January 9, 2012
A nice, cozy small cafe near Rockefeller Center. I came here for brunch with my family, and although it is not geared towards families, it was plenty appropriate. It is a small place with a small bar and a number of tables, but easily able to get a table on an early Sunday afternoon right before Christmas. I just got the BXL house beer, which was quite tasty. They had a number of other Belgian taps as well. My omelet was super tasty, as was my sisters French toast. Overall, quite a nice place. Prices are on par with the typical NYC prices. I would come here just to try the Ommegang BXL, it is a tasty saison. And the food is good too. Worth a stop.

July 11, 2011
Quite liked this bar in midtown manhattan. Tried their house BXL cuvee but didn’t stay too long. The music is very loud, prices high and the afterwork crowd not my types. But great to have a craft beer shop across from my hotel!

July 17, 2010
Stopped in here after chatting with the bartender at the BXL on 43rd, who apparently manages this one in the evenings. Nice light open feel, similar to the other BXL, but as this one seems a little newer, has a little more elegance to it. The tap list wasn’t much different that the first (meaning about 10-12 beers, most of which I’ve had before, but there was one new one for me), but the bottle list was much more impressive. Still nothing crazy, but you can at least get some solid Gueuzes here and a few other interesting things. They had a gazpacho on special, and as I’m a sucker for a good gazpacho, I ordered that as well. It was pretty decent, but I do have to say however that the gazpacho I had twice in the last week and a half at The Blind Tiger, blew it away hands down (and was about $2 less expensive as well I think). My only problem here came when it was time to cash out as my server had gone off to wade through a mountain of paperwork at a table across the room, and the two or three other servers couldn’t seem less interested in me, my empty bowl, and empty glass, anxious look, and visible credit card. Service up until then was fine however, as my initial server was quite courteous and friendly. Worth a stop if you’re nearby, probably not if you have to go out of your way for it, and based on the prices, I wouldn’t make this the place to spend the bulk of an evening.

July 6, 2009
Came here with JoeMcPhee for the NYC premiere of La Trappe Isid’or. Relatively small place with tons of kitschy beer decor. Mainly Ommegang and Duvel stuff all over. The selection is very limited and very overpriced. The Houblon Chouffe Joe ordered was $10 and only about 6oz. I probably won’t return. (Unless a world premier for a La Trappe beer happens again with a Trappist Monk visiting.)

June 26, 2009
Stopped in for the NYC premiere of La Trappe Isid’or. Large bustling place with a pretty nice vibe. Solid bottle selection and the taps are pretty nice as well. While I’m glad to have gotten the chance to try the new beer, the prices in here are insane. 12 for an Orval I can live with, but 10 for 20 cl of Houblon Chouffe is absolutely insane. The not too bright bartender didn’t help either.

May 26, 2009
Visited NYC memorial day weekend and stumbled across this bar right next to our hotel (the Pod Hotel). Which was nice to stop in and have a few beers. Nothing extremely rare but still you don’t see Cantillon and Drie Font. very many places. The draft system was not working the night we were there but the bottles were good, all belgian/belgian style beers. They did have one of the largest collections of glassware i’ve seen. Next time i stay at the Pod Hotel i’m definitely coming by for a beer!