“Would you like a little bling with that?” was the last thing I expected to hear when ordering a waffle on Centre Street in Manhattan, but it was a welcome question that resulted in a snowy deluge of powdered sugar on a piping hot Liege waffle. Here in New York, one of the city’s greatest perks is the plethora of street food at your fingertips. Without having to ever leave the city, one can travel the world through meals. One of the city’s favorite award-winning vendors, Wafels & Dinges, has brought a little taste of Belgium in the form of waffles — in their original, glorious form.
Ask a random person on the street where Belgium is, and chances are they cannot tell you that it is a country in Europe nestled between France, Germany and The Netherlands. However, many people will know little of this small country’s culinary gift to the world — crisp fries, well-crafted beers and fine chocolates, to name just a few. The one thing most do know is that Belgium makes waffles.
The irony of the Belgian waffle’s popularity in the U.S. — and it being a representation of the country’s cuisine — is that the large, heavily loaded breakfast item that graces so many of our morning menus has little resemblance to the original waffle that hails from Belgium. Actually, the American breakfast version pales in comparison to the waffle sold all over Belgium, where it is a traditional street food eaten with your hands (not a calorie-laden meal served with gallons of syrup). In Belgium, the treat is the waffle itself because they’re so well made; they aren’t just a vehicle for toppings. We’re going to show you exactly how they’re suppose to be cooked and eaten. But first, a little history.
–
The story of Wafels & Dinges is one that every aspiring restauranteur assigns their hopes to. Without a background in food, DeGeest was able to successfully sell enough of his waffles to grow from a one-truck operation into a five-cart, two-truck, two brick and mortar shop “waffle empire.” It helps that he was one of the first gourmet food trucks on the streets of New York when he started in 2007 — there are now more gourmet trucks than spots to park them in, creating a “wild west” situation for street vendors in the city. It also helps that he has native Belgians manning the waffle irons, promising the ability to maintain the “Belgian-ness of the food.” Not to mention he’s selling a product that many have heard of, but few have tried in its original, glorious form.
But we think there’s more to it than that. Aside from the ridiculously awesome size of the pearl sugar that goes into DeGeest’s waffles — seriously, did you see the size of them above? — it’s the sharing of a true and authentic experience of a culture’s street food that makes Wafels & Dinges so well received. That, and the bling.
