To all beer connoisseurs, please take the following with a grain of salt. I don't drink beer, I just do not find the taste enjoyable. I've tried sips of what feels like every beer on the planet, even the fruity ones. There's not one I've found tolerable. And now that I've made it through college, the rough part is over. Why would I continue to force beer upon myself when there is delicious wine to be enjoyed?
That being said, most people I know like beer. Some are even beer snobs. And most enjoy a good craft brew. I had a friend come to town last weekend and he asked to be taken to a bar with good beer. I'd heard from multiple people at work that The Monk's Kettle in the Mission is the place to go. And those reviews were right. We got there at 3 pm on a Saturday and there was only standing room left. It's a small place, with standing room at the back. There's a bar you can sit at if you're only there for a drink and perhaps some drunken chalkboard drawing. To sit at a table requires the promise of order meals. After assessing our options, we decided food didn't sound so bad.
We got seated at took a look at the very extensive beer menu. There's even an additional "Reserves" list if you feel like spending $30 or more dollars on a pint of beer. The selection was fairly split between Californian and Belgian beers. My friend got the "Pliny the Elder" IPA from the Russian River area. This is one that's written up in blogs a lot and he gave it good reviews. I got the cidre brut, which was a little stronger than your average hard cider but still delicious. The best part of the whole experience was our server. He loved talking beer and knew everything on the menu in detail. He brought my friend and boyfriend four different beers to sample, explaining each in detail. This man loves his job and it totally showed. Beers that were enjoyed include Reality Czeck (pilsner from CA), Mongo (IPA from CA) and Working for Tips (herb/spiced from CA). Did I mention all the beers have great names?
Everyone always talks about what great beer Monk's Kettle has, but it is actually a good place for foodies too. The menu is pretty fun and has a variety of options. Appetizers include the daily pickle jar, bone marrow and cornmeal fried oysters. I had the chicken paillard sandwich, which was one of the best sandwiches I've had in quite a while. The chicken was tender and served on a soft focaccia. It had bacon jam on it, which was amazing. More things in this world need bacon jam. The boyfriend had the burger with aged white cheddar, which I'm assuming was wonderful because his plate was cleaned in a matter of minutes.
Overall, a great place for beer lovers and foodies. The ambiance is cozy and the service is excellent.
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