Raus! Raus! Dieser SCHNITZELHAUS . . . Ist Gut!
Written: Aug 14 '02 (Updated Aug 18 '02)
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Pros: As broad a German/Austrian menu of dishes as one will find in San Francisco.
Cons: Can be very crowded late in the evening.
The Bottom Line: SCHNITZELHAUS, new to Macresarf1, but extant since 1996, adds to the relatively small number of German restaurants in San Francisco. Expert Gino, who sojourned in Germany, evidently liked it, too.
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| macresarf1's Full Review: Schnitzelhaus |
It was a sunny late afternoon like this one that, on my way to City Lights Lamp Store, I noticed for the first time, SCHNITZELHAUS. I had stopped at Trader Joe's for groceries, and was making my way along Folsom to buy a new special bulb for my reading lamp, when I saw it, one door down from the corner on 9th Street, at Number 294. I headed for its pecky cedar front, noting some pleasant window boxes on either side of the entrance.
German restaurants are rare in San Francisco. In order of age: Schroeder's, Suppenkuche, The German Cook, and Waltzwerk . . . . I may have missed one or two, but there are not many more such, in a city which fields seemingly thousands of Asian, hundreds of Italian, scores of French restaurants, etc. Speckman's, one of the oldest the places, dating to a time when Germans existed here in significant numbers, recently closed and has just has reopened Italian.
I was pleased to see SCHNITZELHAUS, thinking it a new discovery to tell Grace, my second wife, about. An oval wooden sign, decorated with rampant Bavarian lions, announcing its plain unadorned name in German script, hung from a wrought iron bracket. A quick look at the menu in the window showed, if the restaurant didn't entirely appeal to Grace, it might appeal to her friend Eugenio (Gino), who is connoisseur of red meat and good beer.
Grace was so pleased with my discovery of a German beer garden that close to her work place, she proposed to take us take us to dinner there forthwith, in celebration of the Fourth of July weekend. (If such a patriotic pilgrimage seems strange for me, this summer I spent Bastille Day at Blondi's Bar and No Grill, Puerta Alegre and The Make-out Room in the Mission.)
SCHNITZELHAUS's interior, as befits its name, is a plain storefront establishment lined on both sides by banquettes and oblong tables. A small enclosed bar in the left-hand corner is the restaurant's most striking feature. It is dominated by a large, colorful beer urn, tall pottery steins, and tiles commemorating German and Austrian states.
A rather lupine young waitress seated us near the window on the right and gave us the menu. Grace was warm after her day under the lamps, and said she wanted beer. The waitress, with an ironic cock of her short cropped head, pointed out a long list of draft and bottled beers for our consideration.
SCHNITZELHAUS sells its draft beer by the third, half and full liter, all at $4.00, $4.50 and $8.00 the corresponding measure: Oktober Fest, Spaten, Krombacher, Bitburger, Koestitzer, Erdinger Wheatbeer and Franziskaner Yeast Wheatbeer. In addition, available are half liter bottles of Schlnkerla Smoked ($5.00), Aventinus Wheat Bock Beer ($4.50 Edelweisse (Austrian) Dark Wheatbeer ($4.50), Schneiderweisse ($4.50), Optimator Spaten ($4.50), Erdinger Crystal Wheat Beer ($4.50), Paulander Salvator (4.50) and Underberg ($2.50). The following beers are to be had in third of a liter bottles: Dinkelacker Crystal Dark Pilsner ($4.00), Optimator Spaten ($4.00), and Bitburger Alcohol Free Beer, all $4.00 a bottle. Domestic Miller Draft or Lite and Budweiser are $2.75.
A short very reasonably priced wine list presented German and Austrian vintages by the bottle ($23.50) and the glass ($7.00): Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett (a premium dry German white), Gumpoldskirchner (half-dry Austrian white), Gruner Veltliner (dry Austrian white); Ruppertscherner Dornfelder Rotwein Trochen (dry German red). Plus domestic white and red wines (Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet) by Voltaire at $18.50 the bottle, $6.00 the glass.
[Apple juice, Orange juice, and Fruit Punch were also listed at $2.50; Snapple and carbonated soft drinks in a range of flavors for $2.00]
We ordered Krombacher, Koestrizer and Spaten by the half liter, and very good it was in large glass mugs! Gino and I, at least, replenished ours before the meal was over.
The SCHNITZELHAUS Menu proper was divided into Lunch, Office Lunch Specials, Schnitzel, Small Dishes, German Sausages, German Specialties, Vegetarian Dishes and Desserts. All were listed in German and English.
While we might have been expected to order Schnitzel in the SCHNITZELHAUS, we in fact selected from the German Specialties. [Schnitzel, by the way, is generally a veal cutlet, breaded, fried with care, and served with various sauces and vegetables.] Grace has always shown an interest in rabbit (being a bit of a bunny herself), and so she picked Hase in Rotweinsauce mit Spatzle und Preiselbeeren (Rabbit in red wine sauce with German pasta and cranberry sauce -- $15.75). Gino had Schweinbraten mit Kartoffelknodel (Pork Roast with potato dumplings -- $13.75), and I opted for Rindsroulade mit Gemuse and Bratkartoffelin (Stuffed German Beef Rolls served with vegetables and roasted potatoes -- $15.75).
The German Specialties came with a choice of soup or salad. Gino and Grace selected the salad, which consisted of various chopped cabbage, lettuce, and a slightly sweet German dressing. The soup I ordered was Mushroom. It was of medium consistency, its pork broth flavored and colored to an extent with finely minced carrots. I could not find many mushrooms, but the soup was very flavorful.
