Thursday, November 3, 2011

Schnitzel Fritz

We were looking forward to Schnitzel Fritz, as it had gotten such good reviews in the papers – and we like German food. Schnitzel Fritz is tucked into a strip mall just south of Sky Sox stadium and it’s a small deli with about 10 tables and booths, selling pastries, some German specialty foods, meats and cheeses – and of course – schnitzels.

We looked over the menu at the order counter and I chose the jaegerschnitzel (one of my favorites) with spaetzle. Mike had the same but added red cabbage.  We selected a couple of non-alcoholic beers (the only kind they serve) and sat down at a booth.

The place seems to do a pretty good business – there were several other couples, one family of four eating dinner. The décor is all German flag colors and is very pleasant. There are some stuffed animals around a high ledge (and on top of the Pepsi case) and steins above the counter.

The server, obviously German, brought some bread to our table – but it was just plain, sliced French bread – not brochen. The butter was hard, nearly frozen pats.  A few minutes later – here came the jaegerschnitzels. At first glance, we could tell they were not freshly prepared, but the frozen type that had been deep fried. (From my seat, I saw them put the schnitzels into the deep fryer.) The breading was thin and not the usual, flakey crust-type breading we’d come to expect on breaded schnitzels. The gravy was dark and had mushrooms, but was thin and skimpy – and kind of bland. And, there simply wasn’t enough to cover the schnitzel on the plate, let alone extra to dip the spaetzle in. While the schnitzels were fair sized and the servings of spaetzle were big, the amount of gravy was unusually small.

Mike’s had the same comments about the gravy and schnitzel – except he really enjoyed the red cabbage. I had a bite and yes, it was really good. Warm, flavorful, just a bit sour/sweet – definitely the best dish of our meal.

We finished up, bussed our table, and as we drove away, we talked about our next German restaurant visit … to either the Edelweiss or Uwe’s.

Schnitzel Fritz … Es wieder tun?  Nein. Ich denke nicht so.

Additional Review: Below is another review from friends of ours, who visited Schnitzel Fritz that same evening … in fact, they must have been driving up as we were leaving! I asked them to give opinions, too  ...

Sorry we got there too late to enjoy Schnitzel Fritz with you two. I ordered the special: Frikadellen, Kartoffelpüree, und Rotkohl. It was much better than I expected after I heard the name translated to meatballs, mashed potatoes, and cabbage. The red wine marinade on the cabbage really brought out the flavor and added a hint of sweetness. The gravy on the mashed potatoes did a great job of tying into the flavors of the oven baked meatballs. Vera described her Wienerschnitzel with Lemon Sauce as really good. The capers were a great addition to the lemon sauce that was not very saucy. Vera's spaetzle (egg noodles) side dish was quite delicious and reminded me of every meal I ever ordered in Germany. Her other side, bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) had nice bacon flavor and was probably the best part of the meal.

No comments:

Post a Comment