Magical Entrance
For Koen’s birthday dinner we visited Sir Anthony Van Dijck. I always do a bit of searching before deciding on a restaurant and I was so intrigued when I read that the chef, Marc Paesbrugghe, gave his two Michelin stars away.
Orso Pizzeria
Because my mom was celebrating her birthday in Antwerp, of course we wanted to go out for dinner. I feel like over the years my parents have really gotten to know Antwerp the city, but not really Antwerp the province, which comprises of many smaller cities. For the birthday dinner we decided on Orso Pizzeria in Berchem. Berchem is most famous for its art nouveau style architecture. On our way to dinner we were able to look at all of the beautiful houses!
Smoked salmon and caviar
One tradition that started a few years back, is that when my mom is in town we go out for a class of champagne at Café Impérial. It doesn’t matter what time of year, we always go to celebrate. Café Impérial is a beautiful café located in the Paleis op de Meir, the former Antwerp residence of Napoleon Bonaparte. So fabulously French! And this time we were lucky enough to celebrate on my mom’s actual birthday!
Happy to have my parents in Antwerp!
Yay! My parents are in Antwerp!
Before we head off to Italy, we made reservations at Het Gebaar to have an early birthday celebration for my mom. You may remember Het Gebaar from two other posts: 9 year anniversary and when I won the free brunch. Het Gebaar is the Michelin star restaurant from Roger Van Damme. Van Damme is most famous for his desserts, so we booked our reservation in the early afternoon for a sweet lunch!
Plantin-Moretus Museum
Koen and I just celebrated 7 years of being married! We decided to spend our long weekend off together exploring Antwerp a bit more. Tourists in our own city!
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.
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.
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!
One of my favorite things about Antwerp in December is the Christmas Market. There are lights everywhere – whether hanging from the streets or in the trees. I like to walk around and see everything that’s for sale and enjoy a warm cup of glühwein. I like to go every year!
An American in Antwerp 