Radegast Hall in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood is a place where I’ve never, ever had a lousy time. I’ll credit this to four things: timing, music, location and food.

Timing: a key to enjoying yourself at Radegast Hall

Daytime, baby, daytime. I’ll say it again: daytime. Except at night. Please let me ‘splain. On weekends, there’s often music at Radegast featuring seasonal Oktober oom-pah, fine Brooklyn roots-type stuff, and hot jazz. Daylight floods the beer hall (pictured above) from both the numerous side windows AND the ceiling (which opens up during warmer months and that means more fresh air for you), the joint is rowdy, the brunch menu (and of course the sausage grill) is dynamite, and the beer doth flow. Germans — I mean real German Germans in Germany — are the best day-drinkers on the planet. Breakfast beers, lunchtime lagers; you name it, they’re drinking it. And responsibly. They’re chill about it. By Gott, they’ve been doing it since they were like six years old, so it’s natural as falling off ein Logg, to mix metaphors as well as languages. I’m a fan of day-drinking, so believe me, it’s the way to go at Radegast Hall. Nights can get crowded and scene-y. And yet….

The Music

They schedule some simply kickass bands at night, which brings us to the barroom side of Radegast. Woody, darker, generally more crowded, the barroom is lovely, too. And with old-timey jazz from the likes of the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn, the Hot Club of Flatbush and Emily Asher’s Garden Party, brother, how can you go wrong? There’s drinking, there’s dancing, there are those cute little hipster girls cutting a rug like real gone kitties with all the hot-cha-cha and the boop-boop-ee-doop. It’s a blast.

Location: set and setting can make or break it

So, as I said, the barroom (the side where you enter) is lovely, but darker and often crowded. There aren’t that many tables, either. That’s why I almost always (except when I’m there for weeknight music) veer right for the beer hall. That’s the setting for me, but as Uncle Timothy Leary told us back in the ’60s, set (mindset, baby) is of paramount importance.

The beer hall is huge. It’s loud. It can get smokey (the grill is at the far end). And (and for some folks this is a big one) you have to share those long picnic tables with (gasp) total strangers. But it’s good. It’s social. It’s New Yorky. It’s fun. Even at a semi-crowded table folks are usually happy to scooch down to make some room. If it’s really crowded, bribe someone with a pretzel. They’ll scooch.

The Food: don’t be a schmuck; get a pretzel and sausage hot off the grill

Yep, the food. It comforts, let’s just say that. Start off, when you place your drink order, with a pretzel. They’re baked on demand. They’re salty and buttery and steamy-soft on the inside, with a good, stiff bagel-like exoskeleton. They’re the size of the knots used to dock the Queen Mary II. AND they come with pickles and a marvelous house mustard (with several other varieties, yours for the taking at the — are you sitting — at the MUSTARD BAR by the grill). Which brings us to the grill.

A dozen or so sausage varieties, burgers, and even a damned fine portobello sandwich, all served up with thick french fries and piping hot vegan sauerkraut. My wife, the vegetarian, eats like a queen here, but if it’s meat you crave, well Fritz, you’re in luck. They do the standard stuff perfectly: brats and knockwurst and weisswurst and kielbasa, but they do currywurst and Easter sausage (bunnies? I don’t know, but it’s good), and on occasion things like bison and venison sausages, all grilled up fresh and hot right there in front of you, WITH fries and kraut (and all the mustard you can handle) for only around $10. TEN BUCKS for a full, hearty meal in New York. Mein Gott in Himmel, am I dreaming? Nope. It’s just another visit to Radegast Hall.

I love it. I drew it. I’ll include it in my upcoming book Great Good Places of New York. And the original art (pen & ink on 14″ by 18″ heavy Fabriano watercolor paper) is for sale here. Come and get it.