61. Brasserie Beck
Here’s the thing, Brasserie Beck is in a weird location. I don’t even really know what to call the area it’s located in—11th and K St. isn’t really Mt. Vernon Triangle, but it’s not Downtown either. And though it’s set among office buildings, I can’t imagine there is tons of foot traffic during the day. And I’m guessing the kids from the elementary school down the block aren’t taking advantage of extensive beer list. Needless to say, I was shocked when Brasserie Beck was open for Sunday brunch and was downright flabbergasted when it wasn’t completely empty. I was hoping to take advantage of their large outdoor patio—I had dreams of sipping my nice cold beer under their large umbrellas. But alas, Mother Nature had a different idea—near 100 degree heat and a not-sweaty brunch do not mix.
Speaking of not sweating through brunch (‘tis the season after all), it took some strategic ordering to make sure I didn’t burst in to flames upon first bite. Sadly that meant I had to ixnay any of the mussels, because even just the idea of eating anything floating in a warm broth made overheat. I can say from prior experience though that the mussels are not to be missed. As a matter of fact, I can’t think of a much better meal on a wintery night then some moules and some beers courtesy of the fine folks at Brasserie Beck. But I digress…we were there for brunch, and though Beck has a brunch menu per se, it’s nothing to write home about. However, if you are in the area and would like a poached egg to go along with your brewskie, go forth and order. We pushed our brunch menus to the side and settled in to the oversized (and overwhelming) lunch/dinner menu.
Truth be told, to get the full Beck experience, lunch is probably not the best time to go. The dishes for the most part are heavy (at least they come off that way). Since I didn’t feel like tucking in to coq au vin or roast rabbit loin, I chose the lamb sandwich served with goat cheese and roasted peppers. The sandwich was good—I assumed it would come out as more of a ground lamb patty, but it was tender sliced gyro-style meat. And lots of it.
Now, I’m all about honestly here, and so here’s the truth—I just ordered the sandwich because I knew it would come with fries. Guys. The fries. Are. Amazing. My mom is a total French fry connoisseur, and is notorious (at least in our family) for sending fries back—even at McDonalds!—when they aren’t heated to optimal fry temp. So believe me, I know good fries. These are the best fries in town. They’re crispy and firm and seasoned perfectly. And the best part is that I don’t have to feel guilty about eating mayo with my fries because this is a Belgian restaurant and that’s just tradition. It would be rude not to eat them that way.
And yes, then there is the beer list. It is a menu that, in my opinion, is only rivaled by the RFD/Brickskeller library. And there really is something for everyone, fruit beers for the girls who claim to hate beer and lambic for the science nerds (fun fact: it’s formed with spontaneous fermentation! Thanks Wikipedia!) I also think the bar at Beck is a great place for a first date—it makes it easy to spot those guys who love to reminisce about “that time my buddies and I went to Germany on spring break and got SO WASTED at this beer hall…we drank beer that had a name sort of like this!” Luckily, Beck also has plenty multi-shaped glassware behind the bar, perfect for breaking over the aforementioned idiot first date’s head.
