Belgian

Belgium sits between France and the Netherlands and eats like the best parts of both. The Flemish north drinks beer with everything; carbonnade flamande braises beef in dark Belgian ale until the gravy turns mahogany. The Walloon south leans French — sauce-driven, butter-rich. Brussels mixes them. Frites are eaten with mayonnaise (never ketchup), served in paper cones from friteries. Moules frites — mussels in white wine with celery, leeks, and shallots — is the Sunday family meal. Gray-shrimp croquettes from the Belgian coast are deep-fried golden globes of béchamel and tiny sweet shrimp. The chocolate, the waffles, the speculoos cookies — Belgian sweets define a category. Every village has a brewery; the beer-and-food culture runs deeper than the famous beers alone suggest.