15 replies to this topic

[Rail Paul]

Florence Fabricant reports on a new establishment at 316 East 53rd Street.

There is a big Belgian menu by Armand Vanderstigchel, who is Belgian, which includes small plates of fried items like potatoes and croquettes, appetizers that range from terrines to cheese platters, soups, salads, classic mussels, burgers and sandwiches, and main dishes like meatballs in beer, carbonnade stews, roast duck and steaks

Belgian

[oakapple]

I am totally going there.

[Sneakeater]

Our next four-star restaurant.

[Rail Paul]

The menu sounds like exactly the kind of food to enjoy on a damp, cold evening. Add a blazing fireplace, and that's pretty close to perfect.

Good stuff to enjoy on a wonderful Summer's day, or after a Fall football game, too,,,

[Wilfrid]

Near La Mangeoire?

[rozrapp]

Near La Mangeoire?

At the corner.

ETA: Or maybe across the street.

[Suzanne F]

La Mangeoire is on Second Ave, between 53rd and 54th; this place is between First and Second. Close enough so that if we get up to 53rd Street way early on Saturday, I might twist Paul's arm to have a beer here first.

ETA: just noticed that the write-up says it opens Monday. But I'll have a look anyway.

[oakapple]

I'll never be able to visit or read about this place without thinking of Lohengrin.

[Wilfrid]

I was just thinking that, having given La Mangeoire two chances, this seems more appealing. The name keeps reminding me of Au Brabancon, the old-school horse restaurant in Brussels.

[Sneakeater]

Yes! Let's go there by swan!

[molecule]

I walked past the site a couple times last week 2/13-17. It didn't look quite open yet.
It definitely seems worth some visits.

~mark

Yes! Let's go there by swan!

[oakapple]

I wouldn't want to over-state what you're getting, but Brabant serves good casual Belgian brasserie cuisine, and it's inexpensive. Moules frites were $22, a wild boar ragout with a side of spätzle just $20, excellent Bitterballen for just $7, and almost 70 beers to choose from.

The space seats 120, but it's spread out over several rooms and doesn't feel that big. Still, it's a lot of seats to fill. They're open for lunch and dinner, as you'd expect, but I wonder who'll be there for a late-night menu served till 2:00 a.m., or for Saturday and Sunday brunch. Nothing against those hours, of course, but this is 53rd and Second.

The chef, Armand Vanderstigchel, claims among his many talents and occupations: cookbook author, media chef, spokesperson, restaurant consultant, TV and radio host, instructor, writer, corporate chef, food judge, and food stylist. That’s not the complete list. So a year from now, it’s a safe bet you aren’t going to find him in Brabant’s kitchen. There’ll be underlings executing his recipes, perhaps not as well as they do now. For now, it's all you want a casual Belgian brasserie to be.

The place seemed slightly under-staffed, but service was mostly attentive and helpful, and the server’s ordering advice was spot-on. The owner introduced himself: a gentleman I’d not met before, for whom Brabant is the first restaurant on his own. The space was between one-third and half full on a weekday evening, which is not bad, considering the size of it. You want nothing but success for this guy.

Blog post here.

[Rail Paul]

Nice place.

We got there about 1.15 for lunch, and I was surprised to see a line out in front of the place. "Boy, this place must be good." So, I asked the guy at the end of the line if we need to check in. "No. Just wait."

So, we wait a few minutes. Nothing happens. By now, I notice the line has grown to about 20-25 people. Friendly crowd, every time a taxi drives by, he honks, people wave. It was about this time I noticed we were the only non-Asians in the line.

I also noticed the line ended at the restaurant's front window, adjacent to the steps up to the nation of India's visa issuing facility. So, I asked my new friend if this was the line for the restaurant or for the visa facility. Much hilarity ensued.

The restaurant was mostly empty, perhaps six or seven people. Three waitstaff.

Nice choice of beer on tap, so I ordered a Karmeliten. Wonderful, hoppy, mouth filling beer. Dee had a Hoegaarden, also fine. Short pints, though. I guess they ran about 10 oz. For $6, that's getting up there in price.

Good frites, double cooked, but they could have used another 15-30 seconds at the lower temp. Crispy exterior, but not as creamy inside as I'd expect. Super burgers, really good meat, nice char on the edges, good roll. Again, pushing the upper limit of my lunch bill at $16 for the burger plate. Good, attentive staff, the two waitresses shared tables and kept an eye on each other's customers. The chef walked out of the restaurant a few minutes after our burgers and frites were delivered.

I ordered a LaChouffe, which was a floral, thirst quenching beer. Again, a 10 oz pint for $6. Dee ordered a molten Belgian chocolate lava cake (maybe $13?).

Oakapple mentioned the chef's many exposures in an early post. We had the opportunity to see them. A few minutes after Dee ordered the molten lava cake, the chef returned with two gentlemen who looked like they could be professional associates of some sort. All disappeared into the kitchen, from which our molten lava cake emerged about ten minutes later.

Nice place, but $70 before tip for two burgers, fries, three small beers and a very good chocolate cake is pushing the far upper limits of my lunch outlays. For dinner, I'd say it was fairly priced. The mussels, chicken, etc were in the same price range as the burger. There's a prix fixe lunch for $22 (salad, several entrees, dessert) which included chicken.

This is a very nice restaurant, and the bar looks like it could be a nice place to sample a wide selection of good Belgian beer and frites. But it wouldn't be my everyday lunch table if I worked in the neighborhood.

[Wilfrid]

Six bucks for a pint of La Chouffe is very good. I've paid way more than that at Vol de Nuit.

[Rail Paul]

Six bucks for a pint of La Chouffe is very good. I've paid way more than that at Vol de Nuit.

Not a pint. More like 8-10 oz. My use of the term "short pint" may have been misleading, for which I apologize.