Grace ate with the subtle smile she has when she is doing something she finds pleasure in. Her Rabbit, in small joints, the tender meat falling easily away in the dark not quite red sauce, was brightened by the cranberries. She exclaimed afterwards about the interesting play of the wine with the berries.
Gino asked to substitute roast potatoes for the dumpling, and he was accommodated. He ate his good sized chunk of Pork, eyeing the cubes of roasted potato before forking one into his mouth.
For myself, I could have few complaints. The Rindsroulade consisted of two thin slices of tender beef loin rolled as large as small burritos. The beef was braised and literally rolled around rice, meat, rye and vegetables, bathed in a dark rich gravy, covered with roast potatoes, with broccoli and sliced carrots balancing the plate. Though I always wish German roast potatoes could be a little more crispy, a little more crunchy, I was fully satisfied.
For those of you who would have chosen differently among the Specialities, here are the other possible selections --
Rindergulasch mit Spatzle (Beef Goulash with German Pasta --$11.75); Sauerbraten mit Koartofffelknodel (Marinated roast beef with potato dumpling -- $16.50); Paprika-Huhnchen mit Spatzle (Chicken in paprika sauce with German pasta -- $11.75); Zwiebelrostenbraten mit Bratkartoffeln (Roasted New York steak with onions and mashed potatoes $16.50).
Schweinehaxen mit Sauerkraut und Semmelknodel (Pork leg with sauerkraut and bread dumpling -- $15.75) is cooked up only on weekends.
And of course, we might have fallen back on --
SCHNITZEL: This part of the menu begins: Wiener Schnitzel mit Gemuse und Bratkartoffeln (Vienna breaded cutlet with vegetables and roasted potatoes --$14.75). The rest of the section's dishes cost $15.95: Jagerschnitzel mit Gemuse Spatzle (Hunter's Cutlet served with vegetables and pasta); Rahmschnitzel mit Gemuse und Spatzle (Natural cutlet in cream sauce with vegetables and German pasta); Sardelin-Schnitzel mit Gemuse und Bratkatoffeln (Breaded cutlet with anchovy sauce and served with vegetables and roast potatoes); Kaiser-Schnitzel mit Gemuse und Bratkartoffeln (Breaded cutlet with lemon sauce with vegetables and roast potatoes); Ziguner-Schnitzel mit Gemuse und Bratkartoffeln (Natural cutlet with green and red pepper sauce, served with vegetables and German pasta); Holstein-Schnitzel mit Gemuse und Bartkartoffeln (Breaded cutlet with two eggs sunny side-up, served with vegetables); Cordon Bleu mit Bratkartoffeln (Breaded cutlet stuffed with ham and cheese, served with roast potatoes).
Then there are the KLEINE LECKEREIEN (Small dishes) --
Schinkennudeln (German pasta with cheese and ham); Leberkase mit Spiegelei und Bratkartoffeln (Bavarian meatloaf with an egg sunny side-up and roasted potatoes); Leberkase gebacken mit Sauerkraut und Bartkartoffeln (Baked Bavarian meatloaf with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes) -- $10.75 each; and Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (Two potato pancakes with apple-puree -- $8.50).
Or . . . AUS DER WURSTKUCHE (German Sausages): Frankfurter Wurstchen mit Linsen und Spatzle (2 German style Frankfurter sausages with lentils and German pasta -- $10.75); Nurnberger Bratwurste mit Sauerkraut und Brtkartofelln (3 smoked Nuremburg-style sausages with sauerkraut and roast potatoes -- $11.00); Gerduchere Bratwurste mit Sauerkraut und Bratkartoffeln (2 German style smoked sausages with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes -- $10.00); and Knacwurste mit Linsen und Spatzle (German-style knack sausages with lentils and German pasta --$10.00).
And the VEGETARISCHES (Vegetarian Dishes): Rahmschwammerl mit Semmelknodel (Mushrooms in cream sauce with bread dumplings -- $11.75), for instance. Linsen mit Spatzle (Lentils with German pasta); Kasespatzle (German pasta with cheese); Fish of the Day mit Bratkartoffeln und Sauce Tartar) are $10.75 each.
We were too full for NACHTISCH (Desserts), but that list was simple and small: Deutcher Schokoladenkuchen (German chocolate cake) and Apfelstrudel mit Vanilleeis (Apple strudel and vanilla ice-cream) are both $5.00 each.
SCHNITZELHAUS is open for dinner seven nights a week from 5: 30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. You may make reservations by phone 24 hours in advance at 864-4038. On line at www.schnitzelhaus.net for a person minimum, its 12 hours in advance.
The Lunch menu, as I understand it, has been cut back to Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for the present. It consists of mixture of the above, plus some additional sausage and German-style hamburger dishes, from $7.95 to $11.95, served with soup or salad. When Lunch is being offered, there are also daily OFFICE SPECIALS, simple German plates with soup or salad for $7.95 each.
We sat back, hundie bags in hand, and Gino said: "Good, huh?"
Frau Grace turned her green Alsatian eyes upon us: "Jawohl! Zuten-kaputen-knuten!"
Which is her Pennsylvania Deutch way of saying, I guess, it was passable.
You might find it so, too.
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Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations If you find the German beer as good as we did, you might start with a full liter because we spent a dollar more apiece than we needed to: .5 liter + .5 liter at $4.50 each = $9. As opposed to a full liter stein = $8. A Scotsman or a good German burgher, having figured it out, would choose the full liter. Ja?
Best Suited For: Friends
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macresarf1
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Location: San Francisco, Ca.
Reviews written: 563
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12/28/09: My traditional Happy Hogmanay to all! Many thanks for Epinionators' help!
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