Belgian Room Hot

Like a drunken phoenix, the Belgian Room has risen again and returned to its original digs in Alphabet City. The space is simply decorated in beer-hall chic, with bottle light fixtures, statues of happy monks, and a distressed gold paint job. The front bar is dotted with intimate tables, armchairs, and a leather couch, while warm wood paneling and wraparound white banquettes surround the back lounge. On the menu: some 40-plus bottles featuring the usual elite (Chimay, Unibroue, Duvel) alongside the other standard Belgians (Hoegarden, Stella, St, Feuillien) and the undisputed king, the delicious and dangerous Delirium Tremens. For the uninitiated, the menu gives thorough descriptions of the beers and suggested pairings with its variety of tavern food. But the Belgian frites, served in paper cones with a selection of nine dipping sauces, and the gut-busting platters of poutine, go well with anything. --NY Magazine