My friend Catherine (a.k.a my high-school classmate Katie) told me about a new Belgian place that is becoming her new favorite bar and restaurant and since she knows I'm a fan of Belgian ales, she invited me to meet for drinks and dinner. I bought David and she brought Jennifer and Amy.
As soon as I arrived, the bartender presented us with a paddle of four of his favorite ales to sample, including Kwak.
We were seated quickly. I was too distracted to really look at the menu well so I ordered one of the many varieties of the "moules et frites" called Red Duvel. I didn't know moules were mussels, until they arrived, but the mussels were delicious and the double-friend frites were worth going back for just for them.
I drank a bottle of Maredsous 8 which was incredible. My second ale was a Chimay White. I didn't expect to like it too much because I'm generally not a fan of fruity blond ales, but since I recently tried the Chimay Blue and the Chimay Red, I figured I should complete the trio. It just had to get me from entree to dessert and it did an okay job of it. When it was time for dessert I knew I was going to have the molten chocolate cake but I remembered noticing an ale and thinking it would be a good finisher with dessert to I had to see the list again to find it. It was a St. Bernardus Abt 12 which, as predicted was a perfect finisher and complement the Cake. The ale had hint of cognac and espresso. The cake had a dab of ice cream, whipped cream, assorted berries, and a few surprising pistachio nuts. (The waffle is similarly accompanied and also looked delicious.)
The list of Belgian ales on tap and in bottles is longer than I've seen at any other restaurant. (I have not been to Belgium). There is a section of Abbey ales and of course as complete a list as possible of Trappist Abbey Ales. I am going to have to visit this place a dozen times just to get though the variety of ales.
That's not a complaint. Katie lives around the corner.
After dinner we walked uptown in the rain to Sips to hear a DJ friend of Amy's. There I drank a giant bottle of El Presidente which is the best pilsner to come out of the Dominican Republic. That puts it high on the list of beers from South America, but a much better Pilsner is brewed right across the river in Brooklyn. Jennifer and Amy seemed nice, but to be honest, I don't think I took my eyes off of Katie long enough to recognize them next time I see them.
As soon as I arrived, the bartender presented us with a paddle of four of his favorite ales to sample, including Kwak.
We were seated quickly. I was too distracted to really look at the menu well so I ordered one of the many varieties of the "moules et frites" called Red Duvel. I didn't know moules were mussels, until they arrived, but the mussels were delicious and the double-friend frites were worth going back for just for them.
I drank a bottle of Maredsous 8 which was incredible. My second ale was a Chimay White. I didn't expect to like it too much because I'm generally not a fan of fruity blond ales, but since I recently tried the Chimay Blue and the Chimay Red, I figured I should complete the trio. It just had to get me from entree to dessert and it did an okay job of it. When it was time for dessert I knew I was going to have the molten chocolate cake but I remembered noticing an ale and thinking it would be a good finisher with dessert to I had to see the list again to find it. It was a St. Bernardus Abt 12 which, as predicted was a perfect finisher and complement the Cake. The ale had hint of cognac and espresso. The cake had a dab of ice cream, whipped cream, assorted berries, and a few surprising pistachio nuts. (The waffle is similarly accompanied and also looked delicious.)
The list of Belgian ales on tap and in bottles is longer than I've seen at any other restaurant. (I have not been to Belgium). There is a section of Abbey ales and of course as complete a list as possible of Trappist Abbey Ales. I am going to have to visit this place a dozen times just to get though the variety of ales.
That's not a complaint. Katie lives around the corner.
After dinner we walked uptown in the rain to Sips to hear a DJ friend of Amy's. There I drank a giant bottle of El Presidente which is the best pilsner to come out of the Dominican Republic. That puts it high on the list of beers from South America, but a much better Pilsner is brewed right across the river in Brooklyn. Jennifer and Amy seemed nice, but to be honest, I don't think I took my eyes off of Katie long enough to recognize them next time I see them.
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