Monk's Cafe

Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia -- If you like beer and/or mussels, then Monk's Belgian Cafe is the place for you. This place has one of the most extensive beer menus I have ever seen. Upon entering, there is a small but comfortable bar with two rooms at the rear for dining. It's a pretty small restaurant and is very busy, so we had to wait about half an hour to get seated. The lighting is very dim but is well suited for the atmosphere. Per, this is your kind of place. I could picture a bunch of Vikings eating here.

For dinner, Steph got the Provence mussels and a glass of framboise. I ordered a bacon cheese burger and a glass of their sour ale. I know that sounds lame, but sometimes, you just get that craving for a nice, juicy burger. The mussels were steamed (fumè) with celery, olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, leeks, garlic, parsley & cream. You can get the mussels in small or large but the small is actually more than sufficient for one person, and it came with a side of french fries with mayo. Overall, the little sea creature was perfectly steamed and the ingredients helped create a very tasty sawce/broth. On a side note, framboise is a belgian beer that is fermented with raspberries and is very sweet, almost too sweet (can't believe this is considered a beer).

Furthermore, the burger (medium) came out very well: extremely juicy, flavorful, and seasoned perfectly. And the bacon just made it so much more incredible. I luh bacon (almost more than I luh Popeye's...almost). Anyway, the only thing I didn't like about my burger experience was that it came in a dry ciabatta roll. Weird. I would've preferred that yummy burger in a soft, squishy bun. Their "award winning fresh cut fries", which I had to order separately, were actually nothing special. Although, it did come with their famous bourbon mayonnaise for dipping. Once again, weird. I don't know about yins, but I like putting my fries in the burger. Lastly, the sour ale was... sour.

Overall grade:

B (Louie) - The food was moderately priced and very tasty. There were only a few things that bothered me: burger in a roll, small and crowded, slow service. Oh yeah, I forgot... the burger didn't come with fries. WTF?! That's like a Chinese restaurant that charges extra for rice, a bathroom without a toilet, or a girl that you bring home who actually turns out to be a dude. Otherwise, everything else is great. I kind of want to go there again to try some of the other Belgian beers on tap.