Information design may be a critical flaw at the Beneluxx Tasting Room but it can still be fun.

Sampling by the ounce is always more expensive than going whole hog, but look at it as a learning experience. Food was good, sampling was fun, but getting there was painful. Hopefully, Beneluxx fixes the menu train wreck, and gets on with gettin’ on.

Beneluxx [Mac & Cheese]
Beneluxx Tasting Room [Official Site]

Are all Belgians a bit crazy? This is from Joe Sixpack’s recent post about dining at Zot.

The waitstaff is just plain weird (one server said he was forbidden to fill our water glasses more than halfway) and the policies are idiotic (you WILL eat the frites). I could live with that, but the bad news is the food has taken a tumble. The first time I ate here, I thought the mussels might’ve been the best I had outside of Normandy. Big, succulent, full of flavor. Last night they were just pathetic – tiny, overcooked and uninspired. Some of the other dishes (risotto) were lame, but man, if you can’t get the mussels right in a Belgian restaurant… At first I thought it might’ve been an off night, but later I ran into a friend who told me he’d given up on the place after two bad meals in recent weeks. Sad.

Old City Joints [Joe Sixpack]

Photo by Ryan Charles
McDuff’s Food & Wine Trail checks out the beer and food at the Belgian Cafe in Fairmount.

At the moment, the kitchen at The Belgian Café seems to be running a step behind the standard set at the original Monk’s Café. With a bit of fine tuning – the mussels need just a bit more flavor concentration to their broth while the burgers would benefit from a sturdier roll, such as the stirato served at Monk’s, and a surer hand at the stove – I hope the food will rise in quality as the design of the restaurant takes its final shape. The well thought out structure, ample space and relaxed atmosphere are already enough to make The Belgian Café a worthy destination for pilgrims in search of fine ale and chow as well as a regular watering hole for the denizens of Fairmount.

A Burger and a Beer: The Belgian Café [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]

The Clog comes up big with the menu for Beneluxx Tasting Room. The tasting room hopes to open sometime this week.

Among the highlights, Noble Blue Mac and Cheese, mini pizzas, Wild Boar with port wine and five spice marinated cherries and four varieties of fondue.

EXCLUSIVE: Menu for Beneluxx Tasting Room [The Clog]

Phillyist is among the first to check out brunch at the Belgian Cafe a couple of Sundays ago. And there’s plenty to look forward to, including brunch mussels like, smoked salmon, red onion, and caper with mussels and charcuterie mussels: ham, sausage, goat cheese, and mustard.

The smoky flavor from the salmon permeated Ross’s mussels, giving them an excellent, and unique, flavor. The salmon itself, having cooked with the mussels, was perhaps a bit rubbery, but in such small chunks that it still remained easy to chew. My mussels were excellent, although the flavor from the goat cheese was almost imperceptible (you saw the cheese far more than you tasted it), perhaps because of the strong mustard flavor. I think next time, if I order this dish, I’ll ask for extra cheese.

Foodsday Tuesday: Not Just Waffles Anymore [Phillyist]

Philadelphia Magazine takes a look at Zot and is knocked over by its mussels, even as it finds some of the other entrees aren’t as consistent.

But even with its problems, I’d recommend Zot. There’s no shame in being a beer-and-­mussels place — especially when you do mussels better than standbys like Monk’s, Abbaye and Eulogy.

Mussel-ing In [Philadelphia Magazine]
Zot Restaurant [Official Site]

The Main Line Restaurant Guide takes an early look at Teresa’s Next Door, the beer bar next to Teresa’s Cafe in Wayne.

As any diner familiar with the Wayne restaurant scene has come to expect from Teresa’s Cafe, Teresa’s Next Door (now known as TND) offers simple, creative and well-executed fare in a comfortable (and smoke-free!) environment. Oh, and it’s also the best beer bar in the area.

Teresa’s Next Door, Wayne [Main Line Restaurant Guide]

Craig LaBan tries out the latest Belgian spot in town, the three-month old Zot on the 100 block of Lombard. Despite missteps from the waitstaff and questionable frittes, the mussels are what matters and delivers.

Order up a charcuterie plate and any pot of the 30 or so different kinds of beer-steamed mussels to begin – perhaps the classic Bruxelles style perfumed with smoky slab bacon, leeks and goat cheese; or the harissa-spiced Red Devil to get your lips smoking – and the scene is set for a splendid meal.

Two Bells – Very Good

Craig LaBan | Zot [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Zot [Official Site]

Craig LaBan will be reviewing Zot, the new Belgian restaurant near Headhouse Square, this Sunday.

Long regarded as Belgium USA Philadelphia is getting an influx of new Belgian bars this summer.

• Teresa’s Next Door – New spot along restaurant row in Wayne is looking for an early June opening.
• Belgian Cafe – The latest from Fergie and Tom Peters will bring a Monk’s vibe to Fairmoun sometime in June.
• Beneluxx Tasting Room – Just around the corner from Eulogy this spinoff will take up in the downstairs cavern where SoMa once was.
• Beneluxx at the Broad Axe Tavern – The Brad Axe Tavern in Blue Bell dates back to 1681 and will be Mike Naessens third location.

Belgian taverns debuting all over [Philadelphia Daily News]
Joe Sixpack [Official Site]