April 29, 2007
Cuisine: Belgian, Desserts & Bakeries, Coffeehouses
922 Walnut St, Philadelphia 19107
Btwn S 9th St & S 10th St
Phone: 215-238-7407
Website: www.bontewaffles.com
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Belgian Sugar Waffles – made fresh, served hot, just like on the streets of Belgium ($2.75)
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Bonté currently boasts three locations in Center City on 17th, 13th, and 9th all along Walnut Street. Perhaps the city should consider changing the street’s name to Waffles Street? Now, that would be rad. Since I live on Waffles Street, I walk by Bonté often and would have tried it sooner if their most convenient location on 13th wasn’t always closed when the mood struck.
On our way to the Italian Market one Sunday afternoon, The Astronomer and I took a snack break at the Bonté on 9th. For our inaugural tasting, we chose the plain waffle. White chocolate, dark chocolate, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and pecans are available mix-in options for an additional sum.
Approximately five minutes after placing our order, a piping hot waffle was brought to our table. It smelled delicious, but the charred spots were somewhat off-putting. One bite and it was obvious that the “authentic” Belgian waffles made at Bonté have little in common with the Belgian waffles we’re accustomed to.
First off, Bonté’s waffles are made from a dough rather than a batter. I peaked behind the counter and saw the waffle artist pressing pre-made dough onto the hot iron, which explains its density and irregular shape. Whereas regular waffles are consumed with maple syrup, Bonté’s have sugar crystals within the dough providing plenty of sweetness and a great crunch. In terms of texture, Bonté’s waffles are stiffer and denser than their fluffy, batter-made counterparts. The interior of Bonté’s waffles is wonderfully flaky.
The waffles cooked up at Bonté are special and delectable. With three ridiculously convenient shops, I’m going to start making Bonté a habit because their waffles sure are tasty.
i’m speechless.
and so hungry.
these waffles are absolutely delicious! i plan on flying to philly again in the future just to have another one of the dark chocolate waffles.
While they’re not the waffles I’ve bought while on the sidewalks of London and Belgium, they’re pretty good. It’s hard to find “authentic” belgian waffles here (in the states), if for no other reason than the fact that the American Belgium Waffle is a totally different waffle than the liege waffle, which is what (I’m pretty sure) Bonte’s waffles are based on.
Just ate ate the 922 Chestnut Street store. The inside of the waffle was dough – sorta like eating bread dough. I was looking for “wonderfully flaky” like in your review and got uncooked dough. I asked and was told the waffle was made from dough so i could expect it to be doughy, well, so bread and pretzels are made from dough, but they are not raw dough in the center. Sorry, thumbs down from me.
Aw, that is a shame! Maybe try the Walnut location?
You should try the location in Orange, or is it South Orange? New Jersey.
Me and my wife had a little snack there in our way to NYC and it was amazing, the store was spotless and the service was great.
We got fruit waffles and they were really REALLY good, we might stop again after the conference in the city.
I give Bonte Waffles 2 thumbs up 🙂 Well four if you count my wife’s LOL
Fooder – glad you had a great experience at Bonte! Heck, we give them four thumbs up too 🙂
Woohoo! I am heading here tomorrow for some delish waffles and then maybe over to Monk’s after to wash it down with a belgian beer 😉
They are not Eggo waffles. They are not Waffle House nor IHOP waffles. They are not what we call Belgian waffles. Leave your prejudices at the door or you will be disappointed.
There are two main types of waffles in Belgium: Brussels and Liege. The Liege style uses “pearl sugar” in the dough. The sugar sometimes caramelizes on the iron. That is a feature and not a bad thing. You don’t eat it 5 zeptoseconds after getting it. Wait a minute or two and the texture will change.
Bonte sells a not bad Liege waffle. Its only bad if you wanted an Eggo.