My palate was first introduced to the Liege waffle, though at the time I couldn’t call it by name, by the lovely Cafe Medina on Vancouver’s Beatty Street. I was immediately ruined for all other waffles. Their texture, the aroma, and such sweetness…oh my.

Cafe Medina

Cafe Medina

Still thinking about them upon my return home to Edmonton, I thought perhaps I would do a little “recherche” and find out why those waffles tasted SO GOOD! The answer? These were no ordinary Belgian waffles, these were Liege waffles. Rather than a waffle batter, these are made from a yeast dough and special pearl sugar from Belgium (which incidentally I soon discovered is impossible to track down in Edmonton).  The waffle originated in the Belgian city of Liege in the 18th century as an adaptation of a brioche bread dough. The result is a chewier, denser, richer waffle, with hits of caramelized sugar surprises courtesy of the alchemy of waffle iron heat hitting pearl sugar bits. Think waffle + yeast donut + chewy croissant + warm + yummy toppings.

After Cream and I visited Cafe Medina for a summer birthday weekend last year, we were both hooked. Their offerings of rich toppings like rose caramel, pistachio white chocolate, and fig marmalade were the proverbial cherry on top. It was settled. During Cream’s stay chez Sugar while prepping for her Vancouver move, we would attempt the Liege waffle. Armed with dulce de leche, mango butter, and raspberry laced chocolate toppings, all that remained was the elusive waffle dough. Upon realizing that pearl sugar did not exist at any specialty store in the entire city, internet research told me that I could substitute broken up sugar cubes. Check. With patiently made yeast dough in place, and pretty sugar chunks folded in, they hit the waffle iron. They smelled right. The looked right. They tasted WRONG. Sadness set in.

Liege attempts at home...look pretty, taste bad.

After seeing even Bobby Flay fail miserably on Throw Down against Manhattan’s Liege Waffle King of “Wafels and Dinges” fame, I decided I shouldn’t despair too much. Clearly this is a trained art that requires the kind of perfecting that comes from experience and tradition.

So last summer, with waffles fresh on the brain and satisfaction not achieved on the waffle home front, it was like a beacon of light when right down the street from home we spotted a small white van with waffles on the side. They looked like the round free form variety of the Liege waffle, and Cream and I pulled over the car, examined the van, wondered where we could find these waffles, and left a note that only two crazed foodies would leave, with our contact information and a waffle request. No reply.

THE van

Fast forward to June of 2010 where a tiny white waffle van is parked in front of the WCB building on 107th Street and 99th Avenue and you will find a very happy, very sugar craving, nine month pregnant Sugar, standing in the rain ordering caramel topped Liege waffles in Edmonton!!!! It’s in fact the same van that was parked up my street last summer, and its lovely Belgian proprietor, Bamir Basha, has just opened shop mere weeks before under the name Eva Sweet. Quelle chance! I excitedly let him know that I had left a waffle love note for him last year. He remembered the note on the van last summer and told me that he was in the process of deciding if he was going to make a go of it or not at the time, received the note, and thought, “I should just do it!” After moving to Canada and achieving his dream of buying a house just five years ago, his second dream of once again having a waffle van came to be this late spring.

Eva Sweet's Perfect Liege Waffle Doughs

Bamir excitedly hauled out a photo of himself in his original waffle VW van in Begium, showed me the beautiful doughs in three varieties (original vanilla, cinnamon, and maple) laced with gorgeous pearl sugar drops that he imports from Belgium, and popped my order into the hot iron. As the sweet smell made its way to me, I shared with him my failed attempt at the Liege waffle. He kindly sympathized and said that even after years of practice sometimes just the humidity and climate can ruin a good batch of dough. Too kind. Finally, with hot waffles in hand and caramel sauce dispensed, I enjoyed my first bite. Perfection.

Eva Sweet's Liege Waffle

Mr. Basha’s excitement about what he’s doing, his loving attention to the quality of his product, his careful calculation about getting  just the right amount of sugar and sweetness, his passion for introducing something he loves from his Belgian home to Edmonton’s untrained palate, and his drive to share love through food is evident. That love and attention equals DELICIOUS! I will be back….perhaps far too often. Baby likes sugar.