The Unvegan

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A House of Schnitzel at Wirtshaus

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Crack a lack

Sausages are all the rage these days, and why shouldn’t they be? Who can turn down a good old fashioned tube and a nice brewski? For once, I could. You see, while I headed to Wirtshaus in Mid-City fully intending to tackle some sort of “wurst,” I surprised myself by going in a different direction. This direction was that of pretzel and schnitzel (and never fear, for I made sure to take down a brewski as well).

First, let’s start with the pretzel. The menu spelled it as “Bretzel,” which I now know is some crazy German way of spelling the beloved pretzel. This was done in the Bavarian style, which meant it was big and soft. It came with a useless sweet mustard that may come in handy for some, but not for a man with mustard disdain. Unfortunately, no other dipping sauce was available, for while this pretzel was poofy and salted nicely, it was far too dry to eat on its own.

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More like betshaus

As for my main course, I went with the Wirtshaus Schnitzel, a special of theirs that was not on their regular menu. Instead of regular pork schnitzel, I opted for chicken, but the special did not end there. The schnitzel was topped with a creamy sauce and a fried egg for good measure. Then, for even better measure, it came with two sides. I chose their fried potatoes with bacon and spaetzl.

Before I get any further, you may be wondering why a man such as I did not order any sausage. Well, to be truthful, I feel as though I am spoiled in the sausage realm. I’ve had regular sausages, but I’ve also had kangaroo, wild boar, duck, bison, rattlesnake and alligator. I’ve even had some of the best bratwurst in the world in Wisconsin. Yet, when I looked at Wirtshaus’s sausage offerings, nothing stood out to me. So to me, schnitzel felt like a more interesting dish, at least on this night.

And I am glad it did.

Because the schnitzel was delicious. The cream sauce turned the crispy breading a little soggy at parts, but added a nice flavoring to make up for it. There were some little slices of tomato that had accompanied the cream sauce, but I was able to easily brush them aside and get on with my life. The fried egg was a nice touch and added a unique element to my meal. While it could have been runnier, I was happy for the unique taste and texture it brought to my chicken.

Yet, with all this, the sides almost outshined the main meal. The spaetzl (a delicious German pasta/dumpling) had been cooked and salted to perfection and the potatoes with bacon were stellar. Of course, any combination of potato and bacon should be expected to be delicious, but these things were chopped into home fry-sized chunks and fried to a crisp. Yet, on the inside they were remarkably soft and easy to eat.

So while Wirtshaus wasn’t a complete home run, it still knocked some aspects out of the park. While I’m glad their lack of interesting sausages led me to their tasty schnitzel, I definitely think they could add a few more to mix things up. It may not be the best haus I’ve been to, but it was far from the worst.