So, yeah, it’s cold. The Arctic vortex has yet to return to the North Pole, leaving us with shivery conditions. In these cases, perhaps the best course of action is retreat and eat.

Here’s a short list of comfort foods on Capitol Hill to help you through the cold.

• Chili cheese fries — The Tune Inn, 331 Pennsylvania Ave. SE

This is the kind of chili dreams are made of: thick, with kidney beans and beef and layered on top of potatoes that have been thoroughly fried and then blasted in an oven. The cold doesn’t stand a chance against this dish.

• Onion soup “au gratin” — Bearnaise, 315 Pennsylvania Ave. SE

• Beef cheek bourguignon — Montmartre DC, 327 Seventh St. SE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2ys8C-lNk

• Red beans and rice — Johnny’s Half Shell, 400 North Capitol St. NW

In Louisiana, red beans and rice are a staple on Mondays and for comfort food purposes everywhere. At Johnny’s, where owner Ann Cashion worships at the New Orleans food altar, they serve a mean rendition with spicy sausage that’s worth its weight in good feelings. Plus, you can hum along to the Booker T and the MGs song while you eat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9dquWDfepA

• Quark and black pepper pierogi — Boundary Road, 414 H St. NE

Chef Brad Walker knows how Slavic souls (including this writer) stay warm in Balkan and Balkan-like winters: starch and dairy products. The tangy sourness of quark makes the buttery goodness of the pierogi shell a welcome addition to the belly on days such as these.

Eat responsibly.