The TASTIEST Christmas Market in Europe? You WON'T Believe What We Found in Brussels!

In this episode, Michelle and Alex explore everything Brussels has to offer, including what many claim is the "largest christmas market in Europe", the Brussels Christmas Market. Plus: a mini-Belgium food tour, featuring Belgian chocolate and seasonal Belgian specialties.
Episode 25 · Filmed on December 15, 2022 · Brussels, Belgium
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00:00 Introduction
00:23 Les Brassins (chicons au gratin, stoemp)
03:11 Comic art walk
04:45 Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (belgian chocolate)
08:15 Grand Place (christmas light show)
10:01 Christmas Market: Tartiflette
11:31 Christmas Market: Caviar, Duck Liver Paté
13:09 Christmas Market: Pastrami Kroketten
14:27 Christmas Market: Speculaas Nougat
15:43 Wrap up
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WHO IS BUNCHARTED?
We're Michelle and Alex, a travel-obsessed American couple living abroad in the Netherlands.
In 2020, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and... yeah, that didn't happen. So in 2022, we decided to make an even BIGGER change, packing up our lives (and our cats 🐈), moving from Austin, Texas, to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Subscribe for new videos like this every week!

[@bertdejong3]

The dish you ate,is Brussels lof(Netherlands )with cheese and ham, also called witlof(Belgium )or chicons in french (Wallonië) The meatballs are more a Wallon dish.

[@Dutch1961]

To bad you didn't go to restaurant 't Kelderke on the Grand Place (Great Square). It's situated in the basement (kelderke = little cellar) of one of the medieval buildings on the square. They serve traditional Belgian dishes. They also have stoemp. I recognized a lot of the places in your video as I'm a regular visitor of Brussels.

[@buncharted]

we’ll just have to go back 😄

[@peterf1]

What a great food tour of Brussels. I'm sure there's more but that's for another video!

[@wimschiphorst8541]

Meatballs are not a Belgian thing. Not such a thing anymore nowadys. But we used to call Wednesday, meatloaf day. Then there was a special offer at all butchers. By the way the Smurf were made world known by "Vader Abraham and his Smrfenlied (Father Abraham and the Smurf song)". The big building is the townhall

[@buncharted]

is meatloaf still common there?

[@bertdejong3]

The meatballs are very much Belgium,but more in the french part of the country.

[@Anneke_on_coffee_break]

Actually, ballekes in tomatensaus (meatballs in tomatosauce) are a staple here, recipe from my great-grandmother…

[@metalblind95]

Tartiflette is from Savoie, France, FYR; This one looked adapted as street food with those onions, -or is it a Belgian twist, dunno-, looks good IMO.

[@Harrypjotter7]

Next year go to colmar in France. About 5 hour drive from the Netherlands. Great Christmas market.

[@eelco_de_haan]

i am raised on those strips (graphic novels), and most came from indeed from our neighbors in belgium. especially the ones from publisher Arboris were little pieces of art disguised as a graphic novel :) although i had subcription for spiderman, xmen and batman, great and all....but some those european graphic novels i even classify sometimes as literature. no batman that can comes close ;)

[@frankgeurts3912]

You should get Gentse Neuzen,a very tasty Belgian sweet

[@buncharted]

ooh, this sounds right up my alley! thanks!

[@davidc.w.2908]

Unfortunately, you cannot get a nougat without nuts. I’m allergic to most nuts and so can’t eat it 😢 Lots of interesting Belgian cities. I suggest you try Brugge too.

[@buncharted]

very excited to visit brugge

[@kubrabenelli9117]

The caviar is so belgian, even at a normal market you can buy oysters and bubbles.

[@papje]

If you like beer than belgium is the place to be (if you like good beers)

[@davevanbeers6944]

Looks like you had fun! Antwerpen or Brussels?

[@buncharted]

we haven’t been to antwerp yet but we are planning on going soon!

[@gerrygrouwe70]

I dont think that you had andijvie but what we call witlof it is all year around in dutch supermarkerts

[@bartvschuylenburg]

Witlof it is for sure. Andijvie isn’t around in winter. But witlof is known as “andive” in English and French just to make it confusing.

[@ElMariachi1337]

Actually it's chicory in English, andive is French which makes sense being in Brussels

[@Dutchbelg3]

@@ElMariachi1337 It is called "endives" in America. The "andijvie" is not even known in the USA.. Some people call "Witlof" even Belgian endives. Witlof is cultured around the Brussels area and IS available year around but the ones cultured outside are seasonal.

[@forkless]

@@bartvschuylenburg With exception to Australian English, where it is called witlof again.

[@Floriaanterbeke]

Correction: it is no longer allowed to call it a Christmas market: please use "Winter market"

[@bertdejong3]

Don't go for woke! It's still a Christmas market 😁

[@riccardoattilia8219]

Actually, the whole set of activities is called Plaisirs d'hiver. Among the activities you have Brussels by light (the light show), the ice rink and then also the Christmas market.

[@timchromecast]

​@@bertdejong3 they want to ban it out of the city centre now, and move it to the neighbourhood of the atomium, which will be an epic failure.

[@sese8976]

I think it’s witloff not andive