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A Tale of Two Rust Belts
Belgium and Pennsylvania have a lot in common. But when it comes to food, there’s no contest: Europeans do it better
I have lived almost my entire life in two oddly similar places: Belgium and Pennsylvania. Both once harbored roaring industries that helped build mighty megalopolises — Paris and New York. Now both survive on a mix of services, education, and health care. They have almost the same population — 12.8 million in Pennsylvania and 11.4 million in Belgium. The climates are similar; they even look the same. Squint and you won’t know whether you’re in Liège or Pittsburgh.
One of the biggest differences is food. The Belgians do it better — and government and culture are mostly to blame.
The eastern city of Liège, once Belgium’s steel city, is full of neighborhood markets, bakers, and independent butchers. Tavernes dole out plates of moules-frites and steak Americain (tartare) at the speed of light. Instead of fast food joints, Belgium has frietkots that sell freshly-cut French fries.
The food revolution in Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania city I moved to in 2011, has come in fits…
