Fusion has become a trendy label, with everything from French-Indian fusion at IndeBleu to Asian tapas at Raku. But ‘fusion’ is a vague term, used to describe a wide range of the marriages of many different techniques, ingredients, and flavors.
Raku focuses on melding many different Asian flavors and ingredients from Japan to Thailand but also takes on the Spanish concept of tapas. IndeBleu knows no boundaries and bases its cuisine primarily on French techniques with strong Indian flavors. The seared foie gras sandwich takes a well-prepared liver and substitutes perfumy rose petal marmalade in place of more traditional fruit sauces then adds garam masala to the dough of the otherwise traditional buttery brioche.
Fusion usually works well when it looks for natural combinations and keeps the food simple. Other times it verges on weird, with nothing to pull the flavors together. Asia de Cuba restaurant in New York, for example, is usually delicious and interesting, but while chorizo sausage is an interesting addition to pad thai, the avocado wasabi cream that accompanied a BBQ salmon just tasted odd, as if the ingredients had been paired for shock value rather than culinary enjoyment.
One restaurant that gets it right on every level is Belga Café. The Capitol Hill eatery, with its warm brick walls, open kitchen, and patio seating, serves traditional Belgian fare fused with the best of Modern European cooking. Alongside a traditional Flemish poached asparagus, served with a light egg-parsley-butter sauce, one can order chicken and crab cigars, spring roll-like treats served with a spicy dipping sauce.
Belga seems to recognize that some things cannot be improved upon; their frites are served in a traditional, mock newspaper cone and look and taste as crisp and delicious as any in Brussels. A West African sea bass is grilled to perfection, slightly seared but still moist on the inside. It is served with “melted” spinach: spinach cooked until it is just wilted. It is perfect in a light, lemony broth and oil.
There are two types of mussels in beer, either white ale, bacon and celery or red ale, bacon and asparagus. All are served with Belgian fries and mayonnaise, and all are delicious. In all, they offer six types of mussels, from traditional garlic butter to the creative ginger sesame curry.
Venison fillet is served juicy alongside a sweet potato, fruity pomegranate sauce and foie gras crème brulee. Each flavor combination seems as natural a pair as peanut butter and jelly. A warm vanilla Belgian waffle served with dense vanilla and chocolate ice cream is the perfect way to finish the meal.The menu is paired with an extensive Belgian beer list, with many brews on draught. My only complaint here is that the beers, sometimes off the beaten path, come with no descriptions. For those who do not like beer, there is a list of a dozen Lambics, “the Champagne of Belgium,” in fruity flavors, from peach to black currant.
The food is not cheap, but it is of such quality that you do not feel cheated. The restaurant is comfortable and simple. Aside from the surprisingly tasty asparagus fritter and ice cream, nothing at Belga is done for show or shock value. Its goal is clearly to create an enjoyable dining experience, and it succeeds.
