Preferences for Chicago German Restaurants?

Does anyone have any recommendations for Chicago German restaurants that have good (as opposed to "ok") food? I've eaten at Berghoff and Mirabell and have enjoyed the food at both. I've heard only mediocre reviews of other places like Chicago Brauhaus and Glunz Bavarian. Also looking for a place that has authentic German music to go along with the good food.

Laschet's would be one suggestion, another would be Resi's (which doesn't seem to have a comprehensive thread, try a search on that name and poke around and see).

Laschet's Inn
2119 W. Irving Park Rd.
773-478-7915

Resi's Bierstube
2034 W. Irving Park Rd.
773-472-1749[/url]

LTE wrote: I've heard only mediocre reviews of other places like Chicago Brauhaus and Glunz Bavarian. Also looking for a place that has authentic German music to go along with the good food.

Chicago Brauhaus has the music and the food I've had there has been quite good. Glunz has improved a lot since they opened, so if the reviews you heard were old ones, give it a shot. Here's a couple of relevant threads:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5869

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3108

I strongly recommend Edelweiss on Irving Park in Norridge. It's just outside of the Chicago city limits and has a very extensive German menu.
They also have music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The music is not too loud and obtrusive. It also has very nice Bavarian decor. I think it's a notch better than Chicago Brauhaus, Laschett's, or Resi's for food and much better on decor.

Jesper

Jesper!

We are going to a family dinner at Edelweiss this weekend - what do you recommend there? I've heard they don't have weinder schnitzel, only pork or chicken.

Do you like the Sauerbraten?

Any other recommendations are welcome!

I had a book club meeting at Chicago Brauhaus this past sunday. I did not eat, as I am a vegetarian, but thought it was interesting (ie-lousy) that, at 6pm on a sunday, they were out of potato dumplings, wiener schnitzel, and sauerbraten. Additionally, the service was quite cold. So, while I'm not the best person to suggest a German restaurant, I thought this was an experience worth passing on.

kafein wrote:Jesper!

We are going to a family dinner at Edelweiss this weekend - what do you recommend there? !

Edelweiss is great and IMO the best German in Chicagoland.
The correct dinner menu on their website is really the one labeled "lunch".

I highly reccomend the Schweinshaxe, a 3lb slow roasted pork shank with the crispy skin still attached and served with a Bock beer sauce.
When this beautiful specimen arrives at your table, your fellow diners will be afraid and jealous, and think you a better person for having ordered it.

It is a very common dish in lower Bavaria, but is fairly uncommon here in the states.

The pork is juicy and tender with a strong flavor produced by the skin fats melting into the meat, and the skin is wonderfully crispy and chewy.
I recently had this dish a few different times in Germany, and Edelwiess's version is better than the "real thing" (which is still quite good).

It comes with 3 sides. You'll have lots of left-overs unless you share it.
Their red cabbage is very nice and goes great with this dish.

BTW: Last time I was there they had a special 4lb Veal shank for 2 people on the menu, but I couldn't convince anyone to share it with me.

Edelweiss also is one of the few German restaurants around to have dark German beer on draft. Warsteiner Dunkle is a dark and flavorful, but with the lighter body of a lager.

PROST!!!!!

kafein wrote:Jesper!

We are going to a family dinner at Edelweiss this weekend - what do you recommend there? I've heard they don't have weinder schnitzel, only pork or chicken.

Do you like the Sauerbraten?

Any other recommendations are welcome!

Kafein,

My personal favorites are the sauerbraten and the rouladen, which they call rindsrouladen. They do have several types of weiner schnitzel. They have the basic weinerschnitzel as well as schnitzel a la Holstein and jagerschnitzel. The kassler rippchen is also good. For starters, I recommend the liver dumpling soup or, if you are adventurous, the hackpeter, which is basically steak tartare. They also have a variety plate which is good if you want to try several items. As I recall. it includes rouladen, kassler rippchen, sauerbraten and thuringer. Whatever you order be sure to have red cabbage.

You can check the menus at Edelweiss. The menus on the website are a bit different from the one at the restaurant but it seems the dinner menu is shown under the "lunch" link.

Guten Essen, Jesper

Can you elaborate on the hackpeter? How is it served? Is it pre-mixed or do you mix it yourself? Is it already on the bread? I love good steak tartar and dislike the Laschettes version - mainly because of the bread.

Is The Metro Club on Lincoln Avenue still open??? They have more of an Austrian/German menu...delicious weiner schnitzel...

but they were my fave! now, try Klas
and operetta

buffalo gal wrote:Is The Metro Club on Lincoln Avenue still open???

Regretably, The Metro Club is long gone.

bryan wrote:Can you elaborate on the hackpeter? How is it served? Is it pre-mixed or do you mix it yourself? Is it already on the bread? I love good steak tartar and dislike the Laschettes version - mainly because of the bread.

It is not on the bread. You mix it yourself. They supply the raw egg, onions, capers, paprika, and anchovies. It's a rather hearty portion, so 1 order for the table should suffice.

griffin wrote:

bryan wrote:Can you elaborate on the hackpeter? How is it served? Is it pre-mixed or do you mix it yourself? Is it already on the bread? I love good steak tartar and dislike the Laschettes version - mainly because of the bread.

It is not on the bread. You mix it yourself. They supply the raw egg, onions, capers, paprika, and anchovies. It's a rather hearty portion, so 1 order for the table should suffice.

I believe the hackpeter is served with just an egg yolk, not a whole egg, and I believe they also include german mustard. The bread is very good, but I can't compare it directly with Laschet's.

LAZ wrote:

LTE wrote: I've heard only mediocre reviews of other places like Chicago Brauhaus and Glunz Bavarian. Also looking for a place that has authentic German music to go along with the good food.

Chicago Brauhaus has the music and the food I've had there has been quite good. Glunz has improved a lot since they opened, so if the reviews you heard were old ones, give it a shot. Here's a couple of relevant threads:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5869

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3108

Gemütlichkeit: A German-American Fairytale, a new documentary that chronicles the last days of Lincoln Square’s iconic, 52-year-old German restaurant and beer hall Chicago Brauhaus, will premiere at 7 p.m. on Thursday

https://chicago.eater.com/2020/4/30/212 ... oln-square