Dr. Granville Moore’s Brickyard officially opened its doors this weekend, and with much avail. Located at 1238 H Street NE, this Belgian influenced pub has a great deal to offer, which was obvious with the number of people who showed up for the “soft opening.” Chris Surrusco, formerly of Rustico’s in Alexandria, is a proprietor and the beer connoisseur. He had estimated about 50 or so covers each night and was pleasantly surprised to see those numbers more than doubled. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t head up that way until the end of the weekend and were unable to get a few items from the menu. We’ll have to try our luck at their official grand opening in September.

The kitchen is led by executive chef David Nugent, who was the Chef de Partie of The French Laundry in California before relocating to the D.C. area. The menu is simple; a perfect match with the entire feel of the pub. Half of the menu is dedicated to Mussels (Moules) and Fries (Frites) served with a variety of sauces. The mussels come with 5 different choices of preparation, from Belgium Tripple with toasted garlic, to Smoked Bacon with leek, parsley and cream, and to preserved lemon with black olive and harissa broth. The Frites come with a choice of 6 different dipping sauces which range from roasted garlic mayo to sea salt and malt vinegar to “Dijonaisse.” The other half of the menu’s offerings include Mushroom Risotto, Croque Monsieur, and Seared Scallops with bacon and corn ragout, to name a few. As for the beer selections, there were many to choose from (currently approximately 55 Belgian selections), so we required recommendations from Chris. Speaking with him was as intense as discussing wine choices with a professional sommelier, minus the attitude, and his suggestions definitely fit what we were looking for.