For the Love of Frites!

** [Addendum Alert] **

Forget all that you are about to read regarding Frites Flagey.

I  just visited the friterie at Place Jourdan--for the sake of research, if you will.

And it certainly reigns supreme--in taste and texture, but not necessarily wait-time.

Plus, the surrounding area is quite beautiful and littered with charming cafes from which you can enjoy your frites alongside a drink of choice.

But enjoy this excerpt anyway!

For the Love of Frites!

There sits a metal stand painted cream and forest green, best described as unassuming. Its interior is no bigger than your average white, unmarked van--maybe with a little added ceiling space--and yet, like most things modest, it exists as one of the premiere friteries in the greater Brussels area.

Perhaps it is a thing of legends--or just sheer real-estate savviness.
Let us see...

Step 1: Place yourself in the center of an area densely populated by bars and cafes.

Step 2: Stay open late enough to accommodate those persons, generally drunk and hungry after a night of drinking at said bars and cafés, who crave something cheap, greasy, and within close proximity..

Step 3: Operate the station with as little staff as possible to extend the wait time (upwards of 2 hours in some instances), which therein magnifies the hunger-to-pocketbook-to-taste ratio.

Ultimately, customers are so striken with hunger, they order a size larger than what they first desired, with some additional toppings or croquettes to boot. And because they have waited with such fiery anticipation, expectations turn into projections, thereby making the food, when consumed, taste nothing short of divine. Also, I am told that frites have saved many a person from hungovers the next day. Power to the frites! Who knew all that oil and starch could do a body good, after all?!
 
So voilà! Recipe for an exceptional reputation!

I took part in this Brussels ritual (minus the visit to the bars. It was saturday brunch-time, after all).
Call it cultural immersion or research, either will do.

The results:
Well, they are difficult to gauge because there were too many variables:
1) While I am a consumer of frites, they are not generally part of my staple diet. Hence, I am no expert.
2) I surely fell victim to the mathematics raio described above.

And here's why:
In all sincerity, I would not have minded the 1.5 hour wait time, had it not been RIDICULOUSLY cold, wet, and windy. Fortunately, I had a friend to share in my misery. And luckily we defrosted while enjoying those frites alongside a few steaming cups of tea.

Oh, and while we're at it--here is another link between frites and mathematics:
frostbite
frostbite / 2 = frost bite
(fr)ost + b(ite) = frite
frite multiplied = frites!


frostbite, frites, one in the same--virtually...

can you sense the cold in my expression?

 
Out of the 30+ toppings available, here are some favorites of mine:
mayo (a european must, but in moderation)
curry ketchup
tartar
sugar (a family favorite)
honey (if I remember to stow some away in my purse for later consumption)
*chocolate milkshakes (too bad they have not added a malt-shop annex to the business; though, that would only give cause for people to start camping in line as a result of the additional wait-time potential)



Post script: Just today, I was told by a local that Frites Flagey is overrated. She recommended a friterie located in Place Jordan. I suppose my waistline will have to succomb to more research...