Hot damn the Belgians love their beer. I mean they probably love chocolate just as much, but this joint doesn’t trade in the sweet stuff. Instead this hole-in-the-wall cafe deals in the briny and the sudsy. And by that I mean moules frites and beer in great abundance and great variety. And this, to my mind, is absolutely the shit. And by that I mean the best! I absolutely adore little places like this that just throw together a really fun beer list (from which I sampled ridiculous things like Grimbergen Blonde, Saison DuPont and Het Nest Ace of Spades) and pair it with mussels and french fries and hanger steaks and maybe some cheese all in an authentic feeling, casual European surrounding, including authentic European waitresses. But like two blocks from my office.
This joint is super-relaxed and a perfect stop for any small group of after-work wanderers. It’s not fancy or anything, and if your friends are complete redneck lunkheads who only eat pizza and burgers and drink lite beer they may feel like a Habsburg in Prince-Bishopric of Liège (that’s a Belgian joke), but you could certainly do worse than an evening with the magical wheel of cool beers in even cooler beer glasses.
210 E 51st St.
212/888-7782
bxlrestaurants.com