Ghent provides an excellent and affordable sample of Flemish cuisine, which in the eyes of the locals is one of Europe's finest as it combines French delicacy with northern European sturdiness. Try some local specialties like mussels, spare ribs or 'stoverij' a kind of tender meat cooked for three hours in dark beer with a brown gravy with Belgian fries.
Another dish from Ghent is the "Gentse waterzooi" litt. "boiled water from Ghent", which was the food for the poor originally, a stew of cheap fish usually turbot and vegetables. Now it is often made with chicken as well.
The restaurants on Korenmarkt and Vrijdagmarkt are a good deal, reasonably priced; the menus and 'menus of the day' at the Brasserie Borluut provide terrific value and this includes Gentse waterzooi.The real upmarket restaurants are to be found in the 14th century quarter called 'Patershol', near the Castle. There is also a big Turkish community in Ghent, centred around Sleepstraat a bit further north, which is home to numerous Turkish restaurants.
