-style waffle outside of Portland so…
That’s the one I read about! Now for the fact-finding mission…
I believe my favorite ice cream shop, What’s the Scoop at N Williams and Fremont, has waffles, too. I sampled one before going to Bruges, so I’m going to have to go back and find out more. The interesting thing about Belgian waffles is that they’re made with dough similar to a brioche dough instead of batter, and I recall seeing dough at What’s the Scoop. The plot thickens!
Gaufre Gourmet is the waffle cart on 9th – so yummy! I like the milk & honey waffle or chunkey monkey for something sweet. I work a couple of blocks from the Alder cart pod 🙂 http://gaufregourmet.com/menu-2/
This is definitely on my list of things to do!
I live just a few blocks away from the Waffle Window. I have to practically lock myself in the house just to keep from going there three meals a day, seven days a week. It is very, very dangerous.
Thanks again for the kind words about Savory Salty Sweet! I am so humbled by your lovely words.
Yum! We love the Waffle Window – though we usually go in, add a couple coffees, and a side of bacon. 🙂 MMmmm!!!
Yum! We’re going to check out Gaufre Gourmet later this week. Looking forward to it!