Frituur ‘t Brochetje (Emelgem, Belgium)

Ingelmunstersestraar 23, 8870 Emelgem, Belgium

 

Frituur ‘t Brochetje is a medium sized but very modern frituur in a busy street of a small town, with a decent size space to eat inside. It is also exceptionally clean inside. They have a large selection of snacks, from the usual companies, but also some homemade sauces (including Mayo and Tartar). They have been selected as the best frituur in Belgium twice, so I come with high expectations.

 

I get a Small Fries (€ 2.30 or $2.60) with Mayonnaise (€ 0.90 or $1) and Homemade Tartar Sauce (€ 1.20 or $1.35) as well as a Crisly (for a hefty € 3.90 or $4.40) with Samourai (€ 0.90). T gets 5 Vegetable Bitterballen (€ 4.50 or $5.10) with Mustard (€ 0.90). Although homemade, the small fries are thinner than I had expected. They are perfectly fried, crispy outside but soft inside, and I get almost as many in the small tray as around it. While the fries are good, they are not exceptional. The mayo is basic, from a common brand, but the homemade tartar sauce is delicious. The Crisly is standard but as generous as they were with the fries, as stingy they were with the Samourai (particularly for € 0.90).

 

VERDICT: 91/100

Frituur ‘t Pleintje is very good, with a big selection of snacks, but not the best I have ever been to. Do make sure you try their homemade sauces!

Harvest Market (Schiphol, Netherlands)

Schiphol Airport, at Gate D, The Netherlands

 

Harvest Market is a restaurant at Schiphol Airport (at the D gate) that claims to offer “fresh and local” food. It serves various sandwiches, some traditional Dutch and US snacks (burgers, chicken nuggets, croquettes, fries) and coffee and pastries.

 

I get the Meat Croquettes (€ 9.80 or ~$11), which normally come with fries, but I ask for bread instead. The two croquettes are big, and not the standard ones you get in a snackbar, but the ragout is too creamy and not particularly flavorful. The wholewheat bread is fresh and thick, but not the best combination for croquettes.

 

VERDICT: 84/100

Obviously, this place is insanely expensive, given the location. Still, the croquettes are highly quality, they lack a bit in flavor.

Frituur ‘t Pleintje (Geel, Belgium)

Winkelomseheide 145, 2440 Geel, Belgium

 

Frituur ‘t Pleintje is a modern frietkot in the town of Geel, roughly 100 meter from another frituur. It stands out not just for its broad selection of snacks, but particularly for its vegan selection — and they fry their fries in vegetable oil.

 

I get a Small Fries (€ 2.50 or $2.80) with mayonnaise (€ 1 or $1.10) as well as a Spicy Viandel (€ 2.20 or $2.50) with Samourai (€ 1). T gets a Regular Fries with Vegan Stoofvlees (€ 8 or $9) and Pickles (1) as well as a Double Vegan Burger (€ 6.40 or $7,25). The fries are very good, although some are perhaps a bit too tough on the outside. The mayo is excellent (they don’t use the usual brands). The spicy viandel is not spicy but fortunately the samourai sauce is. T says that the vegan stoofvlees is excellent, the vegan burger a bit basic.

 

VERDICT: 92/100

Very good frituur and highly recommended for vegans!

BÖCKELS Beste (Erkelenz, Germany)

Aachener Strasse 115, 41812 Erkelenz, Germany

 

BÖCKELS Beste is a regional chain of over 30 currywurst places in Germany, mostly in North Rhine-Westphalia. This particular one is in an OBI, a big German home improvement retailer, situated just next to the entrance. It serves only currywurst and fries but this location also has a cafe with coffee and two types of cakes. 

 

What makes them particularly interesting is that they have a choice of six levels of spicy (all powders).

 

I get a Currywurst (€ 2.79 or ~$3.15) with level 6 (Es Drauf Ankomen Lassen). The sausage is good, the sauce too (not too sweet and good temperature), and the heat is quite brutal. It is really HOT but does not fully kill all taste. Shame it doesn’t come with a roll. T had a Medium Fries (€ 2.59 or ~$3) with curry sauce, also level 6, which was also brutally hot, but the fries were very good for Germany.

 

VERDICT: 89/100

Very good currywurst. Und Mega-Scharf!

Fly Chicken Torggata (Oslo, Norway)

Torggata 9A, 0181 Oslo, Norway

 

Fly Chicken is a national chain of fried chicken places, with 6 locations (in cities) in Norway, which serves fried chicken sandwiches, fried legs and wings, and a few sides (mostly fries). This particular location is in the food court of a shopping mall close to the central station of Oslo.

 

I get the Superfly sandwich (145 NOK or ~$16) and a portion of 5 Fried Wings (60 NOK or $6.75) with a side of the hot sauce. The sandwich has a big piece of well-prepared fried chicken, which is juicy and crispy, on comes on a brioche bun with lettuce, onion rings, and some BBQ sauce and sour cream. It is tasty but heavy. The wings are heavily coated, a bit like KFC, and taste mostly fat. The hot sauce is indeed spicy but has an odd flavor.

 

VERDICT: 82/100

Decent fried chicken but with a too high fat-to-flavor ratio.

King Falafel (Oslo, Norway)

Brugata 3, 0186 Oslo, Noway

 

King Falafel is a small place behind the Central Station, which serves almost only falafel sandwiches with a few sides. There are five different sandwich options, all falafel with something added (e.g. baba ganoush, frieds, humus). The owner does not speak English, you can only pay by card, and all the other clients are Arab.

 

I get the Falafel med Humus (NOK 79 or ~$9), which is 4-5 quite big falafels wrapped with humus, parsley, pickle, tomato, red onion, mint and tahini. It doesn’t look too fresh, but it is both big and tasty. The falafel are crispy and the flavors are authentic Middle Eastern.

 

VERDICT: 87/100

This is both a very good falafel and a pretty cheap meal by Oslo standards.