One evening late last fall, I went for a walk after a rainy stretch of weather and happened upon a tantalizing scent in Harvard Square. It was part freshly baked bread and part heady vanilla, with a toasty edge of caramelized sugar. Nose up like a cartoon character, I followed the aroma into a glowing café called Zinneken’s where cooks busily turned out waffles for a packed house.
The Liège waffle, the Belgian café’s specialty, was unlike any waffle I’d ever eaten: oblong with charmingly uneven edges like a raw hemline and deeply caramelized crenulations that gave way to a subtly layered and elastic interior. Small sugar nuggets strewn throughout the rich crumb provided crunch and enough sweetness that I immediately understood why these waffles are traditionally served plain—no