I can tell already it is going to be hard to keep up my blogging what with all the culinary experiences I’ve been having, and the amount of time I can steal away from the day to write them up. I will try my best though.
The day after we arrived, we went to a local artisan market in Burdinne, where all that was sold was either pain, fromage, ou biere. Actually, there were some fabulous pastries as well, but that must have been included in the bread category. To get there, we drove on wet cobblestone streets under dark and looming clouds that threatened, but never gave us a good drenching. We knew we were close when we saw cars lining the street, and our friend dropped us off at the great brick building with the archway hung with the sign “Nostalgie” where people were coming in and out of while she went and parked.
When we all gathered together again, we walked through an old big courtyard, the brick buildings covered with scaffolding, and our way to the market was directed with metal fencing. At the end, one of our party recognized the guy checking for stamped hands to make sure you paid, and he called out to him, told him we were all his friends, and so we all got in for free. The first building we entered was huge and open, though dimly lit. People were strewn about the room, standing on the pebbly floor, and over their heads was a great high ceiling, towering above us. We quickly assessed the area, and found it to be a children’s hangout area. While the others lingered, Jan and I eagerly made our way up and out of the building where we found long benches between the one building and the one across the way. There people were sitting and drinking their glowing glasses of gold liquid under a great tent roof that protected them from the lightly falling rain.
We took it in, and crossed over to the other building, where we were assaulted instantly by the smells, noise, lights and jumble of things to see. We were in heaven. Lights were strung about the building, which had a lower ceiling than the other and was much more cozy, and people were packed into the space. They all moved around, talked, laughed, bartered, bought, and sat and ate happily. We gazed at bread stands full of baskets of delicious looking breads of different shapes and colors. We looked joyfully at cheese booths with great wheels of cheese and piles of bries, some cut in half and covered with cellophane affording us a look at the rich creamy yellow insides. We took in the busy beer stalls with their displays of bottled beers and the tapsters busy pouring. We glanced at the people sitting and drinking their many different types of beer. I felt overwhelmed. I wanted to do everything and eat everything all at once. This was my kind of market.
We started with a blonde called Gouyasse and a cassis beer called Ducassis, each 2,50€. They were both delicious and light on the tongue, but it was the Ducassis that felt like it quenched the thirst, it was so nicely sweet and not terribly sweet at the same time. I just wanted to drink it all down. Instead, we joined the others outside and wiped down a bench with napkins so we could all sit down and eat the platters of cheese and hunks of bread they had acquired. We had a great time tasting them all, agreeing on favorites, and telling each other which one tasted like oysters. For I swear, there was a brie that had that exact flavor. It was delicious. There was also a great parmesan, and several strong and immensely flavorful soft cheeses that I enjoyed. And the bread was perfect. It was a grayish color, dense and moist and flavorful in a way that complimented all the cheeses, but did not overpower them.
When we were done eating, we went back in to fully explore. We ate the most fantastic pastries, little round glazed doughnut like things dusted with powdered sugar and cut in half and filled with a rich buttery sweet pudding that all melted in my mouth. It was so good.
We went on to try other beers, carrying them around while we peered at goods and chatted with booth keepers and revelers. We went home with little white plastic sacks of breads, cheeses, and sirops de liege (a concoction of pear and apple juice cooked down over a long period of time until it is a thick, caramely, viscous texture that is intensely flavorful). And a pack of Ducassis.
