German

San Francisco, July 1, 2014—

I HATE EATING in a hurry, but sometimes you just don't have an option. We were in the Mission with less than forty-five minutes to spare. Fortunately, a restaurant we'd been wanting to try was just around the corner.

I ordered two items, a bit recklessly: this bowl of delicious thick hot spicy soljanka — tomato-cabbage soup with salami, bacon, and pickles — and matjes herring in sour cream with apples, onions, and more pickles. Both came with delicious pumpernickel bread. I nearly burned my mouth on the soup, so quickly did I down it — disgracefully drinking from the bowl; spooning was too slow — and I confess I wasn't able to finish all the herring salad.

Both were delicious. I spoke to the chef on our way out, and we agreed about the benefits of eating herring raw, with only a few chopped onions and maybe a glass of genever. But I commended him on his treatment: this herring was delicious, like the soup, and we'll be back for more one of these days. With more time.

Weltenburger Helles on draft

• Walzwerk, 381 South Van Ness Ave, San Francisco; (415) 551-7181