Belgium

A restaurant for all you romantics out there

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This post is for all you romantics out there (like me), as restaurant “Les Foudres” is really a nice place if you want to have a greatand intimate dinner with your lady (or gentleman). The restaurant used to be an old wine warehouse which was very unique in Belgium at that time, some of the barrels or “foudres” could contain 22.000 liter of wine. The wine is not there anymore, but the barrels still are and are incorporated in the restaurant’s interior.  The restaurant is located in the original basement of the wine warehouse and really breathes out romance… And if you get the chance (but that will depend on the weather) you should try to dine in the wonderful garden or orchard , which is actually very big for being in the center of Brussels. As the restaurant theme would be the old wine barrels, they obviously also need to have a great choice of wines, which they have indeed . They have a wide choice of international wines. The menu is a mix of French, Belgian and Italian cuisine and you can taste the chef’s skills and know how as the food was really refined. And what I liked was that when leaving the restaurant I didn’t feel like a stuffed turkey J. We took the “Menu du marché” or market menu, which to my opinion is the best way to discover a restaurant. As dessert I had the ‘Tarte Tatin” man do I love a good “Tarte Tatin”. This restaurant is a really nice price-value restaurant.

Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as me.

Restaurant Les Foudres:

Website: http://www.lesfoudres.be/

Address:

                Rue Eugène Cattoir 14

                1050 Ixelles

Telephone n°: +32 (0)2 647 36 36

Breakfast at tiffany’s? Although, let’s stay in Antwerp :-)

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Lately I don’t really go and have breakfast somewhere else then home. There was a time that I did, and one of my favorite places in Antwerp would be the “Biological Dynamical bakery “ in the Southern part of the Antwerp city center close to the “Museum of Fine arts”. Normally I’m not really a fan of Biological products and places as they usually are overpriced and aren’t really that different from regular products. But this little bakery is a nice place to have breakfast and you can really taste that everything is homemade. Above that they give you a very good breakfast for what you pay!!  You get bread, egg, homemade jam, fresh orange juice,  etc…

 Really worth trying.

Biologische Dynamische Bakkerij

Address:

                Volkstraat 17

                2000 Antwerp, Belgium

Phone n°: +32 (0)3 216 00 42

Antwerpen proeft – The place to be for foodies this upcoming weekend!!

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The city of Antwerp organizes the fifth edition of  “Antwerpen Proeft”, what would mean as much as “Antwerp tastes”.  This culinary edition will take place from August 18 to 21.  You will be able to taste a wide variety of culinary specialties, Belgian-French cuisine, Mediterranean, Australian….. brought by both new young talent as Michelin-star chefs like Viki Geudens and Johan Segers. The entrance to the festival is Free, but you will have to pay for the food you want to taste. For me this a “Must Do” if you are in Antwerp as it is the ideal occasion to taste the best Antwerp has to offer.  And let’s be honest, I can’t find a better way to do this then with good food and drinks??? Do you?

 So if you are free this weekend, try to visit the festival, you won’t regret it

 Website: http://www.tasteofantwerp.com/festival.htm

 Cheers

Chocolate, sweeeeeeeeet like chocolate (part 2)

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And so the story continues …

Another one of my favorits would be Dominique Persoone’s  Chocolate Line. Has 3 stores, one is even mentioned in the Guide Michelin. The Antwerp store is  in the previous Royal Palace, even Napoleon lived in this palace. His chocolates are served in the world’s best restaurants like Oud Sluis en Hof Van Cleve ( 17th and 15th best restaurants in the world) He created  a special chocolate experience for the Rolling Stones’ birthday, the chocolate shooter. He gives master classes worldwide and the list goes on and on with great achievements from Dominique.  So basically if you are in Antwerp or in Bruges, try them!!  Or if you get to chance to see one of his master classes, do it because they are really special. Check out this video from when he meets the hairy bikers .

 

If you on the other hand want to experience the chocolates they serve at the Royal Palace in Belgium, you should definitely try Goossensand feel royal 🙂

Last but not least, I should talk about Callebaut chocolate that now celebrates its 100th years. Callebaut started with producing chocolate bars and is one of the major producers of chocolate for both consumers as professional chocolatiers. There chocolate bars get used for making chocolate mousse, pies, and are used as base for the famous Belgian chocolates.  After merging with Cacao Barry, Barry Callebaut is the world’s biggest chocolatier . They also gives professional workshops worldwide and even have an own academy.

Why do I always get so hungry when writing this stuff 🙂

 

Chocolate, Sweeeeeeeet like Chocolate (part 1)

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If you ask people what they know about Belgium, 90% of them will answer that it is famous for its chocolate (besides Beer and Waffles..) .  More in particular the Belgian “Praline or Bonbon” .

Jean Neuhaus(from the famous Chocolate brand) was one of the first people in the 20st century to produce the famous Belgian Bonbon.  Congo (in Africa) was as some of you might know, a Belgian colony during this period and the cacao was originally from there. Today the cacao comes from all over the world. But we have to make a distinction between factory produced chocolates and artisanal made chocolates. When I’m talking about factory made chocolates, I mean that they are made on an assembly line … From these chocolates my absolute favorite (and I think from most Belgians ) especially price-quality would be Leonidas with their world famous Manon  a White chocolate filled with praliné with coffee butter cream. The advantage of these brands is that you can buy them all over the whole world and they will always taste the same.

