Day 48—Friday, February 26th
Markt
First off I want to thank Jason Hwang for contributing 20 bucks to the 365 cause! Jason’s a friend, a co-worker, a commentator here and has been part of the crawl here when his girlfriend/commentator Zioum Zioum the Chainsaw was in town. Thanks, Jason, tonight’s beers are one you!
Jason display's his 20 dollar contribution and hides his unshaven face.
Okay, it’s a real fucking mess in New York tonight. It started snowing yesterday and continued all day and into the night and I believe we got close to twenty inches. So I’m not going to venture far away to a bar tonight, it’s too sloppy outside. In fact there’s a bar I pass by every night called Markt. And for once, that’s not a typo, the name is Markt. Tonight I went online and found out it’s got a huge selection of bottled Belgian beer. I’m not really in the mood to talk to people and do the usual 365 meet, greet and take a photo thingy tonight. Instead, I’ll take some shots of the bar and then introduce a show I’m going to call “My Three Beers.”
“What’s that?” You ask. I don’t know, if you haven’t guessed yet, I kind of make this shit up as I go along.
Okay, it finally stopped snowing, but look what a mess it is outside.
Bicycles are buried on the sidwwalk.
And on every corner there's a sea of glop to step through.
We're here, Markt Cafe-Restaurant.
In spite of the snow, there's a big Friday night crowd at the bar.
This is my view from my perch at the bar.
And here's the view from the other end of the bar.
There are tables and booths on the opposite side of the bar and in the back room.
And now it's time to begin this week's episode of, "My Three Beers." Do doo do do, do doo do doo.
Bartender Steve pours the first beer of the evening.
It's a Troubadour Blond and it's delicious and loaded with alcohol. Hooray!
Beer number two is a bottle of Kwak. Every beer here comes with its own unique glass. And what can I say about Kwak? Kwak is wack!
We now pause for this commercial break, starring a young Sam Wong.
Bartender Frankie pours the third and final beer of the evening.
It's called Palm and here I am with it in the palm of my hand. It was delicious. I hope you enjoyed this edition of "My Three Beers."
And this is just my opinion, but I always thought Uncle Charlie was a pedophile. What gave it away was that apron he wore while staring longinly at Ernie. Yikes! Goodnight everybody!
Review
Markt restaurant and bar has a casual elegance from the long and winding antique bar to the friendly bartenders and waitstaff who work there. If you want rowdiness you should go somewhere else, but if you’re looking for huge selection of great Belgian beer and cuisine Markt is your spot.
They offer a selction of over 40 draft and bottled Belgian beers. Some of them include: Duchesse De Bourgogne, Troubadour Obscura, St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Grimbergen Dubbel. Yeah, I’ve never heard of them either, I’m a guy who drained six cans of Pabst last night at the Trailer Park Lounge, but the ones I had were delicious. Plan on coming here on payday, because it’s not cheap. Beers run from 8 to 15 dollars per beer, but they are imported and uniqely tasty. Markt also offers 10 unique cocktails at twelve bucks a pop and they have an extensive wine list.
Markt also has a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Some of the entrees include six different variations of mussels, grilled lobster, red snapper and shrimp poached in a shellfish cream broth and tender beef slow simmered in Corsendonk Brown ale, served with Belgian frites. What caught my eye was the Macaronis au gratin, which is four-cheese macaroni & cheese topped with a panko crust and black truffle oil. I gotta get some food next time I go here!
Markt
676 Sixth Ave. @ 21st St.
212-727-3314