Monk's Belgian Cafe - Beer me.

One fine early March afternoon ChopStixx and I discovered we were both off. What to do? Lunch, of course! Off to Philadelphia for the Best Lunch Ever: Part III. This time we invited along Roux-bbinson for the festivities. We first stopped by Ikea to replenish my wine glass supply and ogle the bizarre offerings at the Swedish all-assembly-required emporium. Such as the following:



I admit it: I bought the chocolates. They were only $1.50!
Edit: ...And there is a reason they were only $1.50. Yuck.



Then we were off to Monk's Beglian Cafe. I'd hoped to check out Zot but they've closed. Damn. Monk's is easily spotted with a black, red, and yellow facade calling out to you "Come, we have beer!". Once you step inside however you have to walk down a dark narrow hallway until you reach this door:




This intimidated me. Would we be cool enough to enter? I suppose so since the staff didn't chuck us out and instead seated us in the pews. No, really. The back of this supermodel skinny building is striking in its similarity to a church. After all the place is called Monk's. The pews we were seated in were just about as uncomfortable as the real deal are for me. It's impossible to get in and out without sliding the table to the side. This is especially cumbersome when you add in a (wobbly) table full of food and dining companions on the other side of the table you have to squish in order to get to the restrooms. The restrooms are also uncomfortably small. Belgium must be the land of very skinny dwarfs.


Each table is fitted with two small one sided menus. One lists what they have on tap and the other with special brewed offerings. They also have a brochure listing the rest of the beers available. I didn't count but they appeared to have about a hundred or so options. None of these options contain the word Miller, Bud, or come with a lime.



Unibroue Ephemere, Houblon Chouffe, and Chimay Cinq Cent


These were just a small sampling of the beers we tasted. I declare them Apply-Yum, Spicy-Yum, and WAY too hoppy for my sissy mouth.

I was absolutely famished by the time we ordered and ready to launch myself at every waiter who walked by with a half eaten plate of food. Roux-bbinson agreed to split a "small" pot of mussels. We went with the Thai Curry mussels.



From the site: Monk's Flemish Sour, fumè, Thai red curry, bais, garlic & coconut milk. Served with bread for sopping up the tasty juices, an order of their Pommes Frites and their spicy bourbon mayonnaise. $9.95. $9.95!!! THAT'S CRAZY!

Let me make it perfectly clear when I say their idea of "small" is huge. The first time I dined at Monk's and the brought out a huge pot of mussels I thought that someone had made a happy mistake. No, their small is easily a meal in and of itself. Unless you're a professional athlete, competitive eater, or just a bottomless pit (See: Roo-bbinson). The Thai Red curry was very good however I have to admit that I preferred the DeKonick mussels (caramelized leeks, apples, swiss cheese & deKonick antwerpen ale) from my previous visit.



Delicious tender little lovies.

For my meal choice I went with the Monk's burger with a side of Pommes Frites. Because really, is one order of deep fried starch ever really enough?


Monk's Burger with carmalized leeks and bleu cheese.

I wish they'd melted down the cheese a bit to make the burger more manageable, but that aside it was one big messy delight. Excellent beef cooked to a perfect medium rare, juicy not greasy. The bite of the bleu cheese contrasted with the sweetness of the leeks. Obviously I enjoyed because I got halfway through the burger before I remembered to take a photo. I'm not a burger girl. I haven't ordered a burger since the 90's, but this was excellent. I've been craving another. Honestly one of the best burgers I've ever had. Which can only mean one thing: I'm stealing the recipe and forcing my fave local bar to recreate it so I can be within walking distance of this meaty delight. Chopstixx also ordered the Monk burger and while she enjoyed, she was more enamored with the spicy bourbon mayonnaise that came with the fries.


Roux-bbinson went with the Chicken&Apple sausage with raspberry mustard.



I didn't try this. The concept of raspberry mustard made my stomach churn a bit. As did the concept of the raspberry beer he later tried. Beer shouldn't be blood red. I do not approve. However, to the rest of my experience with Monk's I absolutely do approve.






Monk's Belgian Cafe - Next to godliness.

Ikea Restaurant - I got your swedish meatballs right here, baby.

On a recent trip to everyone's favorite Swedish build-it-yourself furniture store, Sir Forksalot proposed that we sit down to a fancy dinner... at the Ikea cafeteria. Sir Forksalot holds the Ikea cafeteria in high esteem, having been won over years ago when he discovered their breakfast deal: Two eggs, two bacon strips, home fries for $.99.

We each grabbed a tray and went through the cafeteria selecting our dinners. We each got our own entree, shared a bowl of soup and drink, and I had dessert.




Sir Forksalot selected Chicken Marsala over rice with mixed veges. Surprisingly, ordering an Italian dish from a Swedish furniture store doesn't inspire much confidence. However the Chicken Marsala was surprisingly good by my take, better than some I've had at actual Italian establishments. The veges were cooked within an inch of their existence, however. Sir Forksalot proclaimed it not spectacular, but the chicken was tender and tasty. The final word was that it "couldn't be beaten for the price", which sums up this dish. Incidentally, the price was $4.29+tax.

The soup was a hearty vege-lentil mix that I thought was very good, but Sir Forksalot proclaimed it "blah". This recollection is odd, seeing as how I remember him finishing the soup quickly. However, it's my blog not his, so I give it a thumbs up. Soup $1.79 + dinner roll $.35 = Damn fine dinner for roughly $2.




I went with the quintessential Ikea dish, Swedish Meatballs with gravy and mashed potatoes. This is a hearty, stick to your ribs meal that filled me up easily (and then some) with the "small" portion that consists of 10 meatballs. $4.29, and served with a dabbing of their lingonberry sauce. Now while I enjoy lingonberries,at least I do while I'm at Ikea, I have no idea what the hell these things actually are. Are they even an actual berry? Did the Swedes just make this up to screw with us?

For dessert I had the Apple cake, which is absolutely delish. I wish I'd had asked to have it heated, but even cold it was well worth $2.29. I'd actually put this above any of the samplings I've had at the Pinky Rose Pastry shop. The apples still have a bit of crunch to them, and they resist over sweetening them. Instead, they're heavily dosed with cinnamon and a vanilla sauce tops the cake providing much of the sweetness.

Together, we shared a lingonberry/sprite drink at $1.29

All together, including tax, our meal came to about $15.30 for both of us. So although Ikea might not be the world's most memorable dining experience, it is a great place for some good cheap eats.

Ikea Restaurant, giving you fuel for assembling your new entertainment system.