Today, still feeling better, Sarah, Rebecca, and I ventured up to SLC to go to Bruges, this delicious frites and waffle place. In case you didn’t know this about me, I spend five months of high school in a little town in northeastern Belgium called La Calamine (emphasis on little). During those five months, as I recounted to my lovely friends today, I gained 35 lbs. Yes, you did read that right. I didn’t forget a decimal point. Rebecca joked that there should be a new food show about food that’s so good you gained xx amount of weight because you loved it that much.

Well, for me in Belgium, it was “les frites et les gaufres” (fries and waffles in English). If you’ve never experienced true Belgian fries (where they really originated), you need to and thanks to Bruges in SLC, you can do it in Utah (which is amazing considering how many things Utah lacks from an international perspective). Or, if you’re in NYC, Pommes Frites will do the trick as well. However, the waffles are a different story. I’m sure many of you have had a Belgian waffle, but what you probably have not had is a Liege waffle (the name of both a canton and a town in the francophone part of Belgium). These are waffles made from dough, not batter, with these delicious little sugar chunks throughout. They are dense and slightly sweet, with a delicious crust. Seriously, this is the ONLY place I have ever found these made fresh–if it comes already baked and the people just warm it up, don’t waste your money. If you are in the Salt Lake area, head to 300 W/300 S and you, too, might understand how a 15-year-old managed to gain 35 lbs in five months.