Eating Out - German

Nothing like bacon wrapped pork products.

Biergarten Haus (German)

Earlier this week we went to see rap collective Odd Future at the Rock and Roll Hotel on H St, and before the show, we grabbed some traditional German food next door at Biergarten Haus.

Observations

• The coolest part of Biergarten Haus is their commitment to looking like a Bavarian beer hall, complete with giant wooden tables and liters of beer. There's a fine line between "cool" and "trying too hard," but I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt.
• While I tend to stick to Miller Light and PBR whenever possible, Kathryn has a taste for wheat beers. BH offers several hefeweizen choices, and what's a German dinner without a nice beer? We were both very hungry, but knowing that larger portions were coming, we simply munched on a couple of soft pretzels and spicy mustard.
• For an entrée Kathryn had the gemusespatzle, spatzle served with Brussels sprouts, onions, wild mushrooms, and cream sauce. It was decent, and far better than her side item -- a very disappointing potato pancake.
• I, on the other hand, struck gold with my entrée selection - schweinshaxn, a skin-on braised pork shank with spicy mustard (pictured above). A giant roasted pig forearm isn't something you can make a regular habit of eating, but damn, it was delicious! The potato salad and red cabbage were both alright and served their purpose.
• We ended the meal on a real bummer, a completely uninspired Black Forrest cake. It tasted like a standard restaurant supply order cake, which I should have expected given BH is - first and foremost - a bar.
• One thing I came away with from the evening. Everything is expensive, particularly the (imported) beers. I think it's maybe worth the occasional splurge (particularly when friends visit), but it's not high on my list.