A brisk Autumn night in Asheville, NC found Jelly at the Thirsty Monk, an eclectic tap room and restaurant conveniently located just a short block from our hotel. Always looking for opportunities to try new local brews, the Thirsty Monk was the perfect spot to satisfy our, well, thirst. And hunger.
Upon entering the Monk, we discovered there are actually two different faces to the tap room, divided upstairs and downstairs. At first we were not sure if we were up or down, since we didn’t see the stairway immediately, and theoretically it could have gone either way. We bellied up to two recently vacated seats at the bar, figuring whichever floor we were on was a good place to start.
We quickly discovered we were, in fact, upstairs. The upstairs of the Thirsty Monk consists of a few tables near the front and a small bar surrounding the tap wall. Towards the back is the open kitchen area. The place is noisy and busy, but not in an annoying way, more like there is a good amount of energy going on. The main difference in the floors, however is the beer. Upstairs at the Thirsty Monk is the spot for American Micro-Brews. There was somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 brews on tap, with a nice variety of choices.
At the time of our visit, the Monk was featuring an IPA mystery sampler. As I love IPA’s I went this route. The bartender was a bit hurried and unclear on the actual details of the sampler, as it was tied into a confusing contest. Apparently, we were supposed to be given a vote when ordering the sampler, which we could apply to one of the mystery IPAs. Ordering another pint of the IPA would equate to another vote. I guess at the end of the contest it would be revealed what the mystery beers were and which received the most votes. I, however, was never actually given a vote by our disinterested and un-amused bartender. This didn’t stop me from enjoying the sampler and wagering guesses as to the origins of each of the brews.
The Thirsty Monk has a nice menu, featuring make-your-own pizzas, sandwiches and snacks, including a collection of “Pint-Sized” snacks, actually served in a pint glass. We started with a pint of edamame, and were not disappointed. The edamame here was served cold, which is fine by me, and was perfectly seasoned. After quickly devouring the pint, we continued with a pair of Smoked Trout Tacos. The tacos had, along with the trout, fresh avocado, peppers and lettuce. They were delicious. The smoked trout was among the best smoked fish I had ever tasted, and made for an awesome taco. We shared the tacos, which would have been enough for a light meal for one, but we were still hungry and decided we needed more trout! We opted for the Smoked Trout Baguette, with a tomato reduction, aged Gouda (hmmmmm!), and the Monk’s own mustard aioli. It was amazing! Served with an option of pommes frites or potato salad, we chose the pommes frites and ate every crumb of them as well. While all of the food at the Thirsty Monk is most likely just as appetizing (based on the reviews of our neighbors at the bar as well) I highly recommend any dish containing the smoked trout!
After our satisfying dinner, we were ready for a change of scenery, so we decided to check out the downstairs. The downstairs area of the Thirsty Monk features Belgian-style beers. If you are not familiar with this type of beer, it is a different experience altogether. It’s one of those you-love-it-or-you-hate-it kind of things. I’m on the fence, which I guess just really contradicts my previous statement. In contrast to the upstairs, the downstairs is a warmly lit, cozy, quieter area. There are several comfortably couches, and the folks lounging with their brews had the look of locals, as opposed to the many other tourists crowding the upstairs area.
We again took a seat at the bar, and were immediately engaged in conversation by the friendly bartender (Kim, I think?), who didn’t hesitate to allow us to try some of the brews we were inquiring about. I decided on a Belgian strong dark ale, which, I discovered, is the type of Belgian that I like. Kelly started with a sour, which, she discovered, she didn’t! Like the upstairs, the downstairs features about 20 beers on tap and both levels have extensive bottle lists as well. Despite Kelly’s selection of the sour beer, we both thoroughly enjoyed the warm, friendly atmosphere of the downstairs, and our pleasant bartender, who also recommended our breakfast locations for the next several days, Sunny Point Café and Mayfel’s.
The Thirsty Monk left its impression on us as a must-visit in Asheville. The beer selection alone is enough to impress any fan of Belgians or micro-brews, and the delicious food is a treat. The two contrasting atmospheres will give you reasons to visit multiple times, or to extend your stay as we did! Plus, Wednesday night is Pint Glass night, meaning you keep the pint glass of a different featured brewery every week. Of course, we left ours sitting on the bar upstairs. Oops!