Hoppy Christmas! Monk's Cafe: A bit of Belgium in Philly.

One of our goals this trip was to check out some of Philly's beer bars, the first of which was Monk's.

First of all, in addition to the food menu, there are THREE beer menus, one for the front bar draught list, one for the back bar draught list, and this insane booklet called Monk's Beer Bible which looks like a hefty church program but is actually a beer version of a wine list.  It's nearly 20 pages of bottle beers, by far the largest selection of Belgian beers I have ever seen in one place.  And they have others too, from all over the world, and at a wide variety of prices.  It also has a beer glossary and tells you a bit about how beer is made, and what the difference is between all of the brews.  It's pretty cool, and you can buy one to take home for $3.

In addition to drinking several of the yummy and imnteresting beers they have, we also ate there.  The food was for the most part, really great, and not your run-of-the-mill  bar fare.  We started with veal cheeks braised in Abbaye de Val Dieu Brown Ale with vegetables, spanish olives & herbs, and sea scallops topped with a beurre blanc made with the Monk's house flemish sour ale, shallots, chervil and butter, both were outstanding.  My dining companion got the mussels, which seem to be a speciality there because they have eight different preparations.  I got a trout dish which was okay, but the mussels were fantastic.  There are also lamb, duck, and frogs legs dishes on the menu, many of which are prepared with beer so it's a fun place to pair some interesting food and drink.  And they have there own house label as well.

The actual space is very cozy but does fill up fast so try to get there early.  You can take a virtual tour here. It's on 264 S. 16th street, which is just around the corner from Rittenhouse square.