Fall Getaway: Monk's Cafe

Last November (basically this week last year), my husband Topher surprised me with a weekend getaway. I didn't know the destination before I left, only that I needed to pack warm clothes and one semi-dressy outfit.

We left work at noon on a Thursday and started driving north over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (one of my favorite drives - 20 miles of highway over open water). As I had suspected, we ended up in Philadelphia (my old stomping ground) for the evening.

During the drive, I figured out that Topher's cryptic clue "Joan of Arc" meant that we were headed to Orleans, MA - Cape Cod! Shortly after our arrival in Philly, my friend Rebecca, who was graciously letting us crash at her house that evening, let slip the rest of the surprise: my dear friend Anne was coming to Cape Cod with us!

Anne had a meeting at church or something that evening, so Topher & I were on our own for dinner. My first choice was a place I thought Topher would like: Monk's Cafe, a popular Belgian pub famous for its "Beer Bible," a dozen-page booklet listing its extensive beer offerings.

What I Ate:

• Thai Curry mussels: Monk's Flemish Sour, fum, Thai red curry, bais, garlic, & coconut milk - the bowls of mussels are huge, and they offer them in several different sauces, all delicious!
• Lapin a la Gueuze: Rabbit & root vegetables braised in gueuze lambic - a traditional Brussels dish - a great dish for a cool November evening
• I'm embarrassed to admit this: I had two glasses of beer with dinner - one blonde ale and one brown ale - and I can't remember what either of them was :(

The Scoop:

Monk's Cafe is located at 264 S. 16th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. Their hours are M-Sun, 11:30am-1:00am. You can reach them by calling (215)545-7005, but if I remember correctly, they don't take reservations.

As I said, it's a popular (and not very big) place, so it fills up quickly after work, during the dinner hour, and on weekends. But it's worth the wait. Another of my favorites from their menu: the Ghent burger - topped with sautéed broccoli rabe, garlic, and cheddar cheese.

**This past summer, I was horrified to learn that an out-of-control SEPTA bus crashed into the front of Monk's; but thankfully no one was hurt badly, and the restaurant reopened later the same month.