If you go to the Edelweiss Restaurant website you'll see their a whole page dedicated to the celebrities that have stopped by for schnitzel and a chicken dance. The last was John Wayne (and Mark Davis does not count) and I'm pretty sure The Duke has been riding the great plains in the sky for quite a while now. I'm definitely sure the restaurant hasn't changed a thing since John Wayne swaggered in and cooled his heels. But that sense of nostalgia, of a simpler time when men were men and schnitzel was schnitzel is essential to the whole Edelweiss experience.
It's essential because it's not as good as you remember. "Hambre Esposo" (Foodie said I had to come up with a name) and his ragtag group of fellow travelers (Or my father law, two brother in laws, Foodie's hubby, and a poor unsuspecting neighbor.) started out a boys night out in the Rhineland. About half the party had been here before and recalled mountains of food, stines of dark larger, and swiss miss wattresses. Unspecting Neighbor asked me what to expect and all I could think of was "kinda a traditional German Hooters". That's what I thought of it the last time I was there when I was fifteen.
That's not quite what we walked into. It was dark as we walked in around 7:45 pm on Saturday night, but you could tell it was maybe a quarter full. The walls were full of pictures of men with big lapels and wide ties and the waitresses serving them had a familiar feel to them. They were familiar because they were still waiting on tables there when we walked in. The musicans were on a break so as we walked in there was more of an awkward family dinner vibe than Beirgarten. We sat down, the matronly waitress got our drink orders, and everyone scoured the menu.
Everything is traditional. there is schnitzel of course along with sausage plates, steaks, and Beef Rouladen. Most of the table, including Hambre Esposo, got the Combination Plate. The plate contains everything you're there for - Jaeger and Vienna Schnitzel, mashed potatoes, saurkraut, one big rib, and spinach. I would have gone through each item and given a description and how I thought it went together, but really one description will suffice. "Eh." Everything was just Ehhh. Not bad, but not good either. There was a lot of it so it had that going for it.
It wasn't just that the food underwelmed, but the whole experience had a half ass feel to it. Not that anyone was not doing their part, rather it didn't live up to memories. Those who had been there had stories about eating well and proudly drinking while loudly singing along with the crowd to whatever the band was playing. This time there was no crowd, our beer was kinda flat, and the band seem to play the same song as Bernd, owner/emcee, sang/talk through songs like a German Willie Nelson. Nothing was bad, it was just not as good as anyone remembered. A woman got up and played the saw and that ended up being what we talked about as we headed out that night.
Do not take this as a slam on Edelweiss. I'm sure that if you go at 5 in the afternoon on a weekday it is hopping and swinging like John Wayne ordered the house a drink. But that is where this restaurant's crowd ended up, eating early on a weekday, and Hambre Esposo and his band of brothers have yet to reach that demographic.
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