Walzwerk

East Germany isn’t the part of the world most San Franciscans think about when they want to go out to eat. Yet, if the surging crowds at Walzwerk‘s recent 5-year anniversary party were any indication, the cuisine has fans among ex-pat Germans and local dabblers alike. A few weeks after the bash (a brat-and-beer-soaked affair that left more than a few attendees reeling from over-indulgence in alcohol and blistered meat), I enjoyed a proper meal there with a few friends. The sous-chef, a pal of ours, hooked up a platter of appetizers including house-cured salmon with horseradish cream and marinated beets, herirng with sour cream and apples, and some devastatingly tasty fried potato pancakes paired with fresh applesauce and — yes — more sour cream. We tossed back massive jar-like goblets of Radeberger Pilsner.

Our stomachs already stretched to a degree Anthony Bourdain, even in his delightful, health-blind hedonism, might find extreme, we ordered more drinks and chewed on dense black bread with a curiously comfortable combination of dread and delight in anticipation of the next course. Small plates, these were not. When the platters arrived and clattered across the table, we groaned, nearly in unison; leftovers were, without question, in our future. I enjoyed the sea bass special: a moist and flaky fish fillet, drenched in lemon and butter, curled up on a gigantic plate garnished with a chartreuse crown of beautifully steamed romenesco. The pork loin was pretty fantastic as well, draped over an expanse of spatzle sprouting up like alien plants from a sea of rich mushroom gravy. The table’s favorite, however, had to be the chicken. A breast stuffed to the hilt with apples and chewy bacon, the rolled-up roast benefited from its sun-dried cherry sauce, the fruit’s deep sweetness providing, along with the slightly tart apples, welcome balance to what otherwise would have been a nearly insurmountable assault of salt and heft. Simply put, it was out of this world. Try this tiny neighborhood gem whenever you’re able.

You can visit Walzwerk at 381 So. Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco, CA.

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