Snackbar, friture (or frituur), cafetaria, friettent, friet-/patatkraam, frietkot. These nouns are meaning roughly the same, namely a mostly small -or even humble- facility in the Netherlands or Flanders where you can order and consume pretty much anything that thrives in the hot oil of commercial deep-frying equipment.
Besides French fries, that’s a whole variety of mainly meat-based products with funny sounding names (to furriners, anyway). And speaking of French fries, the Belgians will wholeheartedly disagree with that.
At least one over-the-road version of such a facility must be present at any self-respecting outdoor event and festival or when you’re having a serious party on your own premises.
Like this combination, parked directly in front of the two story snackbar. A second gen, 2003 SsangYong Korando 2.9 TD from South-Korea, towing a Polish Niewiadów single-axle trailer for frying and selling French (or Belgian) fries and more in the Netherlands.
The Korando is powered by a license-built Mercedes-Benz engine, known as the OM 662 LA. Some specs: diesel powered, turbocharged, intercooled, inline-five, 2,874 cc displacement, 120 DIN-hp. It was based on the OM 602 DE 29 LA, as used by Mercedes-Benz in the E-Class, G-Class, Sprinter, Vario and Unimog 408/409.
The trailer is rated at a GVW of 1,300 kg. A piece of cake for the SsangYong, given its registered towing capacity of 3,500 kg (7,700 lbs). As usual, the SUV got an aftermarket panel van conversion for a registration as a commercial vehicle.
A family business since 1963, the current owner is the granddaughter of the founder. Just keep on deep-frying!
Snacks -as it says on the trailer’s side- is the umbrella term for the mainly meat-based products with funny sounding names.
Love the Netherlands, love the fries, but not much of a fan of the mysterious fried objects that pass for food there. Used to escape each weekend to Groeningen from Germany to experience freedom from Teutonic conformity, then struggle to find decent fast food at FEBO and other non-coffee-shop cafes. Yet the Dutch fries were always bussing.
Not even a middle-of-the-road frikandel speciaal for you then?
Sorry – no. There is so much good food that doesn’t need to be fried. When I think of what the fresh markets offer there, I go nuts. No need to settle for a frikandel or croketten. I miss Friesland tea, stinging nettle gouda, cakes and hot off the waffle-iron stroopwaffels. The fish. The eels. ‘Sigh!’
For me, seeing a picture of a SsangYong is more of a treat than a plate full of
Frenchfries.With many of their designs looking like they were penned by a distracted 12-year-old, the brand just fascinates me. And I’m curious: In places like Europe, where SsangYong’s market penetration is extremely small, just who bought them? As I understand, modern SsangYongs are much more blandly styled than this Korando, so maybe they’re now marketed as a somewhat conventional budget buy, but back when this Korando was built, were people attracted by the unconventional styling, the price, or were there other attributes that I’m not aware of?
Regardless, this is a great find. And concerning the trailer, after seeing many of your pictures of Dutch commercial vehicles, I’m convinced that the Netherlands must have the world’s highest proportion of graphic designers in its workforce. Here in the US, most of our food trailers are nasty sights – decrepit old things with minimal graphics. This is one of the best-looking food trailers I’ve seen.
The Korando and contemporary Musso (see below) did quite well here, some 20 years ago. The fact they had proven Benz diesels aboard must have had something to do with that. Also, their price was interesting, to say the least. Almost all of them got a van conversion, so they were/are used as seen in the article.
Regarding the graphics, the RC church in the background of the third picture can also be seen on the trailer (the skyline, in black).
I want some of the Anonimo. Is that Dutch for Mystery Meat?
Formerly known as “the snack without a name”. The prizewinner came up with the name Anonimo, so there’s that. Consisting of beef and chicken.
I think that it speaks to the universality of fried foods that I’m pretty sure that I could find plenty of familiar items on that menu to eat (and likely regret later).
One stray observation- Belgian and Holland seem to have a lot of trailers, of all kinds.
The single- or tandem axle utility trailer, example below, is the Dutch pickup truck, sort of. Many folks own one or rent one when needed. The payload capacity of a decent, braked single axle trailer is somewhere around 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs) – 1,085 kg for the Saris in the picture, detachable dropside at the back (photo courtesy of De Boer Aanhangwagens).
3,500 kg gross trailer weight is a far as you can go with a regular driver’s license.
Camper trailers are highly common too. Much to the chagrin of truck drivers and many other road users, especially abroad.
So does the Korando run on the used frying oil? Seems like they’d have an endless supply.
Paying no excise duties when filling it up with used frying oil would be a major issue, I guess. Think of the farmer’s ol’ Benz, running on the “red” diesel of yore (diesel fuel for cars/trucks/farm equipment is all the same now, color and price-wise).
Yes, but “red diesel” would be equivalent to me pumping home heating oil out of my home oil tank into my diesel vehicle…I get how that’s a no-no since I’d be using non-taxed fuel (or at least differently-taxed) for over-road use. But recycling fryolator oil as fuel for the car? That’d be illegal?
Hummmmm. I guess I’d make a terrible Eurozone resident.
The recycled frying oil in the Korando’s tank would be non-taxed car fuel just as well, similar to using red diesel/home heating oil as car fuel.
Always remember seeing mayonnaise on chips (potato fries in English) in the Netherlands years ago and not twigging what it was. So eventually we nodded when offered and found out.
Still seems odd here though.
….
After university in Germany, I’m stupid over mayo and fries – reminds me of baked potatoes – and on tater-tots? Glorious! My kids know Dad always needs mayo for his fries.
Hear me out-
Try it as a dip for roast. You’re welcome.
And to your arteries, I apologize.
Dip, you say? Try a French fries waterfall! (from 1:00 onwards, skip the Dutch mumbo jumbo).
I’ve put mayo on my fries since a visit to Eastern Canada in the 2000s introduced me to it. I never liked ketchup, so it’s a good substitute.
I did try their powdered ketchup on popcorn in a movie theater in Montreal, can’t say I’d choose it again, but when in Rome…
Ssang yong styling never really hits the mark, you can see they tried but lost the plot before it was finished its not quite Rodius bad, The licensed Benz engines were the best part of them, Actyong pickups are still a regular sight here but most of the older stuff is long gone.
I’m always scared to try mystery meat, or any dish I’m not 100% versed on. That goes especially if there happens to be a language barrier, due to misunderstandings.
Not that I’m against all meat, just pork in particular (another Pulp Ficton reference coming?). I’m always afraid that whatever it is, it’s cooked in lard or wrapped in bacon or cured in pork casing. Turns my stomach just thinking about it.
It’s not for religious reasons, I consider myself a Christian of sorts, it’s simply a distaste for swine.
The SsangYong? Love it. Would drive it in an instant.
Beef tallow would be much more likely than lard in the Netherlands.
Good to know. 🙂