Going to Brugge

I may have mentioned this before, but something about traveling always makes us (mostly me) hungry. Not sure if it's the constant moving around with heavy bags, or boredom, or something else, but we usually end up getting a snack at whatever transportation hub we're at. Before catching the train to Brugge, we stopped at the small grocery shop at the Antwerp train station to pick up a sandwich and some candy. If I remember correctly, we just made the train.

We split the sandwich once we were on our way. Like most European sandwiches, it wasn't especially packed with stuff, but it was better than some thin ones we've encountered in our travels since (like this one). It was "geroosterde kip" (roasted chicken) in creamy dressing with tomato and lettuce, and pretty good for a to-go packaged sandwich. The addition of the lettuce and tomato made it taste really fresh. From what we remember, the chicken salad wasn't bad either.

But our greatest find at the Antwerp train station store was the bag of Haribo smurfs, which I've mentioned before. We didn't end up trying them on this train ride, but they quickly became one of our favorite candies. For the longest time after the trip, we couldn't find the Smurfs here in the States and it was really frustrating because we liked them that much. We can get them here now but they're not the ones made in Germany (I think they're from Turkey) so they don't taste quite the same (but they'll do). We love the sweet berry flavor.

Our train snack was the perfect amount as we completed our train ride to Brugge. After we got there, we couldn't find a bus and walked to our hotel with a very nice man from California who had spent the day in Ghent, checked in, and got settled in our new town. We couldn't wait to explore Brugge!

Quick Burger

We left Amsterdam on a sunny day with blue skies and arrived in Antwerp, Belgium, where it was cloudy and drizzling. Our final destination that day was Brugge, but first we had to switch trains at the Antwerp train station. We figured that, since we had to get off in Antwerp, why not take a few hours and explore the city? After all, who knew when we were going to be back in Antwerp?

Antwerpen Centraal

Even though we had pancakes and herring and fries that morning, we were hungry and looking for a late lunch when we got to Antwerp. Walking down the avenue from the central station, there were lots of fast food outlets. We're not huge fast food eaters at home, but love the chance to try fast food chains (or even special fast food dishes at American chains) in other parts of the world. M had previously heard of Quick, the Belgian burger chain, so we decided to give it a try.

We decided to skip the extra long giant burgers (basically two burgers in one) and other unhealthy things like cheesy sticks. Instead, A got a combo with a burger and fries, while M opted for a "big kids" meal.

A went with the supreme pepper burger.

A was intrigued by the name which was the biggest reason he got this particular burger. What made it so supreme? What was the pepper aspect? He had so many questions. In the end it was just a cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese. There wasn't anything too remarkable about the ensemble, but for a fast food burger it was pretty good quality with pretty good flavor.

Quick had two levels of kids meals, including one for "older" kids, so M went with that one and got a king fish sandwich for her main meal.

This was basically like a McDonalds filet-o-fish, except she liked it a little better. It was cheesy and the fish was good (for a fast food place). It was topped with shredded green lettuce.

The kids meal also included a small order of fries and a dessert, which was apricot sauce in a small squeeze container. Those squeeze containers were popular in Europe at the time, but we didn't see them here as often (even though now they are everywhere in the US). It was sweet with the consistency of applesauce, but it was nice to have a flavor other than apple. 

We don't remember too much about the fries, except that you could get them with ketchup or mayo on the side. They were fine, a lot like McDonalds. After all, Quick is often referred to as the Belgian (or French) McDonalds. The one thing is that they weren't too salty.

The best part of the kids meal for M was the "toy" that came with it. We weren't sure what to expect but when we pulled it out, it was a book with Marvel comics on the cover and the word "agenda" on the binding. It was a full-sized year-long planner! Why don't we have such useful "toys" with our Happy Meals? M would go more often if she could get an annual calendar with her cheeseburger.

Quick, our only meal in Antwerp, wasn't the greatest meal we had in Belgium, but it was a good snack. It also made us think about all the things we wished we had in American fast food - fish sandwiches in kids meals, useful productivity tools as "toys", etc. That's what always happens when we visit fast foods outlets abroad. Why can't we have nice things here?