Things were mighty quiet on Cambridge’s authentic Belgian waffle front for years. Right up until about September of 2011.
That’s when Harvard alumn Nhon Ma recalled his childhood spent among the wafting aromas and battered goodness of an acclaimed Belgian restaurant, peered around the Cantabridgian landscape with a steely eye, and understood that opening an authentic waffle house of his very own right in the heart of Harvard would be something that would bring sweetness and light to the denizens of our fair city. After that, all was well.
That is, right up until this past summer, when he and his partner, friend, and fellow Belgian Anh-Phi Tran began making inroads towards one-upping their already looming status as reigning gods of the town’s waffle game. How? By taking their love of homeland-style soft and chewy waffles to the street by way of the Zinneken’s mobile food truck at long last has hit the road, bringing all the deliciousness and waffle-ness directly to the people. So far they have locations locked near the Prudential, Copley Plaza, Northeastern, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. And according to Tran, it’s only the beginning.
“We definitely want to do festivals,” he says. “SOWA market is a project [we want], but we’ll see how it goes. We want to do what we have now [and] into March, and see how we’re doing and how we’ll expand into festivals.”
With the truck now rolling around town, you can look forward to much of the same goodies you’d find in the brick-and-mortar store (think: soft and chewy Leige waffles made using caramelized Belgian pearl sugar, all of which can/will be drenched in bananas, Nutella, Belgian chocolate and strawberries, or even Oreos) and after things get rolling they’ll be adding their dynamite Brussels waffle made with “a delicate batter” will be added to the truck menu.
Or say you’re just in the mood for a light sugary snack and a café au lait to tide you over till dinner (yes, waffles can be for dinner). Tran says the truck will be serving a cookie that’s very popular in Belgium, called speculoos.
“It’s a light cookie with no peanuts, so people with allergies can have it,” he says.
But those of you allergic to light cookies may be out of luck.
And clearly born under a bad sign.
ZINNEKEN’S TRUCK. ON STREETS NOW. CHECK WEBSITE FOR SCHEDULE AND LOCATION.
Dan is a freelance journalist and has written for publications including Vice, Esquire, the Daily Beast, Fast Company, Pacific Standard, MEL, Leafly, Thrillist, and DigBoston.
