A diamond in the rough: mussels, frites and beer

My roommate, Maggie, and I recently discovered this website, LivingSocial, and let's just say it has become my new favorite thing and perhaps my largest expense as of recent. The deal is that you buy these coupons from LivingSocial, which LivingSocial bought from restaurants/boutiques/salons/etc. in your city, and you usually get a decent discount. You also have approximately 6 months to use them, depending on the coupon. Sound too good to be true?

It's true. I swear. We tried it!

Our first purchase: a 25$ coupon for 50$ worth of food at Granville Moore's . And let me just tell you, this place really is a diamond in the rough, that is if you like mussels and good beer. The Belgian restaurant is located on H Street, an up-and-coming (if you will) area of DC. The narrow, pub-like restaurant probably holds about 30 people. When we arrived, of course, all of the rugged, wooden tables were full, along with the bar. The tiny back patio, which is where we managed to score a table, definitely did not scream up-scale dining. There were a few random tables with mismatching chairs that looked like they had been picked up from a garage sale.

But the food...oh my...the food was tip-top! I have had good mussels and I love a good beer, and this place is definitely worth every penny that you spend...coupon or no coupon.



We started our meal with appetizers. Two actually: the Fried Risotto Cakes and the Crab Croquettes. Necessary? Absolutely not. One...because they weren't all that amazing. Fried food is fried food. And second, I would probably never get an appetizer again because the mussels (plus the dipping bread) and frites were plenty. But we had a coupon...so why not?

Then there were mussels, our sole reason for being there. Maggie and I had the Moules Navigateur. They were spectacular...and really spicy, which I love. They were so spicy that I had to take long breaks in between and my face was breaking out in a sweat! I would get them again, but I am dying to try all the other options too. I did, however, get to try the Moules Moroccan because Jon had them (sharing makes decision making so much less troublesome.) They were also delicious, especially because of the extra treat...sausage.

I have to say though, one of my favorite parts were the frites. I contemplated giving up french fries for lent, but then decided that was not feasible. Not only were there frites, but there was an array of dipping sauces. I love condiments of all sorts. My go-to is ranch, but when you add options like Truffle Aioli and Horseradish Creme and Garlic Ranch and Chipotle Mayo...I get overwhelmed. We, of course, had 5 dipping sauces. For the record, I do think that the Garlic Ranch won.

OK. I'm done raving.

Cheers!