#35 Find my favorite Belgian foods on this side of the ocean

#1 Bread

No offense, but bread on this side of the ocean tends to be too square, too soft and too wrapped in plastic. Where I come from, it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Luckily I have a very knowledgeable friend Meaghan who loves food as much as I do so she referred me to Batard Boulangerie. You can buy their breads by the 1/4 or 1/2 loaf so gives you lots of opportunity to try different ones. My personal favorite: the Spelt Loaf. And the dark rye, perfect with some goat cheese and spicy tomato jam. Who am I kidding? I loved all of it!

#2 Filet americain

Now how do I explain this? We tend to call it préparé... It's not the same as steak tartare if that's what you plan to say. It's basically finely ground up steak, mixed with seasonings, and then used as a spread on, you guessed it, bread. Or sometimes we have it with fries and mayo. Yes, it's raw and it's delicious. I had to go all the way to Montreal to find it! One day I'll figure out how to make this stuff myself. Should you feel the urge to do that too, get inspired at The Dutch Table (yes, the Dutch eat it too. I'm sure they stole it from us).

#3 & #4 Steak and croquettes 

You might think steak is easy to find, but there's something about steak in Belgium/Europe that distinguishes it from everywhere else (read: that distinguishes it from the slab of meat they call steak in North America). No, I wanted the melt on your tongue, no fat, perfectly cooked beef tenderloin. And I found it on the top of Grouse Mountain. More surprising however was the short rib croquette that came with it. True, I really wanted a shrimp croquette but given that Belgian shrimp croquettes are made with grey shrimp from the North Sea, I had to settle for something else. And boy was it good. The stunning view from the Observatory Restaurant over the Howe Sound and our wonderful city is just an added bonus.

#5 Madeleines 

Okay, so this one I had to cheat because every madeleine I've had in Canada was a little too dry for my liking, even at the fanciest bakery. Luckily I have some pretty amazing parents back home that include my favourite madeleines in their regular post packages. So technically I did find my favourite Belgian food on this side of the ocean, or at least it found its way to my side of the ocean...