Thirsty Monk Pub

A bit of a dive, no air conditioning, countless amazing beers, good food and a hip atmosphere. I can't wait to get back!

As others have noted, this place has two levels: Upstairs at street level and down in the basement, where we sat and where the bar features only Belgian and Belgian-style beers.

When we were there, on a Saturday evening, everything, including food, was ordered at the bar. A numbered placard was given for each order so they could bring it to the right table. This worked pretty well, with my only reservation being that it meant every time we wanted something we had to go through the process of elbowing into the bar and getting a bartender's attention. Still, everything found our table and was delicious. I had the tempeh tacos and pretzel bites with a couple of Belgian brews. Everyone else in my group of four enjoyed their food as well.

This place took me beyond happy...They have this cheese and beer dip that's served with chunks of soft pretzels that's one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth.  

I was surprised by the number of beers that they offered on tap; local and otherwise, but I was shocked when our bartender told us that there would be completely different beers the following evening.  The night that we were there it was NC vs SC microbrews in the basement.  

They offer 1/2 servings so you could conceivably sample 12+ beers and still walk out on your own accord (and hopefully to the LaZoom haunted comedy tour bus!).  This was great, because I was more willing to try something like the Ass Clown chocolate bacon jalapeño stout and not have to worry whether I'd be able to drink it or not (it didn't matter because it was awesome).