4128 North Lincoln Avenue 773-472-4287 Broadcast October 6th, 2006
Oktoberfest is here, and that might draw you to Glunz Bavarian Haus. There’s a live oompah band, including a puffy cheeked tuba player. And, there’s a great selection of beers.
The restaurant has friendly service, plus the right look and atmosphere. As a neighborhood bar, it probably can’t be beaten..
But, that’s not enough to overcome serious problems, including something as basic and German as white radishes with pretzels and mustard. Our waitress told us the restaurant was out of pretzels. Still curious, we placed the order anyway.
We got about 15 or so slices, some mixed greens and mustard, plus bread and butter. Spending money is part of restaurant reviewing, but nearly $6 for a plate of radishes is an embarrassment. If there are no pretzels, why not just pull it off the menu?
Other appetizers range from pork canapés to cheese plates to smoked rainbow trout. There’s one salad, either large or small, a mix of greens, tomatoes, radishes and carrots….nothing too exciting there.
The dinner menu looks very promising, including Wiener schnitzel which I saw at other tables, golden brown, the way it should be.
Instead, I ordered sauerbraten, sliced beef roast marinated for three or four days in a vinegar brine with raisins, onions, pepper, cloves, mace, wine; some recipes include crushed ginger snaps. The result is delicious, tender, well flavored meat. The Bavarian Haus version had the flavor down right. But, the underside of each slice of meat was dry, as if the marinade had not been thoroughly distributed. Sides of spaetzle and red cabbage were fine.
limited choice of fish includes a menu listing of seared halibut with risotto and dill lime sauce. The halibut looked and tasted baked, not seared. It was a white brick of bland fish on uninspired rice and a cream sauce that had no hint of either dill or lime.
Go for the beer and the oompah band, but, maybe eat somewhere else. Glunz Bavarian Haus at 4128 North Lincoln Avenue has a K/RATING of 10.5/20 and is not recommended.
AMBIANCE 4/4 HOSPITALITY4/5 FOOD 2/10 VALUE .5/1
Read more Sherman Kaplan Restaurant Reviews at wbbm780.com and in North Shore Magazine
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