Feeding One’s Soul As Restrictions Ease

By Jeanine Consoli

We are a foodie family. I started encouraging my daughters to join me in the kitchen when they were five. In high school, they often baked on the weekends crafting cookies or cupcakes for fun; I had a stocked pantry just for those occasions.

Cooking is a hobby. I read recipes like others read New York Times best-selling novels. I linger over the techniques, buy the best ingredients, and shower my family with culinary love. I guess it’s the Italian in me. I enjoy having conversations over delicious meals.

The Pandemic Pause

When we locked down in March of 2020, my travel and food writing opportunities came to a halt. My Instagram feed, once full of indulgences from my travels, now reflected creations from my kitchen. I joined the throngs of newbies who began to make sourdough from scratch, swelling with pride when my “babies” came out of the oven. My husband was thrilled and slathered butter on the hot slices of crusty goodness.

But I write about food, too. I seek out restaurant gems and describe the cuisine in detail for travelers to discover. Dining out is a favorite activity for my family and is taken just as seriously. The decision of where to eat and what to order is a ritual. Menus are often previewed in advance, and usually, deals are made, "If you get this dish, I'll get that so we can split." The other person agrees, and a happy compromise is reached. Many memories occurred in restaurants around fabulous meals, and we often reminisce about those experiences. When the pandemic forced lockdowns, the shutdowns caused permanent closures to many food businesses, including one of our cherished places. We cried when we heard.

Where am I going next? I am going to a restaurant.

Spring Brings Re-openings

My 23-year-old twins graduated from college and moved to

Washington D.C. in August. I planned to visit for March, when some dining orders were lifted. During our weekly phone call, they mentioned that Belga Café was only blocks from their apartment. Belga Café is award-winning Chef Bart Vandaele’s 44

Photos, opposite page from top: Consoli Family at Home; Belga Cafe Greenhouse Outside; Cappuccino at Belga Cafe; inside Belga Cafe's Greenhouse’s; Photos, this page from top: Coddled Eggs in Bokaal; Lamb Burger and Fries; Belga's Chicken and Waffles; Homemade Sourdough Bread; restaurant. Bart appeared on season 10 of BRAVO’S "Top Chef" and is known as the 'Belgian guy' who put Belgian food on the map in D.C. Our call went something like this, "Mom, we have the perfect place for brunch. It's got these cute glass greenhouses outside where we can socially distance, and the food is Belgian!"

“Ooh, that sounds interesting; let's pull up the menu." I purred. Our ritual was back on track.

Belgian Cuisine In Capitol Hill

We didn’t secure a greenhouse, so we agreed to a table inside with an adorable crystal chandelier hanging above us and promptly celebrated our reunion with Belga Bellini’s. The champagne flutes sparkled as the light glinted from the dangling crystals and bounced off our swanky cocktails of white cranberry juice, Crème de Pêche, pomegranate, and sparkling wine. Très chic.

We ordered cappuccinos and then plotted our meal. We agreed to try a Belgian specialty called Coddled Eggs in the Bokaal. A bokaal is the Dutch word for a jar layered with slow-poached eggs, butter-rich carrot-mashed potatoes, ribbons of fluffy hollandaise, and chives served with a sliced baguette. Our next choice, crispy, fried chicken strips, set atop a puffy Belgian waffle, was unanimous. It arrived with a ramekin of jalapeño syrup and pickled jalapeño slices. And last, a spicy lamb and chorizo burger topped with goat cheese, spinach leaves, a yogurt-garlic sauce, and crisp Belgian fries.

Sharing plates is our thing, and we got to it. The perfect bite? A chicken chunk on top of a waffle square dipped in the zippy syrup layered with pickled jalapeño. Or maybe it was the creamy eggs smeared onto the sliced baguette. No, it was the lamb burger, thick and juicy spiked with spice from the chorizo and garlicky yogurt with the fresh spinach for balance. But don't forget the crisp fries, tilted out of the cone onto a plate for easy access to the mayonnaise, the traditional Belgian condiment.

Love And Food

We never stopped tasting. We took turns talking and sipping our cocktails as we shared our favorite pastime of connecting over food. Our ritual is vital to us, and we missed it. We missed each other, and we missed being in a restaurant. Especially all the flavor that comes with a scrumptious meal expertly prepared in a chef's kitchen. Even though travel is slowly coming back, we will never forget that it stopped once, and we lost iconic places in its wake. We won't take it for granted again.