Amongst other things 
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Perhaps they donāt do it anymore, perhaps i was mistaken. My memory would have been from a few years ago i def remember a place within the last year but i canāt place exactly the shop. Or even the country or city. I remember the pretzel and the hangerā¦
No problem, thanks. At least it seems like a possibility.
Bump.
I donāt know the answer. As reported, i went once, they were great.
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So, just because you bumped, I found my way back to Monkās Kettle (rockridge) last night, and have a followup.
TL;DR - special.
First, let me say I had a GREAT steak and fries. Once you get used to a true Bavette cut, itās hard to go back to skirt. Left Bank in MP used to do bavette, then they cost reduced their meat down to something else (a form of skirt), and itās never been the same. MK did a perfectly cooked bavette, itās been years since Iāve had one. They also did what I call āfrench medium rareā which would be called rare in the US, which I appreciate (franceās system is a point below US). Fries were crispy but not as juicy inside as one might hope, A-. But the steak was A+ if you like that kind of thing.
The guy behind the bar and I started talking, because as soon as I took a bite, I said ābavetteā and looked really happy, we started talking cuts of meat, one thing lead to another :-), I asked about the tots, he said basically āI KNOW, RIGHT!ā
He said heās been pestering the chef to put the okonomyaki tots on the permanent menu. He says when he brings one out, all the other tables order it (so he makes more tips was the implication). The chef says the prep is outrageous, itās just a complex dish, which might explain why I saw it on a monday (eg, a slow night). Donāt count on it ever making it to the menu.
Another point, although itās a beer place, when I saw the steak, I asked after a red, they had a cab by the glass on tap. It was interesting ā it came out SUPER funky and needed about 15 minutes to air out, at which point it was a pretty good wine, good combination of interesting and depth. Wines on tap are a funny thing that way, I guess. We might see more good quality wines on tap, as the industry goes through whateverās going to happen the next 10 yearsā¦
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Did you know it was a bavette before you ordered?
no, why do you ask?
I rarely order beef anymore, so I have to be in the mood, and when I see a steak frite I figure Iām going to get a skirt steak so I figure out if Iām in the mood for that, and (like last night) I become very pleasantly surprised if I get a bavette cut. I am sure there are a few places in the bay area that can be counted on for a bavette if I decided to seek them out - but I just donāt order that much beef when Iām out (or at home for that matter).
The guy behind the bar said, regarding cuts of meat, āyeah, chef was doing a ribeye cut for a while, but itās too damned much meat for most people, so I talked him back to the bavette.ā.
Thanks for explaining.
I was looking through some work emails from almost 3 years ago, and I found out that there was a happy hour at Steinās.
I had to miss it. But that could have been my first introduction to Steinās.
Gives me another reason to go there, which is to see what else I missed out on, besides the pretzel.
Also on a side note, I actually found one more location that did have a hanging pretzel, but it was out of state at a European themed brewery, the Bohemian. I liked the food and most of the beer there.
Ok, maybe i found it!
Laughing monk sunnyvale, ex faultline, appears to be the place i was remembering. They have a picture of a hanging pretzel on the website.
Lm sf doesnāt have pretzels. This would be a holdover from faultline. I have been going to faultline since the mid 90s i think.
Thanks. Iāve been to Laughing Monk in SF.
Iāll try the Sunnyvale one! Someone from Yelp posted a pic too from March.
How did you like the pretzel, mustard, and beer cheese?
Well above average but not highly memorable. Faultline was always that way, across the board. On the other hand, they have survived when so many closed (eg tied house, the other og) so they must not be below average.
That part of silucon valley is humming again. I was at st johns for a cheese steak with my nephew yesterday and there were a number of teams and meetings happening around me. All ai and chip concerns. Qualcomm, tla tencore, the companies that feed nvidia, are all buzzing.
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I was recently in Chicago and I stopped into a brewery taproom. What should I see behind the bar but pretzels. Hanging from a rack! Made me think of this thread. 45+ years in the Bay Area and I never saw such a thing before.
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If you ever find yourself in Groveland, CA (just outside Yosemite) the Iron Door Saloon, supposedly the oldest in California, has a HUGE hanging pretzel that is pretty darned good.
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I have been there a couple of times. Never noticed the hanging pretzels. Apparently it took this threads to raise my awareness of their existence.
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