Brasserie Beck is a contemporary European style brasserie in the heart of DC's burgeoning McPherson square neighborhood (2007).
Opened by critically acclaimed, chef/owner Robert Wiedmaier, Wiedmaier stays true to his Belgian roots creating and cooking casual, affordable fare in the "brasserie style" of serving all day from lunch to late night. Beck is an ideal place for a quick meal anytime of the day; oysters from the raw bar, moules and frites with a trio of homemade dipping sauces, a Charcuterie Plate or the classic Belgian mainstay of Beef Carbonnade or Crispy Skate Wing.
Beck's stunning and spacious bar boasts the most comprehensive Belgian beer list outside Belgium with nine+ draught beers and over 100 offered by the bottle. We welcome the locals, our neighbors, nearby businesses and anyone else looking for a great meal in a memorable setting of the old world mixed in with the new.
Chef Robert Wiedmaier Head Chef / Proprietor
When you spend countless hours of your days-off in a freezing cold duck blind, or stalking deer, or waiting for fish to bite, you gain a whole new appreciation of the animal you're attempting to kill. That time and effort [and let's admit it: a certain amount of discomfort] makes you respect it more. You have a deeper investment in its fate. And you have a responsibility for what it becomes. It's a responsibility chef Robert Wiedmaier takes very seriously.
He practices classic, whole animal butchery. "If you're going to kill a rabbit, don't strip out its loins and toss the rest. Use all of it!" roars the robust, 6', goatee-d, Harley-riding chef. This attitude applies equally to rabbits as to the 30 Randall Lineback calves that are reared for him annually at Chapel Hill Farm out in Berryville, Virginia, and to the thousands of fish delivered fresh and intact to his restaurants in downtown and suburban Washington.
Named Washington's Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington in 2009, Wiedmaier was inducted in Brussels, in the summer of 2012, into The Knighthood of the Brewers' Mashstaff, a century old brewer's guild that honors individuals who embrace and promote Belgian beer. Chef Wiedmaier's establishments offer the largest selection of Belgian beer around and also has an exclusive beer brewed for him, Antigoon, a double blonde ale, named for the gory aftermath of the legendary conflict between Brabo and the mythical giant, Antigoon, of medieval Antwerp.
Less concerned with honors than with living life to the fullest, when he's not in the kitchen Wiedmaier is out on his 32-foot Luhrs, having fun with his boys as he teaches them not just how, but the full meaning of bringing fish from open waters to the table. The James Beard award winning PBS program Chefs A'Field captured that exact scenario in one of its episodes. As a member of the Wild Alaska Seafood Congress of Conscious Chefs, Wiedmaier confirms his deep regard for nature. "This is the most raw and natural way of teaching respect, as it's truly not all about the sport." His new found branding -Full Circle Chef-exemplifies what he holds closest to him-living the dream, but practicing it with grace, admiration, and humility.
