Category Archives: Antwerp Cafés and Restaurants

Little Butcher’s Summer Grill

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Koen and me excited for dinner!

Koen and me excited for dinner!

Before we leave for Copenhagen, Koen and I celebrated my birthday Little Butcher’s Summer Grill with his parents, aunt, and uncle. Such a great present from my in-laws! LBSG is a pop-up restaurant at Park Spoor Noord. Where better to house a grill restaurant than outside at a park surrounded by green grass, trees, and playgrounds?

Yannick Van Aeken was the guest cook at LBSG for two nights only! Luckily we found out early enough to book our table. Van Aeken is a former Noma sous-chef. Yes that Noma in Copenhagen, the best restaurant in the world. So perfect preparation for our trip! To accompany the food, Paul Morel was the guest mixologist for one night only. He is the former head-bartender of The Jane in Antwerp. It was difficult to chose which cocktail to take, and we wound up just sampling a little from everything.

The menu was divided into 4 categories: Snacks, Veggies, Carnivore, and Sweets. We all ordered the “Treat Me Nice”, which is chef’s choice combination from the categories. Yum! Koen and I also received compliments from Van Aeken because we were the only people in the entire place eating with our hands! He said at Noma they always like to see people getting a little messy haha.

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Roger Van Damme, Part Two

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Roger Van Damme preparing one of our courses (photo from flamant.com)

Roger Van Damme preparing one of our courses (photo from flamant.com)

In my Roger Van Damme, Part One post I mentioned that Koen and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary at Het Gebaar, from Roger Van Damme. It was the best meal I’ve ever had, and I was lucky enough to win a 9 course brunch/cooking presentation with none other than Roger Van Damme!

The contest was set up by Flamant, who supplies all of the interior decorating for Het Gebaar. Luckily Flamant is only a 3 minute walk from our apartment, and Koen and I were able to wake up and go straight to brunch! After 9 delicious courses and a few glasses of wine, we walked a little bit slower back home and took a long nap!

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Barrio Cantina Food Truck Festival

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Barrio Cantina Food Truck Festival

Barrio Cantina Food Truck Festival

This summer there was a traveling food truck festival throughout Belgium – Barrio Cantina. Of course Koen and I didn’t want to miss out on the Antwerp edition!

The location was perfect. More than 40 food trucks organized on the Steenplein, so we could enjoy our food with a view of Het Steen and the River Scheldt.

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Roger Van Damme, Part One

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Het Gebaar

Het Gebaar

When Koen and I hit the milestone of 9 years together, we decided to celebrate with lunch at the Michelin star restaurant Het Gebaar, from Roger Van Damme. I’m not exaggerating when I say this was the best meal I’ve ever had. My mouth is literally watering as I’m typing thinking about this delicious lunch. I dream of the steak tartare…

And now I can’t wait to go back in November to celebrate with my parents for my mom’s birthday!

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Coffeelabs

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Coffeelabs

Coffeelabs

Coffeelabs is located very close to my school, and it’s the perfect workspace for after class. There are plenty of tables and space to work on your computer. I decided on my day off to come by with a book and sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. I have to say that Coffeelabs is not the best location to come and read. There aren’t too many places to sit comfortably. But if you want to work or have coffee/lunch/snack with a friend, Coffeelabs is perfect. Great coffee and friendly staff!

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Watermelon Gazpacho / Chacalli Wines

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Watermelon Gazpacho

Watermelon Gazpacho

I love experimenting with soup and was excited to try the Watermelon Gazpacho from Green Kitchen Stories. It was a relatively warm summer day in Antwerp and a cold soup sounded refreshing. Although the soup tasted delicious, it was a bit much as a main course. I think it would be better as a starter – strained and served in drinking glasses for a party, perhaps with a shot of vodka.

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World Cup: USA vs Belgium

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Chocolate shop in Antwerp supporting the Red Devils in Brazil

Chocolate shop in Antwerp supporting the Red Devils in Brazil

Tuesday night USA played against Belgium in the World Cup. This was a match I couldn’t miss! Koen and I watched the game at the Grote Market on a big screen. Of course I’m American and was cheering for America (but not too loudly haha). The energy was high and infectious. Definitely an experience I’ll remember!

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My Parents Visit Antwerp

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Enjoying fresh fries in Antwerp with my parents!

Enjoying fresh fries in Antwerp with my parents!

My parents made their annual visit this May! We had an eventful start – I fractured my elbow when I fell off my bike on the way to pick them up in Brussels. But who better to have around than your parents? The first week I had to wear a cast to let my bone begin healing, and for the remaining 5 weeks I have to wear a compression sock – otherwise I won’t have any range of motion. So we were in and out of the hospital and doctor’s office a lot! For the rest of the trip we took it easy, taking walks around the city, eating fries, and enjoying Belgian beers.

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Easter 2014 in Antwerp, Belgium

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Brunch at our place!

Brunch at our place!

This year Koen and I volunteered to host Easter brunch at our apartment in Antwerp. It was a lot of fun coming up with a menu and plan for the afternoon. We knew we wanted to buy lots of different breads and spreads as well as pastries, both savory and sweet. Of course we placed our order at Lints, our favorite bakery. Because the weather was nice and sunny, we also were in the mood for fruit! So we served watermelon, mango, pineapple, raspberries, and passion fruit alongside homemade kiwi juice (we used the leftovers to make a delicious smoothie the next day). After our huge brunch we went for a walk around the city, walking along the Scheldt River and through the historic district, stopping for a drink in front of City Hall and the famous Brabo fountain.

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Zuid Café

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Zuid Café

Zuid Café

Last week and this week we’re experiencing our first bout of Spring weather! Luckily the warmest day, 66 degrees, was yesterday when Koen and I were both off from work. I think all of Antwerp was outside, enjoying the warm sunny weather! We took the opportunity to take a long walk to the South of Antwerp and enjoyed our first terrasje, or outdoor café, of the year at the Zuid Café. Because we had already had lunch, we only ordered drinks. After seeing everyone else’s food we definitely want to go back to try the food – everything looked so delicious!

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