Last but not least was Monk’s Cafe, Philadelphia’s most well-known Belgian taproom. At BeerAdvocate’s Return of the Belgian Beer Fest last year, we attended a presentation by Tom Peters, the co-owner, who is extremely knowledgeable about beer and food pairings. We were especially looking forward to this visit and while we were honestly a little disappointed at the beer menu compared to The Eulogy, the food more than made up for that. You’d never know we were disappointed looking at the list below, but this was without a doubt saving-the-best-for-last deal.

Our table was wobbly and needed constant attention by our party of beer lovers to prevent spillage, but no matter—food and beer prevail in the end. We had traditional Belgian mussels steamed with Monk’s Flemish Sour Ale (brewed specifically for them by Van Steenberge) for appetizers; Jason had rabbit prepared with Cantillon Gueze; and I had a filet with roquefort cheese and Trappiste Rochefort 10 cream sauce.

Here’s a list of the things we had there before some mean guy asked us to stop taking pictures of our food and the bottles:

La Binchoise Reserve (on-tap)
Kasteel Rouge (on-tap)
Lost Abbey Avant Garde
Lost Abbey Ten Commandments
t’Smijse BBBourgondier
Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux (1998 vintage)
De Proef Slaapmutske

Finally, we try not to express our personal opinions of specific beer very often, as we carry so many brands at Bruisin’ Ales and we technically can’t endorse any one product. But since we can’t get Lost Abbey in North Carolina, we’re going to stretch that rule a little: If you’ve lost your religion, try a Ten Commandments and you just might find it again. We love the brews by Tomme Arthur—it’s no secret—so if you ever happen upon one in a store or tavern, enjoy it.