Midwest - Karl Ratzch's - German - Milwaukee

There are some big names in German food restaurants in Milwaukee: Mader's, the recently closed John Ernst, Karl Ratzsch's. Last night there was a FT mini-do in Milwaukee, we dined at the 1904 “newbie” restaurant of Karl Ratzsch’s.

Ratzsch’s has beamed ceilings leaded glass windows and of course lots of huge beer steins placed around the restaurant. They offer numerous beers on tap, I chose Bitburger throughout the evening.

Cooking like this is not done much anymore. Diners today want lighter fare; however for a delicious change of pace, go with the heavy fare now and then, Ratzsch’s fits the bill.

For a starter it was recommended that the table try the appetizer sampler which contained: Konigsberger klopes or meatballs made of beef, pork and lamb in a lemon caper sauce, sauerbraten, sliced sausage, and a strudel of chopped ham and cheese. I thought the sampler plate was very good and would have been very happy dining on a sampler platter.

Also ordered was the smoked salmon pate which was ok.

I don’t know how I did not see it on the menu, but Ratzch’s offers a Caesar Salad prepared tableside. Anytime I see a table side prepped Caesar I normally order it, oh well next time.

For dinner I was talked out of the BRAISED BEEF ROULADEN (Rolled and stuffed round steak with potato dumpling and red cabbage) and into the Roast duck and goose combination.

There is a daily soup special as well as a consommé with liver dumpling. I had the liver dumpling consommé which is a slightly too strong a term for a beef stock water w/a good dumpling in it.

The dinners came. Duck was prepared perfectly yet the goose was very dry. I cook great duck and goose at home so I really should have dined on my original choice which I do not know how to cook.

Ratzch’s dinner menu can be viewed: http://ratzschent.netfirms.com/karlratzschmenu.html

There is an early dining menu for those who arrive before 6pm and for $14.95 it is quite a steal: http://ratzschent.netfirms.com/krearlydiningmenu.html

Karl Ratzch’s German Restaurant
320 E. Mason St
Milwaukee, WI
414.276.2720
Map to Karl Ratzch’s: http://ratzschent.netfirms.com/krmaps.html

I too enjoyed dinner with Sweet Willie and the other FT'ers at Karl Ratzsch's.

The decor of the restaurant itself is quite authentic and could make you believe that it is a wealthy person's hunting lodge in Bavaria.

The food choices actually only had a few traditional German choices. Wiener Schnitzel and the 2 that Sweet Willie described made up the core of those choices. There was a section on the menu for lighter choices and more traditional fare like steaks, ribs and chops.

Being German, I was tempted to try some of the German fare but none of my favorites (Schlachtplatte, Jaegerschnitzel or Kassler Ripchen)were offered so I chose the more traditional Filet Mignon.

The filet itself was quite good. I was slightly disappointed in the heavy brown gravy that it was smothered in.

The salad that came with the meal was a standard iceberg/tomato/cucumber/ crouton affair.

In addition to the appetizers that Sweet Willie discussed people ordered the Onion Rings and Crab Claws. They disappeared fast - always a good sign!

The Bitburger was on tap and the bartender had to scrape of the foam to fill the glass - like a traditional pilsner should be!

The best part of the evening was the opportunity to meet Randy and the rest of the FT'ers that showed up. As Randy stated sometime during the evening "the FT commmunity is a truly unique one".

I had the house special for the night which was: A small starter salad. BBQ ribs and about 6 breaded shrimp that were quite large and onion rings. The ribs lacked a really good sauce with some zest but was decent nonetheless. The shrimp was breaded pretty heavily but OK. The previously mentioned appetizers were great. This was my second DO outside of ORD and it sure was fun.

Place: Looks Bavarian enough, but I'm not so up on Bavarian culture to know the difference.
Also shouldn't this thread be in Chicago dining? j/k <duck>

People: Good good group. We even had people from the EU there (u know who u are u CX Diamond person; boy am I jealous). Wisconsin folk are friendly...humourous...quirky *grin* see "safehouse" I'd like to extend my gratitude for our Wisconsin hosts for planning the whole DO.

Food: I thought the food was ok. Hits and misses. I liked the sampler platter alot except for the meatball thingys. Really, I like the sample platter alot. I would agree with Willie. I'll take a couple of those as my main course. The salad was like an applebees. My main entree was some pretty decent biiiiig shrimp and some barbecue ribs. The ribs were good, but just totally slathered in sauce. It seems to me that a lot of stuff was slathered in sauce *horrid flashbacks to junior high mystery meat cafeteria lunches*. Perhaps this is the Bavarian way and I am just not used to it and need to try again.

Oh...the beer was good.

regarding Randy's comments about the FT community...was that before or after the "safehouse"??? :P

[This message has been edited by chichow (edited 08-08-2003).]

Oddly enough, my meal does not appear on the online menu, but I had a sirloin which was served with bleu cheese crumbles and a red sauce, and was excellent. The steak was cooked a little more thoroughly than I was used to, but the sauce did a nice job of adding "kick" and lessening dryness. The steak was served with whipped potato on the same plate, as well as a choice of starch on a side plate (I had the dumpling which was quite good). I was surprised to see the two starches together.
All in all, a well integrated meal (especially with the dark German beer I opted for, which unfortunately slips my mind now that I try to recall it).

Ratzch's is like a visit back to the old country or "Old Milwaukee". Being a local, it is a spot that I have enjoyed several times over the years and it NEVER fails to be a very pleasant experience.

Appetizers described previously were good. The variety and taste of the "meat tray" was
wonderful and would make a very good meal, as SweetWillie points out. I had the Trudy's Sampler: Sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel with potato dumpling. The Sauerbraten was very well seasoned and moist, as it should be. The Schnitzel was slightly dry with somewhat heavy breading. That said, the Leinenkugels Weis beer was perfect, as well as was the company. Nice to be in our own small "parlor" room for our group of "The Dirty Dozen" from FT. Great choice Mike.

http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/frown.gif

no word from our guest of honour?

1-What "safehouse"?
2-My GooseBreast was awesome - flavorful, but a bit dry indicating that the fat had been well drained during cooking.
3-Appetizers & appetizer platter -first rate.
4-Best part - the FT members who attended!
5-Guest of honor? See thread in Community- I'm still trying to help Randy get his 6000 NWA IDine miles.

Let's do it again soon.