If you are in The Netherlands, your chances of not bumping into any road side stall/vending points selling the world famous “Patat Frites” is very small – nearly zero probability. Also known as the “Vlaamse Frites“, the traditional Dutch fries consist of long, thick potato fingers.
They are usually served in a paper cone, topped with mayonnaise. Different types of toppings are usually available including knooflok (garlic) sauce, tomato ketchup, fritessaus (a less fattier version of mayo) or the peanut sauce. These toppings are, however, not free. You can expect to pay a small charge for each one you add to your frites.
Frites are an extremely popular snack in the Dutch culture and one usually finds the Dutch savoring the frites on all occasions – while watching a high adrenaline football match or taking a leisurely stroll in the park or shopping in the streets with the kids.
So, if you are in The Netherlands, or planning to visit any time soon – don’t forget to grab your share of the patat.
Read more:
The Dutch Way: Arwa shares her impressions of Dutch culture
They’re special, my people: Thoughts on being Dutch
Story of a Dutch-Spanish wedding
These look yummy!
I know quite a few Belgians, a whole country-full actually, who would have a problem with this article. “Vlaamse frites” are, as the name says, from Belgian. The Dutch have their own variety, thinner and served not in paper cones but in plastic trays. The picture is clearly the Belgian variety.
@ Leo : Thanks for your comments on this. I appreciate your views, at the same time I would like to add that this article reflects my understanding of the Dutch frites.
This is the variety of the Dutch frites I have seen and eaten – in paper cones, with mayo. You find it everywhere in the markets. But may be these frites differ by the region and are served differently in the other places since I live in Rotterdam. “As regards the word Vlaamse, the dictionary meaning stands for “A group of Dutch dialects spoken in the southwestern Netherlands, northwest Belgium, and parts of northern France.”
I’d like to tour the Netherlands and Belgium and taste the difference!
Either way, they still look yummy to me!
yum, i’ll have mine with garlic sauce and join ana on the taste test tour!
@ Sanjay, ana and Rebecca : You all are most welcome here, we can then have the frites together.
They look similar to the chips eaten in England (for example those served with fish and chips). We don’t eat ours with mayonnaise though. And the traditional way to serve them is in a piece of newspaper.
I was eating these chips & mayo when I lived in Amsterdam in 1971 ! They were served in a paper cup with a dollop of mayo which I once spilled all down my front.
Wow, chips, riveting…
FlamingGiraffe – right, maybe chips aren’t very exotic if you eat them every Friday. Anyway, if you want you can tell us what you want to read about. We have a suggestion form –
http://pocketcultures.com/topicsoftheworld/submit-an-idea/
Even better – why not write a post?
They might just look ordinary, but the taste is divine, not your average chips !