Beer Engine, now Monnick opening in Germantown

[Robin Garr]

After a long delay, Beer Engine is finally about to open its Germantown branch, now re-titled "Monnick Beer Co." Chef Joseph Frase, formerly at Blind Pig, will come in as chef. Sounds extremely promising!

Here's their Facebook page ...
https://www.facebook.com/Monnikbeer?ref=profile

And a story by Dana in the CJ ...
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/li ... /31335095/

Wow, a craft brewery with a Blind Pig menu, all walkable from my house. I am downright thrilled.

The menu is still being worked on, but may well have some of the favorites from The Blind Pig.

We went to Monnik tonight. We've been looking forward to this place opening for a while, and the wait was well worth it. First off, the place looks great, and it was packed. Even so, service had no kinks, and we got our order in 10 minutes. We got a flight of beers, and split a pork and black currant pot pie, a burger, fries, and curry beans. The pot pie was clovey and rich, and the beans had a strong ginger tomato flavor I really liked. The beers were all top-notch. This is a place I am definitely going to be enjoying in the winter months, when a hot pot pie and a good chocolatey stout will really hit the spot. Can't wait to try other stuff on the menu. Between Monnik, Eiderdown, Post, Four Pegs, Lydia House, and Checks, there are a lot of good places to eat and drink in this little slice of Schnitzelburg/Germantown.

[Robin Garr]

Between Monnik, Eiderdown, Post, Four Pegs, Lydia House, and Checks, there are a lot of good places to eat and drink in this little slice of Schnitzelburg/Germantown.

No love for Nachbar? Or does doesn't qualify on the "eat" descriptor?

Oh yeah, Nachbar, The Cure Lounge, and Kaiju are great, too.

Out of respect for my shyness about my name being out there, the owners of Monnik haven't made a formal announcement about me coming on board as the executive chef. But now that we see the old information being used in press, I am coming out of hiding! I absolutely love elevated take on pub food, this job was a dream come true. We will keep building the menu, with our War Fries and my pork pie being signature *and* totally unique to Louisville (and yes Robin, there is also a delicious veggie pie too!)

Anyway to see a menu?

Hi Meghan! Looking forward to trying your food and beers! CJ needs to update the info. Congratulations!

Our grand opening will be the day after Thanksgiving, right now the menu is still being tweaked as we line up the best purveyors and get to know our customers tastes; but feel free to drop in and see what we are working with so far.

I give Monnik a hearty thumbs-up! Being a huge fan of Belgian/European ales, I was excited to hear those will be a major focus. I tried three of their saisons and am pleased to report that each was better than the last. They clearly put in their time with their beers prior to opening the doors, as the selection was large and diverse, particularly for their third day open (I went on Friday). I'm guessing they had at least ten different house brews.
As to food, as mentioned, the menu as currently constituted is small, but has some intriguing offerings and has plenty of room to grow. Our table sampled the War Fries and sweet & sour wings. As to the former, they were served with Dutch-style mayo topped with diced onion, and a somewhat savory peanut sauce. The fries themselves were double-fried in the Belgian tradition, as you'd expect, and the sauces complimented them perfectly. The wings, four whole to the order, were freshly grilled and well-sauced, with my only complaint being they were rather small.
The menu item that will bring me back, and soon, is the sauerbraten. It's been far too long that one could traipse the entire length of Germantown and find nary a dish as truly Germanic. Gemütlichkeit!