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Sunday, June 30, 2013

De Frietketel, Gent Belgium

Location: Papegaaistraat, 9000 Gent, Belgium

I couldn't find much info about De Freitketel in Gent, but I did find some photos of foods they had so we decided to check it out. This was the last place we ate before catching the train out of Gent, and it was pretty cheap and a ton of food.


They have a sign saying that the veggie things can be made vegan by using a different bread and sauce than they usually use, so you just have to ask. It was crazy busy when we got there, but our food still came out pretty fast. We started with the crispy hawaiian burger - pineapple, lettuce, onion, sauce. This patty had a meaty flavor, kind of like Boca burgers but much better. The flavors were very nice and it was a really good burger.


We also tried the Groenburger (green burger)- tartar, tomato, onion, lettuce. This patty was a veggie patty with corn, peas, carrots, and potato and was delicious! One of my favorite burgers we have had. Very tasty with lots of veggies.


We also tried the Veggie Bitterballen. We didn't know what we were going to get with this, bit they were like corn and other veggie fritters. Very tasty.


And finally the fries. They were good, and you got a ton of them! I will say overall I was disappointed with the fries in Belgium. They don't season them at all, at least at the places we had fries, and I like a little salt on my fries. They also don't come with any sauces, no ketchup or anything, you have to buy that extra. Not a big deal, but it is different from most places we have been. I mean the fries were alright, but I have had better elsewhere. And that was all over Belgium we just had so so fries.

Overall- De Frietketel was really tasty, very cheap, and a ton of food. If I lived here we would go often. Definitely check it out if you are in Gent.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Thai Rainbow, Brussels, Belgium

Location: Place Sainte-Catherine 15, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

We had a few hours in Brussels on a recent vacation so we stopped at Thai Rainbow for some lunch. We started with some spring rolls. These were very black pepper-ey and were delicious.


I had the Vegetarian Noodle Soup - rice noodles with tofu and veggies. This was just alright. A bit too salty for my tastes and just so so.


Raymond had the Pad Thai with tofu. This was more peanut than tamarind flavor, but tasty. Not the best ever, but good. The tofu also had a tamarind sauce on it which was quite good.

Overall - This place was alright, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Greenway Foods, Gent Belgium

Location: Nederkouter 42, 9000 Gent, Belgium

I had high hopes for Greenway Foods. I had read a lot of great reviews, especially about their brownies so I was hoping for a great lunch. We started with the spinach burger, which was just alright. It just tasted like spinach, and the bread overpowered everything else.


We also tried the Veggie Bolognese. This was tasty and a ton of food (even though we ordered the smaller portion). I wouldn't really get it again though as I feel like I could easily make it myself.


We also tried the root cake which I did enjoy. This was probably my favorite of everything we got here. It was moist with a great flavor.

Overall - I was not that impressed with Greenway Foods. I wouldn't make a special trip there, but if walking by I would probably stop for a treat.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Cigkoftem, Gent Belgium

Location: Wondelgemstraat 86, 9000 Gent, Belgium


So I wasn't really sure what to expect when we stopped by Cigkoftem though one website said they have a vegan pate made of grains, walnuts, tomato puree, sunflower oil, parsley and green onions. We have tried different vegan pates before and have not like most of them, so I was not expecting much from this. We both ordered the Durum which has the pate, cucumber, mint, lettuce, onion and parsley inside and it was incredibly good. It was a little spicy, but the cucumber and mint paired nicely with it.

Overall - I would definitely stop by here again for some food. It was very tasty, though if you don't like spicy things it might not be for you.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Tasty World, Gent Belgium

Location: Walpoortstraat 38, 9000 Gent, Belgium

While visiting Gent we stopped by Tasty World to try their burgers. It is not a veggie place, but they do have two burgers to choose from. We decided to try one of each. We got there at lunchtime and it was quite busy and the people working were not very nice, but we were hungry. First up was the vegan burger - veggie burger, carrots, vegan mayo, lettuce, tomato. This burger was my favorite of the two, and one of the better ones we had in Gent, but not my favorite burger I have ever had. It had tons of carrots on it and the burger itself was full of veggies and tasted like mixed veggies. Pretty tasty overall.


The second burger was the veggie burger - rice burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, vegan mayo, carrot. I didn't like this one as much, but this was Raymond's favorite. I tasted more savory, but I like the veggie flavor of the other one.

Overall - While the burgers were pretty tasty I wouldn't go back again. The people working there were not nice and the whole atmosphere there was unfriendly and kind of uncomfortable.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Le Pain Quotidien, Gent Belgium

Location: Kalandeberg 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium

When we visited Washington DC we stopped for some food at Le Pain Quitidien. Since they had Belgium style sandwiches and such we decided to stop at one while we were in Belgium, though just for breakfast. We tried one of each of their vegan muffins, a blueberry and an apple cinnamon muffin. Both were very tasty and really nice flavors as well as being incredibly moist. Very good muffins.

Overall - I would stop by here again for a muffin. They were pretty tasty and a nice breakfast treat.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Lekker GEC, Gent Belgium

Location: Koningin Maria Hendrikaplein 4, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Walking around Gent after dinner we decided to try and find some dessert. We walked by Lekker GEC to check out what they had. We got a piece of Apple Crumble Cake which was very good. Lots of apple pieces, lots of cinnamon, not super sweet and very moist.


We also ordered a chocolate shake. I was hoping for a thick shake instead of the water chocolate milk like you get over here. This was kind of in between, thicker than milk, but not really thick like a good milkshake. It was tasty, though it did not have a strong chocolate flavor. It really tasted like chocolate pudding.

