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Today is a tense day when it comes to U.S.-Belgian relations. With the big World Cup match looming, there's going to be a lot of pressure for Americans to muster up all the anti-Belgian fervor they can manage. This is understandable. The World Cup is a fun and healthy way to get your rah-rah nationalism on without, you know, supporting a war or anything. Still, this is Belgium we're talking about. While it's fun to rip up our Jean-Claude Van Damme posters and joke about burning waffles in effigy ... well, first of all, don't do that. Waffles are delicious. But second of all, Belgium's given us lots of good things! So maybe just take half a second here to nod our heads in the directions of the things we like about Belgium, before we start screaming at them to get their injury-feigning asses off our pitch.
Why I Like Belgium
by The Wire Staff
Fries with Mayo
I've long been mocked for this predilection even as it becomes more fashionable (the line's always outside the door at Belgian-inspired Pommes Frites in the East Village!). I long ago learned that my lot in life would be for someone to make a face at me as I ask my waiter if I can get mayo to come with my fries. There's one blessed country on earth where that would never be the case — Belgium, where you have to ask for mayo NOT to come with your fries. Oh, and everywhere serves fries, and they're basically the best fries in the world. Every time I've visited Belgium, it's been an unadulterated paradise for my deviant mayo-consuming ways. —David Sims