Gentle readers: por favor welcome Charisma Madarang, a recent graduate of UC Irvine's acclaimed literary journalism department, and the author of the great mini-essay on Newport's Dory fleet that appeared in our summer issue. She'll contribute occasional pieces for SaFII–that is, until she leaves our lollipop stand for the true world of publishing. Now, on to her write-up on another luxe lonchera…
A true Liege waffle is not the flimsy, sugar-cardboard stuff that gets slapped on a plate and doused in a poor excuse for syrup at IHOP. They are hearty, formidable, achingly delicious–and they are what the recently launched Waffles de Liege food truck sells.
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Most waffles found in the States are made from batter and tend to be light, fluffy things, whereas Liege waffles are whipped into shape with dough, giving them a thicker and richer texture. Co-founders George Wu and Lawrence Tai (UC Irvine biology and engineering graduates turned foodie entrepreneurs) pride themselves in making their dough fresh every morning, and for their imported Belgian sugar pearls. These essential sugar pearls create a caramelized and tantalizingly sweet, crispy exterior with a savory interior.
Of course, we couldn't stop with their basic waffle, sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. With waffles starting at $4.50 and toppings at 50 cents, we asked for a mountainous scoop of Fosselman's delectable vanilla bean ice cream that provided the perfect cool treat to the toasty waffle. It was then followed by a generous amount of chocolate and caramel syrup drizzled across a heap of thick whipped cream. Next time we're going to go for the whole shebang and adding Nutella, Speculoos (a creamy spread that tastes like hyped-up graham crackers), strawberries, and bananas too, but that's once we've mentally prepared ourselves for such a feat and stretch out our stomach with a couple of five-pound burritos…
Follow Waffles de Liege on Twitter @wafflesdeliege
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