BXL Zoute

A Belgian outpost in New York's Flatiron District

My brother Dylan and I planned to meet for lunch in the city, but didn't decide where until the morning of. 

"Have you ever been to the Belgian place?"

You know your brother knows his francophile sister when he suggests "the Belgian place" a few blocks away from his office.

BXL Zoute stands proudly on West 23rd Street like a carefully tended floral garden in the middle of concrete jungle. Its interior boasts a polished urban aesthetic with relaxed, European charm. The soft teal and bark color scheme, as well as the wave art spanning across the bar, evokes a longing for the coast (Biarritz, perhaps?). 

Dylan and I chose a table outside and decided to order the moules frites prix-fixe for $17 each. There are several options for the lunch prix-fixe and I would be surprised to find a more simply decadent mid-day meal for under $20 in Flatiron. 

Although, my friend Cara's brunch spot in Spanish Harlem might come close...