Not all great restaurants are in the 11th

or in Paris, for that matter.

I'll admit it. When faced with moving to the suburbs, my primary concern was not the commute to school, nor what we would do in the case of an inevitable transport strike, but how far we would have to go to find a decent bite or a refreshing cocktail when feeling uninspired in the kitchen. I'd lived in one of the up-and-coming bobo neighborhoods-the Batignolles-and had gotten used to living steps away from a great pizza place, an amazing bistro, some funky boutiques, and a local dive bar where I quickly became a regular. A first glance at the area was not promising, but not long after, a friend introduced us to Le Bar Belge. The website brings to mind the old adage 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'. Which is to say, the site really does not do the bar/restaurant justice. 

Except for a certain chain restaurant, I do not know a place in Paris that serves 12 different kinds of moule frites (mussels & fries)-a volonté, or all-you-can-eat. The moules offerings are varied-from the classic cream, to various cheese sauces, to steamed in artisinal beer, to my favorite version with tomato and chorizo:

and a second bowl (they are a volonté, after all):

They also serve a large variety of flammeküche--an alsatian pizza-like specialty traditionally topped with cheese, cream, onions and bacon.

This one is with ground beef, onions, and peppers:

The seasonal menu changes, well, with the seasons. I was disappointed when they took the grilled sea bream off of the menu, but my friend quite enjoyed her tornedos au poivre with a healthy serving of gratin:

But what Belgian bar would be complete without:

Their cave is stocked with over 300 varieties of beer-quite impressive for a lowly suburban joint--the only disappointing factor is that their staff is constantly rotating-never leaving enough time for the employees to learn about, and thus be able to recommend, various beers on the menu. When in doubt, I just order a framboisier-a delectable beer/cocktail concoction with Duchesse de Bourgogne, amaretto, raspberry liquor, and topped with champagne. I do not, however, recommend ordering more than two if you wish to be coherent further on in the evening:

 

Le Bar Belge

97 Avenue du Général Leclerc

                                                               94700 Maisons-Alfort

oh and there is music on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Until now, the offerings haven't been to shabby, including an awesome blues harmonica player. Stay away from the groups with drummers however, as this renders it impossible to hold a conversation for the duration of the evening.