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| - This is probably actually a 3 1/2 star review, but I'm throwing in the extra half-star because this is actual German cuisine, and that is increasingly rare. Some of the food is prepared with a heavy hand (i.e., a bit overcooked, flavors not as bright and distinctive as one would like) and the portions can be a bit overwhelming. Nevertheless, our large group of family and friends that tried this place for the first time walked away (or I should say, waddled) quite satisfied.
Highlights: Good beer selection, friendly staff, extensive menu with the emphasis on meat and pork, stick-to-your-ribs German comfort food, gemütlichkeit (ambience).
Lowlights: A long wait to be seated, even though seating was available and I had called well in advance to put in a reservation.
I just had to try the Gulaschsuppe (Hungarian gulash soup) because I have such found memories of it from Germany. It was a meal in itself and had much more stew meat than I was expecting. It did deliver on flavor, however, with just enough paprika-forward peppery goodness. Best to share this if you are saving room for an entree.
For my entree, I had the Bauernschmaus ($17.95): combination of pork roast, roulade and smoked pork served with sauerkraut, dumpling and mashed potatoes. This seemed like the best "sampler platter" to satisfy my desire to try an array of flavors. The roulade is "beef roll", or a thin cut of beef stuffed with pickles, onion and bacon. The pork roast and smoked pork were a bit overcooked, but I realize this is how pork is traditionally cooked (unlike nowadays, where trichonosis is not an issue, so you can actually serve it a bit rarer). The sauerkraut and mashed potatoes were just o.k. This was a monstrous plate of food, most of it meat!
Others at the table weighed in with satisfied yummy sounds upon digging into their tasty meals. These included the Wurst Peanne ($13.95): polish sausage, bratwurst, knackwurst served in a pan with sauerkraut and fried potatoes; and the Forsterkotelett ($15.95): sauteed pork chops covered with portobellos and mushrooms, served with herb potatoes, bacon (green) beans and applesauce. Although the schnitzel (breaded pork cutlet) covered half a plate, it looked a little less crispy than what I would have preferred.
All in all, you get a solid German meal experience here. If I had come with fewer people, I would have shared more and maybe ordered fewer entrees (since many can feed two). But mom was throwing down the plastic and it had been a while since I overindulged, so we all let our German appetites run wild.
If you can only eat one meal today, you will be über-satisfied with a meal from Bavarian Point. Prost!
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