Ale Street News Online

Way back in the late 1990s, which in the fast-moving New York restaurant world is eons ago, a craze for Belgian food and beer swept lower Manhattan. Petite Abeille and Markt opened in the not-yet-fashionable Meatpacking District. Petite Abeille expanded to Tribeca and Greenwich Village, where it was joined by Le Frite Kot (now Vol de Nuit), Waterloo and the cavernous Belgo.

A few of the restaurants closed — Belgo and Waterloo for example — but, in the last two years, a second wave of Belgian bistros has swept across Manhattan, led mostly by Belgian natives who have made New York their home.

At the forefront of this resurgence is Yves Jadot, co-owner of Petite Abeille. A native of Watermael-Boitsfort on the outskirts of Brussels. In 1996 Jadot opened the first Petite Abeille on West 18th St. in Chelsea with his brother David. The original location was a snack bar, take out and catering shop with no liquor license, but the Jadots quickly expanded, opening full service bistros on Hudson Street in Greenwich Village and on 14th St. in the Meatpacking District. "We pioneered Belgian food and beer in the Meatpacking District," said Jadot, "opening a year before Markt when there was really nothing there." They opened a fourth location in Tribeca in 1999, across from the well-known Odeon.

Jadot named his restaurants after a Belgian children’s book character (the Small Bee) and created a comfortable setting decorated with drawings and books of another popular Belgian cartoon character, Tintin. "Our philosophy at Petite Abeille is simple," said Jadot, "to offer good food at a decent price in a friendly atmosphere. I want to be unpretentious, like the good places I knew in Belgium." The menu is packed with Belgian staples like moules frites, carbonnades flamandes (beef stew cooked in beer), waterzooi, sausages with stoemp (mashed potatoes and vegetables) and of course, Belgian waffles.

In 2004, the Jadots became a casualty of sky-high rents in the now-trendy Meatpacking District and closed their 14th St. bistro. But intent on expanding, they opened a larger bistro in the more reasonably priced Stuyvesant Town area on 20th St. and 1st Ave., which is managed by a third brother, Christophe. The Stuy Town location is attractively decorated with Belgian posters and displays of beer bottles and mugs.
The Jadots have more plans to expand and are set to open a fifth Petite Abeille location in the next six months at 17th St. and 5th Ave. They are also exploring more ambitious growth strategies including the possibility of franchising.

Another Belgian native, Yves Michiels, who was the manager at Petite Abeille’s Tribeca location, struck out on his own in January 2005 with the opening of BXL Café on 43rd St. near Times Square. The long bar at the front of the café features 10 Belgian beers on tap and another 20 beers in bottles. The authenticity of BXL Café’s ambience is matched by the food. The menu features Belgian staples like moules frites and carbonnades, but also includes American bar staples like fried calamari, burgers and pasta.

Another newcomer to Manhattan’s Belgian scene is the creation of New York beer bar veterans Keith and Bill Reichenbach, owners of David Copperfield’s on the Upper East Side. The "Beer Brothers" branched out in March 2005 by opening Hop Devil Grill, a beer bar in the East Village, and in May opened an adjoining bar called The Belgian Room.

The Reichenbachs pay tribute to their love of Belgian beers by offering New York’s largest selection, with over 200 different beers to choose from.