Brasserie Beck, 11th and K Street Downtown - Belgian Moules-Frites Specialists with Outstanding Belgian Beers

[bookluvingbabe]

Somehow I had missed that Beck was coming to the Kentlands.  But I turned left instead of right out of Whole Foods this morning and there was the sign.  We discovered O'Donnell's right before it closed and it was the perfect "in-law" dining place.  I'm pretty sure they will be appalled by the prices at Beck, and it will be too loud, but goodness I might actually get a good meal in my own hood for a change.

[ktmoomau]

We went to Beck for New Years, which did not have a $170 per person tasting menu, whew, just a standard menu with a few specials, why can't more places do this?  (I wanted to go to New Heights, but Hubby has been rebelling against my uber foodie choices lately, 2014 here I come...) We sat by some rather idiotic obnoxious people, but had a nice evening.  We had a really nice professional waiter, who was running things in our section.  Wouldn't let the bus boys steal my cocktail menu, told runners who got what food before it got to the table and was great.  We liked him a lot.  We started with Champagne, then he picked out a beer for Hubby out of his two choices.  We both had salads.  I had the frisee salad which was light and really tangy and refreshing.  A little hard to eat because of the shred, but worth it.  Hubby had the winter vegetable salad, which looked good.  For dinner I had the skate.  It was really nicely cooked and well put together.  A little rich in sauce, but very tasty.  I liked the potato bacon hash that came with it.  Glad I had the salad to start!  Hubby had something beef almost stewy-like.  He really liked it.  What really made the night though was they had a dessert my husband actually wanted, really wanted!  He had the gingerbread waffle and loved it.  I had sorbet and port for dessert and was happy too.  It was a nice evening, fairly low key which was good because we were exhausted.

[jayandstacey]

Somehow I had missed that Beck was coming to the Kentlands.  But I turned left instead of right out of Whole Foods this morning and there was the sign.  We discovered O'Donnell's right before it closed and it was the perfect "in-law" dining place.  I'm pretty sure they will be appalled by the prices at Beck, and it will be too loud, but goodness I might actually get a good meal in my own hood for a change.

Holy Moly!  Yeah, I missed this too.  This is awesome news.

We have a few other changes coming to the 'hood and this one ices the cake.  Maybe better I didn't see this in July - I'd be going bonkers for 6 months knowing this was coming within walking distance.

Sounds like you're lucky to have such accomodating in-laws.  Mine have a simple formula:  90% of the time Applebees works, and 10% of the time (aka special occasions), Outback is the go-to.  A few weeks ago I took them to Old Angler's Inn (I repeat - Old Angler's Inn) and the comment I got was "this tastes like I'm eating grass clippings" - it was a garden salad for God's sake.  They probably thought going to OAI was a giant waste - they were right on that point.

I see they are doing exterior work to the entrance area, maybe making a porch or changing the entrance maze.  Anyone have an ETA?

[lekkerwijn]

Last night we took clients for dinner at Beck. A big mistake I won't make again. Here's why:

1. Service was appallingly slow. It took nearly fifteen minutes to get our wine and then forty five minutes between when our appetizers were cleared until our entrees were served.
2. My salad and I have confirmed that of my coworkers was so salty as to be nearly inedible perhaps even edema inducing. I thought about sending it back but that is awkward when you are with clients and in a big group.
3. Despite ordering four half orders mussels and all of us saying we didn't want sides, we ended up with and were charged for four orders of frites. Admittedly we nibbled on them and they're really good. But that is shady. We were in front of the client so again not really in a good position to make a fuss once the bill came. 
4. The "following Gratuity table is provided for your convenience"... was based upon the total bill, not the pretax bill and that included the not inexpensive wine we ordered.I find this practice intensely annoying.

French brasserie/bistro style food is perfect for client dinners - there is something for everyone. Next time we'll just go to Central or Cafe Du Parc.

[cheezepowder]

The Brasserie Beck Kentlands location's Facebook page has an update on the timing of their opening:

To all out fans: We hope to open in the next two weeks as we await some final equipment and county inspections. We will open slowly so as to give our staff and new customers a great experience. Please follow this page for updates as every day we will know more and make announcements. Thank you for your patience!

[ol_ironstomach]

Kentlands opening currently slated for April 27th.

[cheezepowder]

According to their Facebook page, they're now planning to open Kentlands around May 5th with limited seating.

[cheezepowder]

According to their Facebook page, the Kentlands location opened on May 5.

[DonRocks]

According to their Facebook page, the Kentlands location opened on May 5.

Does anyone think there's a chance of brand confusion between Brasserie Beck and Mussel Bar now that they're both becoming chains?

[jayandstacey]

Does anyone think there's a chance of brand confusion between Brasserie Beck and Mussel Bar now that they're both becoming chains?

I don't know - I live in Gaithersburg, in the neighborhood of the new Brasserie Beck - and got a Groupon from Mannequin Pis (15 miles away in Olney) the day BB opened.  Can you say "mussels war?"

Dinner tonight at BB was delightful.  We sat on the expanded patio where a limited menu (mussels/frites/charcuterie) was offered, along with the bar offerings and dessert.  They explained they are still getting on their feet and that the full menu would be offered on the patio soon.  Inside seating was booked with reservations.

We tried the classic, thai and mushroom mussels; each was excellent.  The thai version has the slightest heat and was my favorite. The frites are uniformly done and quite tasty - if you're not a fan of salt you might ask them to go light in that department.  Desserts were excellent, we tried the creamy graham cracker ice cream and the macaroons (lemon was a fave).  I'm not really qualified to say how these dishes all compare to others I've had in the past...but I never once thought "oh, I've had better at XXX restaurant..." and I tend to do that if a place has any real weakness.  None of that here.

Service was excellent and while there were a few things to iron out (the dishes came really fast, before we'd even gotten all our drinks) it was always recovered professionally.  They'll have it completely together in 2 weeks I'm sure. 

Welcome to the neighborhood BB!  Great to have you.

[jandres374]

Gaithersburg location changing concept. New name will be Boulevard Tavern.