Last Monday night I met up with Daisy, Erica, and Rachel at Saus. We had all been there before to gorge ourselves on crisp pommes frites; various, creative dipping sauces; liege waffles; and sweet dessert sauces, but this time we were there for something new. Answering customer requests for something more substantial to eat, the owners decided to add frikandel to the menu.
Frikandel is basically a deep-fried sausage/burger sandwich. It's a well-known Belgian street food that is typically made from processed meat, so the owners experimented with a lot of different recipes to avoid using processed meat until they came up with one that was tasty, homemade, and had flavors of the traditional sandwich. They offer the sandwich four ways, and we got to try all four.
But of course, first we started with a small cone of pommes frites, and the newest dipping sauce: andalouse. I can't remember everything in the andalouse sauce, but it was sort of a tomato-onion mayo.
After whetting our palates with some frites, we started in on the sandwiches. I decided to try the burger-style frikandel, which is topped with andalouse sauce, pickles, and chopped onions, first. I really enjoyed the pickles on this version and found myself thinking I would put pickles on every version. The sausage itself was crisp and well seasoned. And the bun was brushed with a thin layer of the andalouse sauce and then grilled.
Next, I went for a piece of the double cheddar sandwich. As with the other sandwich, the bun is brushed with a teeny bit of house-made mayo and then grilled. Next some shredded cheddar is sprinkled on the bun and the hot deep-fried sausage is placed on top (so the cheese melts) and coated with the cheddar Duvel ale sauce. (You may remember that this one was one of my favorite sauces during my first visit.)
I probably don't even have to tell you how good this sandwich was... especially if you love cheeseburgers. It reminded me how much I liked the cheddar Duvel ale sauce.
Next, I went a little out of my comfort zone and tried the spicy sandwich. This one comes topped with ole chipotle sauce and spicy jalapenos. I picked the jalapenos off my piece of the sandwich (and Daisy gladly added the extras to hers). This left the sandwich with just enough of a kick for me, a more subtle spiciness.
We saved the most traditional sandwich for last. The toppings on the speciaal are typical of what you would find in Belgium: curry ketchup, mayo, and chopped onions. I'm not a huge fan of curry, so this one made me a little nervous, but the curry component of the ketchup is not overpowering, and I enjoyed this sandwich as well.
I highly recommend all four versions of the sandwich, and I'm already planning to stop in there next time Jeff and I head to a Bruins game so he can try the double cheddar version. I love that Saus is slowly adding new items to the menu, making sure to test, try, and re-try everything to keep it as traditional as possible and make it as delicious as possible.
And speaking of delicious menu items, we couldn't leave without sharing a waffle. We had all four dessert sauces (homemade Nutella, salted caramel, berry berry, and lemon cream) with the waffle. I wish I had pictures to show you, but we all dug in without thinking about it!
Our food was complimentary, but as always, my opinions are my own. A huge thank you to Renee and Chin for inviting us in and preparing such great food for us to sample.
Have you been to Saus yet? What's your favorite thing to order there?
