San Francisco is experiencing some really great Spring weather lately — so great that it is better than most San Francisco summers. We’re still in training mode for our upcoming trip to Munich, so heading to the Biergarten in Hayes Valley was just the right ticket. Opened about one and a half years ago by the Suppenküche team, the setup is unique since all of the food and drinks are served from converted shipping containers. One would think that Biergarten would be a great place for Suppenküche’s overflow, but it has found its own loyal crowd, and they are constantly busy with a steady stream of hungry and thirsty patrons.

There is no waitstaff here: all items are ordered at the register, and there is almost always a line. Thankfully, the wait is never more than 15 to 20 minutes before an order can be placed:

Once you get to the register, they hand you a number for food items and give you the beer to take with you to the table:

There are authentic German biergarten picnic tables set up for communal seating; the challenge is trying to find a place to sit, especially when the weather is nice:

Beer can be ordered by the half- or full-liter, and with such long lines it’s always best to order the liter straight away. We did see more than a few people drinking their beers while standing in line, which is an alternative strategy that can be used:

For us, the beer choice is always easy – we like our Bavarian Helles lagers. The more difficult choice is paring down what to eat. From the chalkboard menu we spied more than a few things that we would have liked to eat for lunch, but the Pork Belly Sliders really stuck out:

We should have ordered two sets of sliders since these were really good. Very thick but super tender cuts of pork belly were contained by buttery soft brioche slider buns:

We have eaten plenty of deviled eggs, but not too many pickled deviled eggs. The eggs must have been pickled with the red cabbage to give them this beautiful bright pink color. Only the slightest hint of sweet vinegar flavored the eggs, giving it an interesting twist:

We also ordered the German potato salad made with eggs and some vinegar:

We initially wanted to get some Bratwursts, but were told that they were out of the sausage when we got to the register. Forced with making a quick decision, we remembered that they offered Pastrami “Knots” that are essentially small tongue pastrami sandwiches served in a pretzel bun:

A closer look at the tasty sandwich shows off the slices of tongue, pickles and whole grain mustard:

The food and drinks at Biergarten are really great. It is just a little more expensive than you would expect, but it’s definitely worth a little extra, especially for the opportunity to eat outdoors under the sun. It put us in just the right mood for our upcoming trip .. stay tuned for posts from Germany …

http://www.biergartensf.com

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