Introducing the Blue Monk

Merlin's, a favorite dive bar of the past, has received a wardrobe change in the most delectable way, introducing a whole new taste to the Elmwood Village.

This Thursday, Buffalo's one and only Belgian beer bar, the Blue Monk, will open its doors during its long-awaited grand opening.

Anticipation has been on the rise for the opening of Blue Monk, located at 727 Elmwood Ave. The transformation of the dim and squalid Merlin's into its new façade with blues, beiges and an embellished mural resembling a monk's hand in stained glass has gained attention throughout Buffalo over the past few months.

Owners Mike Shatzel and childhood friend Kevin Brinkworth Jr. have been ready to open for a few weeks. After receiving its license last week, the owners finally planned the bar's opening day.

Shatzel, owner of Cole's (1104 Elmwood Ave.) and Brennan's (4401 Transit Rd.), hopes his new establishment will appeal to college students who are not looking for the "Chippewa Strip" atmosphere.

"[Blue Monk] will offer great beer in a great setting [with a] non-meat market," Shatzel said. "It will be a place for great conversation, music and food."

The idea of Blue Monk arose from a trip Shatzel and Brinkworth took three years ago to Philadelphia, where they experienced the quality Belgian beer garden tenor and decided to bring the sensory experience to Buffalo. The name of the establishment is linked to the prominent jazz musician, Thelonious Monk, and his well-known hit "Blue Monk."

Blue Monk brings a new flavor to the Elmwood Village. The bar will specialize in Belgian brews and high-end bar food. The menu is considered gastropub fare, referring to a menu combining modern European food with traditional Belgian and British influence.

"[The menu includes] pot pies, stews and hearty, hot sandwiches," said Steve Kennedy, front house manager of Blue Monk. "Mostly everything is going to be [cooked] with beer."

Belgian beer will be a key ingredient in distinctive dishes such as double-fried pommes frites with homemade mayonnaises, mussel pots, Spar's sausage dishes, slow braised short ribs and carbonnade flamande (beef and beer stew). The pub will also offer a wings and burgers for those with less adventurous taste palettes.

Needless to say, the beer list will be something worthy of anticipation. Belgian beers available will include various craft ales whose brewing origins date back to the Middle Ages. The ales represent the old art of brewing from Belgian culture and from Trappist monasteries in France.

Blue Monk's 31 draft beers will supply tasty creations including stouts, tripels, ambers, flemish reds, lambics, hoppy ales, dubbels, and more. Beers from breweries such as Ommegang, Unibroue and Duvel will come in authentic glassware to compliment their intended tastes.

Although the Blue Monk was renovated, the establishment has an old-fashioned pub feel as a result of its antique pub décor and wainscoting created from the local not-for-profit social enterprise, Buffalo Re-Use.

"We're really excited [for the final opening]," Kennedy said. "We don't want to alienate people [from other areas of Buffalo]. I've lived in the [Elmwood Village] for over a decade and this is just what this neighborhood needs."

With the support of the Elmwood neighborhood, Shatzel hopes the Blue Monk will eventually expand its large backyard lot into a traditional biergarten in the future months.

This weekend, put down your beer pong balls and take a mouth-watering excursion to finer flavors in the Elmwood Village to wine and dine at Elmwood Avenue's new beer bar.

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