When you want to treat yourself to breakfast, what’s better than visiting your favorite breakfast places for Belgian waffles? Specifically, visiting Linda’s Breakfast Place in Seabrook for one of our Belgian waffles!
Have you ever wondered why we call them Belgian waffles, though? Are they really Belgian, or are they more like French toast, which we call French because they popularized it? These are all important questions, and we are here to answer them!
Just how Belgian are Belgian waffles? Let’s take a look at the history of this staple of breakfast places everywhere.
There’s more than one Belgian waffle.
There are two, to be precise. The waffles we call Belgian were introduced to Americans by the Vermesch family (more on them later). They initially called them Brussels waffles, after Belgium’s capital city. This needed to differentiate them from the Liege waffle, named after another city in Belgium. Liege waffles have a chewier dough, a bit like Brioche. They also include pearl sugar in the batter. The pearl sugar carmelizes into bites of brown sugar when it cooks in the waffle iron. While undoubtedly delicious, the Leige waffle didn’t take off the way the fluffy, crispy Brussels waffle did, earning its title as the Belgian waffle.
Okay, but are they really Belgian?
The truth is we don’t know exactly where waffles come from, but it’s either Belgium or France. Street food throughout Europe has featured food similar to waffles for centuries. But the crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside waffles with deep squares that we call Belgian waffles came to America in the 1960s.
The Vermesch Family at the World’s Fair
Now we come back to the Vermesch family. The World’s Fair was held in Seattle in 1962, and Maurice Vermesch was there with his family, serving waffles. Customers could have them plain or with whipped cream and strawberries, an option that people still enjoy today. People liked them, but Maurice’s waffles weren’t a smash hit until 1964 when the World’s Fair was in Queens, New York. The Vermesch family had trouble keeping up with the demand; they hired ten people just to slice strawberries!
Enjoy Waffles at Your Favorite Breakfast Places!
The rest is history, and today you won’t find a diner or breakfast place that doesn’t serve Belgian waffles. So treat yourself this August 24th and enjoy some waffles with us at Linda’s!
