To Beck With It
The buzz is all over the place about Brasserie Beck, Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel’s new Belgian gastropub on 11th and K, NW. Though not open quite yet (scheduled for an opening in the next couple of weeks), the Brasserie scored two articles in this week’s Post, and a post full of restaurant eye candy over at the Washingtonian.

The Post used Beck as the latest example in the growing trend of fancy-pants chefs opening more casual places with great food but a much lower price point: think Central, Bebo, Eamonn’s, and Majestic. But they also highlighted, through Tom Sietsema’s Dish column, the beer program at Beck—which will take its cues from other beer-loving restaurants in the area like Rustico and Birreria Paradiso. This dovetailed nicely with Greg Kitsock’s column on beer pairing. Good work on the synthesis, Post!

The Washingtonian gives us an inside look at the Brasserie, which looks pretty sexy to me. Modeled after a European train station, the look is sleek and airy, maybe even clean and articulate. According to the article, the bar at Beck will feature HDTVs that show real-time footage of the kitchen, which is something that will pull my attention far more than any basketball game ever would. Maybe they’ll even have sound, but I doubt it, since profanity is always flowing full bore in kitchens.

You have a chance to talk with Chef Weimaier yourself, as Todd Kliman has turned his chat over to him next Tuesday. Here’s our chance to determine what the menu’s going to feature, as well as how much time he’ll spend at Beck and how much at Marcel’s. Oh, and beer, you can ask him about his forthcoming cornucopia of beers.

Photo of Oyamel’s grasshopper taco courtesy of bethanyll22.