Overall - Both items we got here were quite tasty. We didn't try their main meals, but their desserts are quite good.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Thai Thanee, Gent Belgium

Location: Vlaanderenstraat 79, 9000 Gent, Belgium

While wandering around Gent we came upon Thai Thanee around dinnertime and decided to try it. I'm really glad we did as it was some of the best Thai food I have had. We ordered and then they brought out some of these crackers which were quite tasty. Very crunchy and a little spicy.


We started with some spring rolls and they were good. The normal glass noodles and veggies, but they had lots of black pepper in them which I enjoyed.


Then we started with the sweet and sour tofu - cucumber, peppers, onions, pineapple, and tofu in sweet and sour sauce. I normally don't order sweet and sour as it is not my favorite. A lot of times the sauce is gelatinous and lots of breaded things and fried and just not what I like. This however was amazing. The sauce was light, but added a nice flavor to the veggies. I am not sure I have ever had cucumber that had been cooked such as in this dish, but it was quite tasty. I really enjoyed all of it as it was just very good.


We also had the red curry. This was very creamy and rich and our only complaint was we wish there were more veggies in it (but that is a common complaint with curries. I am not sure why they are never full of vegetable). It had a really great flavor and was very good. It was marked with 3 chili peppers to indicate it was spicy, but it was not at all. I could barely detect any hot spice in it, and I don't like a lot of spice.

Overall - I loved Thai Thanee. I would recommend stopping by if you are in Gent as it is some of the best Thai food I have ever had.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Komkommertijd, Gent Belgium

Location: Reep 14, 9000 Gent, Belgium

We took a long weekend in Belgium recently and we arrived on a public holiday. I had forgotten that it was a public holiday and most places on my list of places to eat were closed. Thankfully Komkommertijd was open as we were super hungry. It is a buffet place so we could eat as much as we wanted.


I tried a little bit of almost everything. First up (clockwise from the top left) mini spring rolls. I didn't think you could really mess spring rolls up too much, but somehow they managed to make them not very good. Really there was basically nothing inside them so it was just deep fried spring roll wrapper, which was unfortunate. Next up fried onions. This was really greasy, but very tasty. The batter was nicely spiced and it was really good. Then there were stuffed mushrooms which I didn't try as I hate mushrooms, but Raymond said they were okay. Then there was a potato, carrot, and some other vegetable that I was not familiar with in a milky mixture. It was not that good. The sauce whatever it was didn't really have much flavor so it didn't add anything to it. The vegetables were also undercooked  so the potatoes and mystery vegetable were not good. Next a rice dish - basically rice and peas and flavoring. The flavors were very light, but tasty. Then a carrot, broccoli and pepper dish which was one of my favorites of the meal. It was slightly sweet, and had a very nice flavor. Last is a bean dish, a little spicy a little sweet. Unfortunately the beans were not rehydrated fully and were still kind of hard so it was not as good as it could have been. I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it been cooked fully.


That was it for the hot dishes. Cold dishes included pesto pasta which was pretty good. Not the best I have ever had, but my favorite thing they served here. There was also some lettuce and two dressings to make a salad.


There were also some roasted vegetables which were just not good. They were oily and just not good. There was also some carrot salad which I did not try, and a cucumber salad which was not good. I don't know what the flavor was, but I did not like it at all. Then some small containers of nuts and such to put on the salad. There was also some soup, which I forgot to take a photo of. It was like sun choke or something, I couldn't quite place all the flavors but it was tasty enough.


Then for dessert there was cherry chocolate nut cake. This was just alright. It was very moist, but not very sweet and didn't have much flavor.

Overall - I was not very impressed with Komkommertijd. There were undercooked dishes and some that just were not good. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't very good either. I wouldn't make a point to stop back here.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Maria Bonita, Berlin Germany



Summertime in Berlin is so nice. Sit outside, have a drink and some food and just enjoy the day. This day we stopped by Maria Bonita for some tacos and margaritas. We ordered the Tacos de Verduras - grilled zucchini, peppers, onions, refried beans and corn tortillas. These are very tasty - light and delicious. Perfect for a sunny day.

Overall - Maria Bonita doesn't have a lot of options, but what they do have is pretty tasty.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Le Viet, Lancaster PA

Location: 1930 Columbia Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA

I love Vietnamese food. I love Pho. I love rice noodles. So when I saw there was a place in Lancaster, Le Viet, that had soup we had to go check it out. We started with the spring rolls - Deep fried tofu, fresh herbs, vermicelli, wrapped in rice paper served with peanut sauce. These were...well they didn't really have any flavor by themselves. The peanut sauce was alright, but nothing special.


My mom ordered the Pho Xao Rau - assorted stir fried vegetables with soft rice noodles. The veggies were just lightly cooked and the noodles were pan fried. The sauce was really light, but really tasty. My mom commented on how it was like nothing she had ever tasted and she really enjoyed it.


I ordered the To Thuong - veggies and rice noodles in a veggie broth and I added tofu to it. My sister had also gotten a soup, but not vegan, and she commented on how the broth had lots of flavors like cinnamon and such that I would expect from pho type soups, and what I was expecting in my soup. It is not what I got however, I just got a normal vegetable broth that tasted like carrot and celery. I was disappointed as it was just like what I could have made at home anytime. Good, but nothing special.

Overall - The noodle dish was really good, but everything else was just okay. The non-vegan food though got rave reviews.