My chat with Boris got me thinking about my own visit to Belgium. 

I spent a week in Ghent with my lifelong friend and travel buddy, Lisa. We had been overseas for not even two weeks, unaware of the new adventures and life changes that, over the years, would come from our jaunt around Europe. We took a train from Amsterdam; watched the countryside, drew little pictures  of our adventures, ate some hastily purchased bitterballen. 

Then, we were in Belgium. We were set to meet our Couchsurfing host at the train station, so we chatted with a sausage vendor, who sang us an aria from his favourite opera. 

Our host was a wry young woman with blonde dreadlocks and bright, colourful clothing. We spent many happy evenings with her.  On our first night, we accompanied her to a local taverne, where her friends held an underground "pay what you can" dinner party. We dropped some euros into a jar next to an enormous pot of stew, and sat at a big, crowded table.  We clinked glasses of beer, and tucked into deep bowls of lentil soup as wisps of smoke and the snippets of Flemish floated around us. 
We chatted with many people that night, and though we'd just eaten, we of course we began asking about food. Lisa and I had spent a good portion of our train journey discussing how excited we were to try frieten, which are Belgian style chips, served hot in a paper cone. When we asked our new friends about where to get the best ones, they all agreed on one thing; no matter where we go, we must get speciaalsaus. It was, of course, the first thing we did when we were on our own in the city the next day.

So, what is speciaalsaus? It's a combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, and curry, with a bit of chopped onion. It's easy to make and absolutely delicious on chips. I'm sure this would also be good with sausages, burgers, or pretty much anything fried.
In my interview with Boris, he says he prefers his fries late at night, with "just salt", but  the mention of Belgian frieten evoked such fond memories. The other day, it was really slow in the restaurant where I cook, so I made myself some fries and decided to try and make some sauce.
One taste, and I was transported right back to Ghent, sitting in a little shop with my best friend, giggling over our travels, wondering what was ahead, and dipping hot frites into speciaalsaus.

Belgian Speciaalsaus

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 1/2 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 of an onion, diced

Combine ingredients.  Enjoy.

I know this isn't much of a recipe, but hopefully it will be of good use to you. 

Lisa. Ghent. Adventure awaits.