Birreria at Eataly: picturesque rooftop beer garden with Italian bites

Who ever imagined it would be possible to eat and sip beer on a New York rooftop in the middle of Fall? After a journey of looping along the theme-park style line, passing through a turn style, and taking the elevators to walk up another few flights of stairs, I couldn’t believe the beauty and aura of bliss of Eataly’s beer garden that lay before me. I understand why they monitor entry so carefully – the fact that there’s room to breath, walk around and enjoy your surroundings makes it loads more pleasant than the likes of the Standard Beer Garden in the Meatpacking. And drinking in a beautiful, 100-year-old New York building makes it feel that much more special.

I rarely drink beer but the hot summer day drove me to order a deliciously light wheat beer. Of course I couldn’t be at Eataly without selecting a few items from the amazing array of options on the menu. Birreria specializes in mushrooms, and the Maitake con pecorino, a slow roasted mushroom with cheese, was the perfect accompaniment to my beer – crispy, hearty, simple, and savory.

beer!

formaggi

Maitake (image from village voice)

If you’re determined enough to sort through the Eataly crowds to find the line to Birreria, and patient enough to wait in that line (which goes pretty fast), I recommend making this place your next stop for a cold drink al fresco.

Grade: A+
Location:
Website: 

Featured City Post: San Francisco’s Magnolia Pub & Brewery

I rarely fail to squeeze in a good meal on my quick trips to San Francisco. This time, I’m here for less than two full days, but I just had to stop in Cole Valley on my way home from a 2 hour cab ride, a 6 hour flight, a 5 hour work day, and another 1 hour car ride to see my friend Sarah’s new apartment, which she shares with her 7 foot boyfriend. Viewing apartments outside of New York makes me sick to my stomach. Sarah has a spacious bedroom, a huge kitchen, two walk-in closets and a dining room. Windows are everywhere. You could cartwheel without hurting yourself. If I did a cartwheel in my apartment I’d travel from my kitchen to my bed half way through the execution of it.

After Sarah politely served me carrots, hummus, pickles, and wine, we both agreed that we were not at all hungry. We also both agreed that we should go get dinner. Typical for us. We drove the few blocks to Haight street’s Magnolia Brewery, a casual Brooklynesque spot with buzzed-cut female waiters and stylish leather booths with many beer accolades. It’s a bummer it wasn’t Tuesday when they have all-day $4 pints – a system I prefer over a daily 5pm-7pm discount. Thursdays they apparently serve the best fried chicken in the city.

Magnolia inside

Sarah and I attempted to eat lightly and ordered oysters, chicken liver mousse, and charred asparagus with duck egg along with our beers – I chose the Kalifornia Kolsh per the waiter’s suggestion. The beer was just want I wanted: a slim cylindric 9 oz glass of ice cold light brew that washed down the jar of whipped chicken liver and sweet roasted grapes beautifully. The waitress mistakingly arrived with the gem salad and anchovy garlic dressing, so instead of notifying her right away we started eating it. After about half of it was gone, we asked to her bring out two oysters to make up for the mistake, which she happily did. Gotta love good customer service!

Kalifornia Kolsh

The salad was tasty yet unexciting, but that is generally to be expected. We devoured the charred asparagus, which was amped up with a creamy, perfectly pan fried duck egg and crisp cured meat.

chicken liver mousse

asparagus

little gem salad

There were countless other things we would have ordered had we had the appetite, including fish & chips, brick chicken, and a warm sticky toffee pudding with beer ice cream. We will no doubt be back next time I’m here.

Grade: A
Location: 1398 Haight St @ Masonic
Website: http://www.magnoliapub.com