Cleveland Food and Brews: Brasserie Beck in Downtown Washington DC

While we were in DC for Savor we decided to ask some of the locals where we should go for dinner. One couple at Savor highly suggested Brasserie Beck and another couple also mentioned this restaurant too. With two local couples suggesting it we decided to give it a shot.

We called ahead for reservations and were pleased when we found out they had outdoor seating. However, reservations for outdoor seating was not available. As we walked down K street from our hotel and found the restaurant situated on the ground floor of a larger building. We noticed right away the wonderful outdoor patio space and were already intrigued.

When we checked in we were told the wait would be 45 minutes but we were actually seated within 15 minutes of arrival. Now onto the food!
Food
After looking over the menu a bit, we asked for some recommendations from our very friendly waitress. She said they were known for their Mussels so, I decided to give a full order of fennel and chorizo mussels a try ($20). While waiting for our entrees, a basket of fresh warm bread and butter was brought to the table for us to snack on. I always love starting a meal with a good piece of bread and butter!

As you can see from the picture, the mussels were served directly in the pan. I thought was a very fun way of presenting them. They were also served with a side of Belgian frites and three different dipping sauces. I loved everything about my meal. The mussels were cooked perfectly and super flavorful broth and somewhat spicy chorizo paired perfectly with the mussels and fennel. I also liked the texture differences between the mussels, chorizo, and the frites. Speaking of the frites, it is hard to beat the frites and aioli in Cleveland served at The Greenhouse Tavern, but these sure do come close! What I didn't care for nearly as much were the three dipping sauces. The white one was a creamy olive oil and garlic, the pink sauce was a tomato and brandy, and the yellow was a curry and mustard based aioli. None of these impressed me, but the good news was the frites by themselves were perfectly seasoned and just fine to eat on their own.

My fiancee ordered the Berkshire Bone-In Pork Loin ($28) also based on the waitress recommendation. It came served with a savoy cabbage and brioche terrine, apple butter, sweet potato shreds, and a red wine mustard pork jus. The star of this dish was the pork loin but unfortunately it fell short because it was overcooked. The waitress even recommended medium, which we gladly agreed to, but this pork loin came out well done. The wonderful jus helped to add some moisture to the pork, and the apple butter was also very tasty and added some moisture as well. My fiancee enjoyed the terrine and the sweet potato shreds, but in the end what left a little disappointed by the well done pork.

Overall this meal was a tail of two entrees. I loved my dish and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of mussels, but my fiancee wasn't crazy about her's. The pork was visibly overcooked and for that, Food wise I'd give a 3.75/5.

Drinks
Holy Belgian beer list! This place has pages upon pages of beers to choose from, but be prepared to break out some big bucks if you want to try some of the brews. Prices are not listed online probably for a reason. The average range for a Belgian beer was $10-$20 for 12oz bottles, with 22oz bottles priced over $30. Even a Bear Republic Racer 5 was priced at $7 for a 12oz bottle! We decided to opt for a bottle of wine since we had a good share of craft beer the night before at Savor. Glasses of wine were mostly $10 and up, while bottles of wine started at $32, but there were only a few choices at that level. The majority of the bottles of wine were between $50 and 70. Check out the wine list here for more information. We were lucky and found a $40 bottle of Pinot Noir that was good, not great. There is no doubt that Brasserie Beck has a great beer and wine list, but considering their drink prices are much steeper when compared to the rest of the menu I'll give them a 4/5 for drinks.

Service and Atmosphere
It was easy to see why a few people recommended this restaurant. Here are a few pictures to show how impressive Brasserie Beck was at first sight.

Then you get a glimpse of the kitchen which is situated right in the center of the restaurant for all patrons to see.

The restaurant itself was modern and beautiful inside and the patio space outside was also just as nice. I loved how the kitchen was set up so openly for all to see the action. From what I heard, they do a special chef's table right outside the kitchen for parties of 8 or more (5 course $99 a person, 7 course $125 a person). Our server for the evening was helpful, friendly and very knowledgeable about both the food and the wine list. She was attentive to our needs without being at our table ever second. With a great atmosphere and service I'd give them a 5/5.

Overall
The food menu was reasonable priced from top to bottom, however only one of our dishes were executed properly. The drink menu was very extensive in both the beer and wine list, but somewhat lofty prices kind of put a damper on it for me. The atmosphere and service were as good as we have had anywhere, so overall I'd give Brasserie Beck a 4/5.