Sanseveria – Keep Calm and Eat A Bagel

Sanseveria Bagelsalon stands for classic bagels and bagels with a twist. What are bagels? Never heard about it?! They are a kind of American ‘sandwich’, richly invested according to our Burgundian lifestyle! We serve you in a unique vintage living room concept. This makes young and old a genius in the ‘Sanseveria‘. – sanseveria.be

How cute is this place?? At the Sanseveria Bagelsalon, they are clearly very excited about “American bagels sandwiches.” My Jewish husband was so proud.

We stumbled across this adorable bagelsalon during a day trip to Brugge, Belgium (pronounced brew-jsshh), in that golden hour between “Sure, I’m a little peckish” and “If I don’t eat something right now, we’re gunna have a bad time.”

Oh, did I mention we went to Europe this summer?

Brandon was already in The Netherlands for the FlowerTrials trade show (free plane ticket, score!!), so we made the most of the opportunity and I flew out to join him for an extra week vacation! Gotta love international companies.

I’ll share later about our amazing time in Amsterdam and Holland, but for now, here’s why young and old are geniuses in the Sanseveria.

First, the bagels. Flavor-packed and handled with love, our sandwiches hit the spot after a 95 degree day of Belgian chocolate shop-hopping. Brandon ordered the “Ron” with Moroccan-spiced fried chicken, avocado, tomato and black pepper, while I opted for a more brunchy lunch of crispy bacon, fried eggs and tomatoes, aka the “Hollie,” Mmm, just writing this brings me back.

Washing our delicious lunch down with chilled bottles of J.Gasco sparkling sodas was as much a treat as it was necessity. In many parts of Europe, water isn’t freely served at restaurants. Poor water quality in some countries is partially to blame, but in The Netherlands, where the water is fine for tourists to drink, it’s just not normal to ask for tap water.

Here’s proof at the bottom of the Sanseveria drink menu:

DEAR CUSTOMER, IN OUR COUNTRY IT’S UNUSUAL TO ASK FOR TAP WATER OR TO BRING YOUR OWN BOTTLED DRINKS IN. THEREFORE WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD RESPECT OUR BUSINESS POLICY.

Awkward!

As an American, it was definitely strange to pay for water everywhere we went, sometimes receiving a little 16oz glass bottle of water for $3. Not ideal for our travel budget.

The only upside to the European water situation was that we could buy sparkling water anywhere, anytime. In the states, sparkling water is having a moment with the help of brands like LaCroix, but over there, bubbles are the norm. Every gas station, grocery store, and restaurant sells sparkles alongside regular still water, as they call it. Easy to remember: blue cap = still water, red cap = sparkling water.

Now back to the bagelsalon!

J.Gasco Sparkling Violet Scented Soda and Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic)

Europeans and their bicycles…

Comfy waiting area. What’s more welcoming than a cactus?

That’s an icebox, guys. Not a fridge. An icebox.

I wonder what Trump’s drink will be? Pumpkins spice latte, perhaps?

Ok, this was cool. It’s a live “like” counter connected to Facebook. It works, we tried it out! You can see it flip down in front of your own eyeballs, but it will have to be in person. Tell me which sandwich you get!

And lastly, this rando glass mystery hole filled with blow up round things. Because bagels.

I don’t even know.