When I am talking about artisanal made chocolates, it means that they are handmade by a master chocolatier. And I have a few favorite ones. First of all Del Rey , Located right in the center of Antwerp’s diamond district (to all the men out there, if you take your wife, watch out!  You’ll either have to buy some chocolates or some diamonds)  and is a highly rewarded chocolatier . Del Rey is also part of Relais Desserts. They have one foreign branch, which is located in Japan.  Might I advise you that before buying chocolates, piece, icecream, etc… you might want to make a short trip to Del Rey’s  tasting room. I’ve already spent quite some time here with my mom (who really loves sweet food). I usually choose the chocolate plate which contains an assortiment of  refined chocolate pastries, chocolate crème brûlée , etc… (I once took it with a hot chocolate, don’t ever do that, it really was a chocolate overload). If I could I would even ate the plate, it is sooooo good!! For all you non sweet lovers, at the tasting room they also have a  regular lunch menu. (so now you’re out of excuses).

See tomorrow’s post to see some more ….

Little Italy

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You know the feeling, when you are somewhere and you smell familiar things that makes you feel at home?  Last week I went with 2 friends to Raineri in Genk (eastern part of Belgium) to by some wine and Italian products.  One of my and my brother’s favorite shops. Every time I enter this shop I instantly feel in Italy (like I was Beamed  up like scotty by Captain Kirk in Star Trek). The smell really brings me right to my Nonna’s kitchen (and man do I loove that kitchen). I think even my friends felt it?! Entering Raineri is really great, because everywhere you look you see ITALY, every product, ingredient, etc… The first image when entering in the shop is like a picture in a frame. They even have lots of products of their own, like their Ligurian olive oil (that I always buy). Usually I take their Biologica (just because I like the taste, no other purpose) , but all of them are really good for putting on salads, etc… For cooking I would find it a waste of using such a good product and burning it. They have a whole wall with all different kinds of pasta… it’s not an easy job choosing… If you have doubts or questions or want extra info, the staff of this shop is really friendly and helpful. You can really see their passion for what they do when they helping you finding the product you want.

In case I’m not hungry yet when putting the first step in the shop, you can be sure I will be hungry by the time I see their counter. At that moment my stomach is going like “Hey buddy, gimmi some food” . Fresh lasagna’s, cannelloni , ravioli, gnocchi, all nominations of dried hams (Parma, San Daniele, etc..), cheeses, ….

 Then walking down to the basement, you will find a wide variety of Italian wines and this in the setting of an old/new wine cellar.

Some nice wines I’ve bought there from Azienda Marcato: ‘IL TIRSO’ SOAVE CLASSICO SUPERIORE DOCG and BARATTARO IGT NOIR. And you should really try the “Durello Met. Tradizionale DOC 36mesi” (jammi) But feel free to pass by, Raineri sometimes has wine/ food tastings.

Worth the stop!!

Visiting my brother….

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Last Friday it set sail to my brother’s house in Lichtaart, a little town about an 45 minutes from Antwerp. Normally when going to my brother, he cooks something, as he’s a very good cook  and he always serves us great wine…. So what more would one need?! But this time we decided to go out, to give my brother the chance to relax for one evening.  As I’m not really familiar with the area, he chose the restaurant and  took us to Restaurant Den Cardijn.  A really nice little cottage in the “city” center of Lichtaart.

 

We of course had to start the wonderful evening in a proper way, and  what better way the with a nice glass of bubbles  🙂 . For the choice of the wine, we just took one of the suggestions they had (Madonna Alta, Grechetto). I liked the wine, but if it would have had a little bit extra vivacity it would have been better. The food on the other side, was really nice. To Start I took the “Bombe of salmon with grey (north sea) shrimps and mango salsa”. My brother and his wife took home made croquettes with a shrimp filling and my girlfriend took smoked salmon.

 

The reason my brother always goes to “Den Cardijn” is to eat their “Gambas a la plancha”… so you obviously know what he had as main dish 🙂  My girlfriend joined him in that idea. I just took a nice steak with béarnaise sauce and French fries (I just needed to eat some red meat). My brother’s wife, she took Mussels (shellfish) with French fries… although she is pregnant and it is said that it’s not good for pregnant women … but she really craved for it 🙂

 

 I really enjoyed eating here. They really have fair prices for their food and wine.

 

But what made my evening in this restaurant even more special, was that my brother asked me if I wanted to be godfather of his, in October to be born, baby… to which I of course said YES!!

