Posted by Raphael, August 22, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Liege waffle from the Wafels & Dinges Truck. Photograph by nycblondieandbrownie
As a Belgian, I can say that there are no truly great waffles in the city. It makes me very sad and frustrated that no one seems to be able to get it right. Most of the time they're just pre-made and then heated through, and sometimes they're made with oil instead of butter. The places that do make them from scratch don't make them to order, and even then they lack the requisite beaded sugar, or they're covered in insane toppings. Sure, there are decent waffles like Le Petit Belge, Le Pain Quotidien, and maybe PetalBelle; but no great waffles. Of course that's not going to stop me from celebrating National Waffle Day on Sunday. The Wafels & Dinges Truck, which last weekend announced they're finally going to be serving fresh baked Liege waffles, will be giving away free samples on Sunday, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., on Broadway and 75th Street in Manhattan. I'll be there to check it out.
What food excursions do you have planned for the weekend?
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 24, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Cookies are nice, but waffles are also pretty magical when sandwiching ice cream. Blondie and Brownie have the skinny on this fat dessert. I was lucky enough to join and watched the Louie G staffer in action, pulling down on that waffle iron. Orders require ten minutes for waffle heating time, but you'll need that long to decide among the uncle's forty flavors.
Uncle Louie G's
157 Prospect Park SW, Brooklyn NY 11218 (near Vanderbilt Street; map)
718-438-9282
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 21, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Is Wafels & Dinges, the Belgian waffle outfit that opened late last year, using frozen waffles in its operation? A tipster at Eater emailed that website a photo of what appears to be evidence of such. The photo was captured at Brooklyn Flea, where Wafels & Dinges has a seasonal outpost.
Related: The Best Belgian Wafel (Waffle) Maker in NYC: When They're Made to Order!
Posted by Ed Levine, December 10, 2007 at 7:25 AM
Wafels & Dinges has parked its truck outside Fairway (74th and Broadway) on Sundays, so how could I resist a Belgian waffle's siren call when I finished food shopping? I couldn't and I didn't. I had a liege and a regular with Belgian Fudge around 12:30. They were perfect pre-Giants game snacks. I was carb loading in anticipation of some heavy rooting.
The $4 Liege, described on the menu as the "other" Belgian wafel, was packed with sugar pearls and was soft, chewy, and caramely, with a nice cinammony twist. The $4 regular, described on the menu as the mother of all wafels, was light and crunchy and amazingly the Belgian fudge sauce tasted like a high quality hot fudge, smooth and not too sweet. Not surprisingly because chief wafel master Thomas Degeest said he makes it himself. The truck's hot chocolate, made with a combination of Nestle's Dark Chocolate and a Belgian mix, is too sweet and eminently skippable.
These wafels are well worth eating. In fact, they are downright delicious. They're better than Le Pain Quotidien's Liege-style Belgian waffles, which by the way are pretty tasty as well. But to make sure your waffle is up to snuff make sure they make your waffels to order. Mine were, and I am sure that's why they were so good. Serious Eater Raphael, who grew up in Belgium, had both kinds of waffel at the Wafels & Dinges truck a couple of weeks ago, and his waffels had clearly been sitting out of the waffle iron for more than a few minutes. As a result he was underwhelmed by what he ate. So even if you see a stack of already made waffels on the counter in the truck, tell Thomas or his helper you will gladly wait for a freshly made waffel. It's well worth the wait.
Note to Thomas Degeest: Upgrade the hot chocolate. Jacques Torres may not be Belgian, but he makes a very fine hot chocolate mix. Here's where to find these waffels:
Tuesday - Friday: Broadway between Spring and Prince, starting late morning till about 7pm.
Saturday: Park Slope Location TBD
Sunday: Upper West Side, on Broadway at 74th, right across from Fairway, starting at 10 am.
