Two weeks ago I discussed Gordo’s and last week I discussed Frenchie Fresh, Cincinnati-area restaurants with good burgers. Oddly enough, both are located in Norwood, a suburb of Cincinnati. And my third recommendation is also in Norwood!
In fairness, while Norwood is the only location for Frenchie Fresh right now, they are opening a second location soon in Mason, a town north of Cincinnati. And while this week’s entry is about a burger I had at Taste of Belgium’s Norwood location, this is actually not the flagship location of this local chain.
Taste of Belgium was started by Belgian Jean-François Flechet who in 2007 brought back a 120 lb. cast iron waffle maker after a visit to his birthplace. He started by making waffles in the back of a produce store in Cincinnati’s wonderful historic Findlay Market in the downtown Over-the-Rhine neighborhood (usually simply called OTR) and quickly was forced by the waffle’s popularity to open his own shop in the market. These waffles are delicious. The recipe is not the waffle batter with which Americans are accustomed. It is instead a pliable, thick dough made with beet sugar. As the dough cooks, some of the beet sugar caramelizes on the surface providing bits of crunchy goodness.
Taste of Belgium has now expanded and has several bistro locations with the first being an OTR location not far from Findlay Market.
Their Norwood location is literally right across the parking lot from Frenchie Fresh.
While Taste of Belgium is more known for their sweet waffles and great brunches, they do make an excellent burger. What truly makes it distinctive visually is it is not served on a bun. Nor is it served on their normal waffles. Instead, waffles made from cheddar grits cooked in the waffle iron take the place of a bun. The burger patty is not just ground beef. It is a blend of short rib, brisket, and chuck. The meat is topped with bacon, goat cheese, and caramelized apples and shallots. The sandwich is served with excellent fries, or—since we are talking about Taste of Belgium—frites. Like all Belgian fries, the potato slices are double fried.
The burger is a great example of Taste of Belgium’s philosophy. As they say, “We take traditional Belgian recipes and we twist them; we take American classics and we Belgianize them.”