 

 

 

Restaurant Den Cardijn

 

Website:  http://www.dencardijn.be/

 

 Address:

 

                Mgr. Cardijnstraat 34

 

                2460 Kasterlee, Belgium

 

 Phone n°: +32 (0) 14 71 33 08

 

Den Artist

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As I mentioned in my “Aux vieux Bruxelles” post, I often have foreign friends and colleagues visiting.  If I can be honest with you, I prefer to receive them in in Antwerp, as this is the town where I grew up and that I know best. A restaurant that I always like to take them is “Brasserie Den Artist”.  They serve mainly  traditional Belgian food like “Steak Tartare”, this “Stoofvlees” (Belgian stew), “Stoemp met worst” ( mashed potatoes  (+other vegetables in it) with sausage and gravy) “Witloof in de oven” (Ham and chicory role served with béchamel sauce), Mussels, Vol-au-vent,  etc… All prepared as it should be prepared. But they always give it their own twist, like the “vol-au-vent “, they added some Tarragon, what really gives this dish this little something extra. at “Den Artist.  Of course this comes with freshly made French fries.  Even my Italian colleagues have enjoyed this restaurant…and usually Italians are the most difficult to convince 😉

 

Besides the exquisite food, “Den Artist” is greatly located. It has a magnificent frontal view of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.  A majestic neoclassical building (makes you think of a Greek temple)… really impressive. “Den Artist” is in the Southern part of Antwerp (town) and is considered as the more trendy part of town.

 

Have you been there already?

 

Brasserie Den Artist

 

Website: http://www.brasseriedenartist.be

 

Address :

 

                Museumstraat 45

 

                2000 Antwerp, Belgium

 

Phone n°: +32 (0) 3 238 09 95

 

Lunchbox

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I would lie if I would say that I don’ t like greasy food J  . I could of course always temper this hunger by going to the traditional fast-food chain restaurant … but as you might know by now, I always like something more special. When I really feel like grabbing a great burger,  I go to “Lunchbox”. This places serves the best freshly made hamburger with fresh bread. Besides that they also have great wraps and wok dishes. All the products used in this restaurant are from excellent quality. If you for example take the Chicken steak, this would be a hamburger with a real chicken filet, pineapple, ketchup, onion and some salad (accompanied with French fries and a tasty salad). The bigger challenge would be taking the mega bacon burger, I cannot even fit it in my mouth. I also like the tuna melt, a wrap with tuna and cheddar cheese. For all you vegies, don’t worry they also have a ton of vegetarian dishes!!

If after eating all of that and you would still find a spot,  you should definitely take one of their homemade muffins, brownies or other sweets (my favorite is the raspberry apple muffin)

 Lunchbox is located in the “Quartier Latin”, not sure why they gave it this name (but let’s just accept it). Right across the “Stadschouwburg” (city theater) on the big square. In summertime they always have a big terrace on this square (with blankets in case the ladies get cold)

If you would go there in weekends, on the big square, there is a very big open air market called “Vogeltjes markt”.

Restaurant Lunchbox:

Website: http://www.lunchbox.be

Address:

                Nieuwstad 8-10 (Theaterplein)

                 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

 Phone n°: +32 (0) 3 231 04 79

Glorious

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Two days ago I had a nice dinner at Bistro and winebar “The Glorious”. I actually arrived a little bit too late, so my friends already started with a glass of champagne (not bad for a Tuesday night). When I arrived I could off course not do less than my friends, so I joined them in their champagne vibe. It was a nice glass of champagne, but for a winebar I would have expected that they would have chosen a more special champagne.  The “amuse-gueules” were really nice, freshly made grissini and tapenade… So basically a flying start. After that I had the “Seawolf accompanied by a risotto with in olive oil marinated summer vegetables and basil”, my friends had the “Sweetbread (Kalfszwezerik) with artichokes, mushrooms and port jus” and   “Rib-eye with red raspberry tarragon sauce”… I had a taste of all 3 dishes (don’t worry, I left some for my friends J ) and I have to say that all 3 were very good! You really taste the good quality of the ingredients and the plats looked like beautiful paintings . Off course we didn’t drink water to accompany this meal, as the choice of wines at “The glorious” is wide, we just asked the sommelier what he would recommend. He suggested us a South African Red wine, the Pinotage (a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault)  from Sumaridge winery. We really enjoyed the choice, the wine was a little bit sweeter and fruitier . We didn’t have a starter, so we felt morally obliged to have a dessert (every excuse is good). It was actually a big surprise because most desserts were made by Master chocolatier Pierre Marcolini. My friends actually discovered it, they took the” Biscuit from dark chocolate , crème brûlee  with Madagascar vanilla , pieces of red raspberry, sabajon of milk chocolate and red raspberry sorbet “ and the other one enjoyed his “Chocolate pie with a hazelnut crust, orange, chocolate mousse from dark Ecuadorian chocolate  with a little Moelleux au chocolat”. They discovered it, because without knowing, they had exactly the same dessert a few weeks ago at the Pierre Marcolini shop…  funny stuff!!  The coffees were also accompanied by Marcolini sweets…

All by all a very nice restaurant and I would definitely return.

 Restaurant The Glorious:

 Website: http://www.theglorious.be/

Address:

                Burburestraat 4a

                 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

 Phone n°: +32 (0) 3 237 06 13