I too have been charged for ketchup in Australia. Thank God for this post. Next Wednesday (April 11) we are travelling to the UK. Thanks to this forum I can now to act like a traveller instead of a tourist.<BR>John

Canadians love their poutine - french fries smothered in melted cheese and then in case your arteries aren't clogged enough, a generous helping of gravy on top!! Yummmm

Guess they were like reagan and thought it was a vegetable.

Jumping into the fryer on the ketchup debate....unlike my Canadian cousins who DO have the vile "poutine" another poster mentioned, I guess I'm your average American who enjoys ketchup with my fries; so much so that before I begin a trip I take packets of it with me (along with mustard & mayo - you never know...and I like a picnic now & then too) :) I put them in a ziplock baggie and have them with me in my backpack for those "food emergencies".

That's really wierd, John, because the norm for fries in Belgium is mayonnaise, not ketchup, and we've never been charged for either. I think you were ripped off.I've been to Brugge a half-dozen times in the past 20 years and never paid anything extra for ANY condiment.

Its funny you should mention that StCirq as I was going to say exactly the same thing abnout being ripped off to the guys who got charged for tomato sauce here in Australia - I've lived here all my life & never paid for any condiment either. <BR>Just for the record I LOVE hot chips salted, with vinegar, with tartare sauce, mayo or tomato sauce...very easy to please!

It's quite common for cheaper restaurants across Belgium to charge for any kind of sauce, whether it's ketchup, mayonnaise, or so on. 50befs is on the high side, though--generally, places charge 25 befs at most. <BR>"Regular" restaurants usually don't; if you were eating at a restaurant with full service, rather than a fast food or budget place, it was against the norm to charge you. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rip-off restaurants in Brugge and looks like you wandered into one of them. <BR>BTilke (Brussels)

Ate in Switzeralnd once 30 years ago. They charged for the catsup. It was so much that my father watned to keep the whole bottle, but then realized that we didn't have a good way to carry it (glass - not plastic)

Amsterdam charges for ketchup too.

Poutine, yeah, i had it ones in Montreal. <BR>Being Dutch i had to try this on my fries. It lookes like something the cat throws up, but i have to admit, i loved it. <BR>Hated the vinegar though. <BR>Cheers

At a pub in Oxford I used to get a huge basket of burn-your-mouth-fresh steak fries with a little pot of garlic mayonnaise and a pint of Cameron's Ruby Red for under GBP 3...ever since they got a new "fancy" chef who doesn't do that any more, I've been searching for a place that can satisfy my cravings...haven't found it yet...

While I admit that I do get tweaked when I encounter unexpected charges, in this case shouldn't we be appreciative that these restaurants have made an adjustment to American tastes by providing a condiment that they wouldn't otherwise have? And from their point of view, if they have to invest in it, why not charge for it? Just because we are used to seeing it thrown in for free doesn't mean that it has no cost or value. <BR> <BR>Just call me Pollyanna...

Actually, such an experience has been a great lesson for me. <BR> <BR>When, as a teenager, I went for the first time to Belgium, in some restaurant the waiter refused to provide free tap water. I felt somewhat ripped off but said nothing. However, one of my friends acted indignantly, saying that "in France, one doesn't pay for tap water". When the waiter replied in a stern voice that we WEREN'T in France, I felt ashamed by my friend's comment. I immediatly got it. <BR> <BR>Since, I never again questionned the local habits, as long as I've no serious evidence of it being a rip-off intended for tourists, some serious moral objection or something like that.

By the way, it was possibly actually a ripp off, since I don't remember having paid for tap water in Belgium since. But anyway, it was a good lesson for future travels.

I would've thought that you Americans would be glad to get away from lard saturated food - obviously not! Try some local specialities, or if you have to indulge in fat, to keep your figure, don't be tight in doing so.

Mince pie with chips and (free) brown (or "broon") sauce.... mmmm... feel the vinegar... mmmm... feel the oil... mmmm... feel your chest.... wait....

As an American, I love to visit European countries. I love to experience the differences...and would never expect them to provide "Things American". I love french fries, and love to mix catsup and mayonaise together and dip, dip, dip!! So if I have to pay for something I want because it is a "side order", so what?? I understand that we all have different ways of eating, etc. So, enjoy!!