BBQ and a Happy Hour in SoMa

the tablehopper | 11:16 am | July 1, 2009 | Foodie 411, Happy Hour, South of Market

Town Hall at lunchtime | credit Marcia Gagliardi/tablehopper.com

Lunchtime in SoMa just keeps getting better: Town Hall kicked off their first lunchtime BBQ in the courtyard flanking the restaurant, serving fried chicken sandwiches for $9 (they do some of my favorite fried chicken in SF), a smoked and grilled andouille po’ boy for $8 (look for other kinds of sausages in the future), and their St. Louis spareribs with sides, plus cookies and Town Hall’s famous butterscotch pot de crème for dessert. In the future, Mitch Rosenthal said to look for some quirky specials, like BBQ baloney or a Taylor pork roll, a Jersey-style sandwich he remembers from his childhood. (Follow menu updates on their Twitter feed.)

The Town Hall folks have been trying to work out a take-out concept for a while, so it seems they have found it. The first day was all hands on deck, since over 150 people showed up. You can enter the courtyard either off Fremont or Howard—it’s just north of the restaurant. Hours are Mon–Fri 11:30am–2pm, and there are high hopes to do a happy hour in the future.

• 342 Howard St. at Fremont, 415-908-3900.

Meanwhile, over at their sister restaurant, Anchor & Hope, it looks like the already-popular beer selection is seriously ramping up. They brought on Eric Cripe from The Jug Shop to consult on the list, and are putting in 16 taps, plus they will have a beer engine to hand pump beer from casks (how British), and eventually will have 60–80 bottles. The menu is already quite beer-friendly, so this is going to be a fun program to see take shape.

The new beer list will be in place on July 8th, when Anchor & Hope kicks off a happy hour with $1 oysters, and chef Sarah Schafer is making some sausages (she’s actually using the first smoker Town Hall bought since they are now on their third).

• 83 Minna St. at 2nd St., 415-501-9100.

Marcia Gagliardi writes a popular weekly e-column about the SF dining scene, “the tablehopper.” Subscribe for free at www.tablehopper.com and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. Got news? Email Marcia at taste@sanfrancisco.travel.