For my husband’s birthday, I took him to The Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco.  My husband is a beer fan and I had heard about this new restaurant that pairs beer and local, seasonal foods.  When we walked into The Monk’s Kettle, we were greeted warmly and seated at a small table across from the bar.  The restaurant is small and cozy with a very nice bar – carved wood with lots of character and charm.  The beer menu was EXTENSIVE, to say the least.  We are no strangers to beer and we had not heard of more than a fraction of the choices. 

We started out with a salad of mixed greens, pears, Humboldt Fog goat cheese and slivered almonds with a maple vinaigrette dressing.  We ordered a side order of frites with chipotle ketchup and also a black bean cake with salsa and creme fraiche.  We chose a Radeberger Pilsner from Germany to go along with this “course”.  It was very good. 

Next we ordered Niman Ranch pulled pork with housemade barbeque sauce.  This was served on a bun with jicama slaw.  Our choice for this pairing was a coffee porter from Meantime Brewing in London.  It was full-bodied and quite interesting.  The pairing was good.  I am glad that I tried the coffee porter,  but I am not sure that I would want it again. 

We finished off our meal with their blueberry cobbler and a double-chocolate stout from Young & Co. Brewery in London.  Nice and rich! 

It was a very fun evening and a change of pace from food and wine pairings.  We will go back to The Monk’s Kettle. 

The Monk’s Kettle
3141 16th Street
San Francisco, CA  94103
www.themonkskettle.com