Posts Tagged ‘German’

Freiburg Gastropub

Monday, September 7th, 2015

I still don’t understand the resistance residents of the Dudgeon-Monroe neighborhood had when Freiburg Gastropub was first proposed. It’s a restaurant, not a bar, and patrons won’t be puking outside of it like they do at the Essen Haus. In other words, Freiburg is a nice addition to Monroe Street, and other than its lack of parking, it’s a great restaurant all-around.

But first, let’s talk about the bar, which is somewhat segregated from the main dining area. You’ll find a large tap selection, including Krombacher Pils ($5) and Schneider Aventinus ($5), plus specials like the Reissdorf  Kolsch. Most beers range from $5-$7.50. There is a requisite TV on both ends of the bar, but in no way is this a sports bar.

Like most restaurants, Freiburg focuses on sandwiches at lunch and entrees at dinner. A similarity between the two menus is the appetizers. Give strong consideration to starting your meal with the creative brat stickers, which is bratwurst inside a potsticker ($8.95). You can easily knock back the entire plate by yourself.

Another appetizer worth ordering is the schweinebacken ($10.95). Don’t be afraid that it’s pork cheeks. These are super tender with a slight beefy flavor, and the accompanying lentil salad combines well multiple flavors and textures.

For a less adventurous eater, try the schweinbraten ($11.95). It’s a juicy pulled pork (shoulder) sandwich sans BBQ sauce and topped with cole slaw inside a toasted bun. You can really taste each component of this sandwich equally.

Other items I look forward to trying on subsequent visits are the rinderbraten ($17.95), which is mustard roast beef with mashed potatoes and apples, and the Friday night trout schnitzel ($15.95).

Brunch is served on the weekends. The potato cakes ($12.95) consisted of crispy hash browns–not potato pancakes as I had thought–a pretty flower-like structure of lox and poached eggs … yum! I also enjoyed the hopple popple ($10.95), which was a hearty serving of scrambled eggs and fluff, apple pancakes.

Freiburg Gastropub is open every day, with lunch and dinner daily and brunch on the weekends. After 5 p.m., you can park for free in the nearby dentist office, but otherwise, you may have to circle for a while to find street parking, which can be time-consuming.

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See more photos in our Freiburg Gastropub Flickr album.

Freiburg Gastropub Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Brat und Brau

Sunday, September 1st, 2013

I only have vague memories of Brat und Brau when it existed on the west side of Madison on Mineral Point Road, but I’m certain that at minimum, the decor and atmosphere are a lot different in its new incarnation on the north side of town. More on that in a bit.

The menu has a variety of items ranging from pork cutlets to fish fry to of course, brats. I was quite satisfied with the single brat ($3.79 or $6.59 as a basket), described as a Sheboygan recipe bratwurst. It was big and  juicy, had the right amount of char, the skin wasn’t tough at all and it was surprisingly filling.

That made it hard for me to finish the delicious homemade onion rings ($4.99; you also can get “regular” onion rings). These are my favorite kind of onion rings: thin-sliced onion pieces with batter that sticks right to it. You get a really large portion, so consider sharing.

I also tried the brauburger ($4.99 or $7.29), a nice third-pound patty that was tasty but nothing out-of-the-ordinary. You can put whatever toppings you want on it at the condiment station, which includes sauerkraut, onions, lettuce and tomatoes (cheese is 50 cents extra). Can’t decide between the brat and the burger? Combine them in the wurstburger ($7.99 or $10.49).

Also just so you know, you order your food by checking items off a paper menu, then paying at the counter. You can enjoy some free popcorn while you wait.

Back to the atmosphere … it’s certainly no Essen Haus or Mader’s (in Milwaukee) as you may come to expect with a name like “Brat and Brau” (e.g. mugs hanging from the walls, dark wood beams, polka music, etc.). In fact, it’s a pretty bare environment, one that makes sense for a strip mall restaurant, I guess. I do like the food and would order for carryout, but I just can’t see myself eating there again, since so much of going out to eat is the experience itself. Although beer and wine is served, it just doesn’t feel like a place you would drink alcohol.

Brat und Brau is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout.

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A night at the Roxbury

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

Road trip time! A 30-min drive north from downtown Madison will take you to the Dorf Haus and Roxbury Tavern in the Town of Roxbury, just off U.S. Highway 12.

Once housing a general store, the Roxbury Tavern serves breakfast on Sundays, lunch Fri-Sat and dinner Tue-Sat with different specials each day. For example, Tuesday is Mexican night and Wednesday is Italian.

Besides the main bar area, from which you can peer into the vast storage area in the back (not a good thing), there’s a dining area in an adjacent room. It was surprisingly dead on a Friday night (just two other groups, both of which had the fish fry), though I presume most people were down the block at the Dorf Haus.

The Roxbury Tavern has live music on occasion, accepts cash and checks and is closed for some reason on Mondays (what do the town’s 1,700 residents do that day?). To me, it’s just your run-of-the-mill townie bar.

Meanwhile, the Dorf Haus is a massive building–so much so that it seems out of place–and houses a dining room, banquet room, bar and game room. If you don’t get there by 5:30 p.m. for its Friday fish fry, expect a long wait.

I really like the fried cod, mainly because it reminded me of KFC’s original recipe. While it does not say all-you-can-eat on the menu, the waitress did let us know after we finished that we could have more (she said this to every table). The sides (fries or German potato salad, salad bar or cole slaw and fritters) were served family style.

While I did have my requisite Brandy Old Fashioned (sweet), I did feel obligated to order a beer while at this German restaurant, so I ordered a delicious stout that the waitress recommended.

I really want to come back for the Bavarian smorgasbord, which is served on the first Monday of every month year-round as well as the third Monday from June-October. I remember loving the fall-off-the-bone ribs in a previous visit many years ago.

Hopefully, I won’t wait as long between visits again.

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