Me with my surprise from Els
Sinterklaas is a Dutch/Belgian tradition normally celebrated at the beginning of December. Due to vacations, we made a change this year to celebrate both Sinterklaas and Christmas the same day.
Sinterklaas/Christmas
Category Archives: Food & Drink
Lux Restaurant – Christmas Dinner
Opening my gift at the table
Two years in a row now I’ve celebrated Christmas dinner at Lux Restaurant in ‘t Eilandje. Delicious food and a great atmosphere!
Stockholm, Sweden
In snowy Stockholm!
I was in Stockholm for a few days – the city is so beautiful and the food is so delicious!! I stayed mostly in Östermalm and Gamla Stan (Old Town – which dates back to 1252!). Stockholm is very big, so I definitely need to go back for a longer period to explore!
Otomat (My Brother’s in Antwerp!)
Grayson and me with the hand of Antwerp
My brother was in Europe traveling through a few countries for work and was able to plan in one day to visit me in Antwerp! We visited De Koninck Brewery and finished the evening at one of my favorite pizza places – Otomat. From their site:
Otomat is the first completely Belgian pizza concept. Typically Belgian is the “beer'” character, with more than 20 Belgian beers and the pizza dough is made with Duvel beer yeast – heavenly pizza with the Duvel inside.
Hof Van Cleve
Dinner at Hof Van Cleve!
Koen and I decided we really wanted to try eating at the best restaurants in Belgium, so of course Hof Van Cleve was at the top of our list – Number 50 Best Restaurant in the World 2017 and it has 3 Michelin stars.
Raviolo all’uova
Raviolo all’uova is “a single raviolo with a ricotta and spinach nest and a raw egg yolk that when boiled and lightly fried in butter cooks gently but remains tender and gooey, adding a luscious creamy texture that balances the freshness of the cheesy next and earthiness of the brown butter sauce” (as excellently described here).
Koen and I saw this dish for the first time on an episode of Mind of a Chef featuring Gabrielle Hamilton. We knew immediately this was a dish we had to make! So, so, so delicious!
Orso Pizzeria
Mom and Dad in front of Orso Pizzeria
For my parents’ last night in Belgium we headed to one of our favorite places, Orso Pizzeria. Orso is located in Berchem, a small city in the province of Antwerp – but only 15 minutes away by tram, so not too far! It’s a small place where you definitely need to reserve ahead of time for a table. The pizza is super delicious and they serve their own naturally fermented wines!
London with Mom
Brunch with Mom
To celebrate my mom’s birthday early, we headed to London for the day! London may seem far away from Antwerp, but by train it’s actually only a 2 hour ride! This was my mom’s first time in London, so we did a full day of sight-seeing, ending on a high note with afternoon tea at Claridge’s.
De Koninck Brewery with the Family
Entrance to De Koninck
My parents are in town! I really love the De Koninck Brewery, so I thought this would be a fun family outing for both my parents and my in-laws to do together!
Geneva, Switzerland
Jet d’Eau
Geneva is so beautiful in the sunshine! I was only here for one day, but I tried to fit in as much as possible – visiting Lake Geneva & the Vieille Ville (Old Town), all the while trying to eat as much cheese as possible!
An American in Antwerp 