by Elizabeth Gariti
I’ve never liked sauerkraut. My father used to make the stuff that came out of the can to go with his hotdogs, and the smell made me, literally, run screaming from the room.
That is, I’ve never liked sauerkraut until I had it at the Heidelberg Restaurant. Located on 2nd Avenue between 85th and 86th Streets, the Heidelberg is the last vestige of Yorkville’s old Germantown.
With a beer garden out front, a broad selection of authentic German beer at low prices, and events celebrating the high points of the German calendar, the Heidelberg is a fine example of what life used to be like on the old German Broadway (86th St.)
They also serve really excellent German food. Actually, I’ve never been a big fan of any type of German food. I usually think of it as meat-laden and heavy. But, my experience at the Heidelberg changed that. I’ve been there a few times and have always been surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed my meal. Their food is light and flavorful. The sauerkraut, far from smelling funny, is sweet, zesty and vinegar-y. The sausages and wursts are savory and tender enough to be almost delicate. And the potato pancakes are to die for—light, feathery and really satisfying, even as an entrée.
On a Thursday night, I brought a friend for an early dinner to experience the Heidelberg’s delicacies. When we got there, there wasn’t an empty table in the beer garden, and the inside bar was in full swing with the after-work crowd downing Spaten, Warsteiner and Weiss beer.
The dining area was reasonably empty, so hostess and manager, Evett, seated us right away. We ordered beer of course (Warsteiner for me and Spaten for my friend). Our waitress, Anna (pronounced Aina) was very patient with our questions (“Does the marination actually cook the herring?” “What’s the best—knackwurst, weisswurst or bratwurst?” “Do you really use pigs’ knuckles??”), so we were able to order with ease. For an appetizer, we split a dish of Marinated Herring with Sour Cream. It was really yummy—the herring was sharp and pungent and blended well with the smooth creaminess of the sour cream. My friend commented that the sour cream isn’t like what we’re used to—it was more liquid and a slightly saltier. A perfect compliment to the herring. (Anna must have liked us despite all our questions, because we got a free pretzel too!)
For our entrées, my friend decided on the Sausage Platter for One (Bauernwurst, Weisswurst and Bratwurst, with potato salad, red cabbage and sauerkraut), while I had the Jaeger Schnitzel (veal cutlet, sautéed mushrooms, Spaetzle and red cabbage). Anna commended my choice, saying it’s her favorite.
As a rule, I don’t usually eat veal, but in the spirit of trying new things at the Heidelberg, I decided to order it. I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed. Maybe it’s because I don’t usually eat it, but I found the veal to be a bit heavy and the sauce blander than I would have liked. But, the spaetzle was excellent, very light and almost creamy and the red cabbage rivaled its sauerkraut cousin.
However, my friend’s sausage platter was amazing. Because I’m not a big meat eater, I shy away from heavy meat dishes, but I almost wish I ordered what he ordered. Each wurst was subtly seasoned and delectable. He liked the bauernwurst best, while the weisswurst was my favorite.
For dessert, we decided to skip the sweets listed on the right side of the menu and concentrate on the Schnapps listed on the left (the best half of the dessert menu, Anna claimed). In addition to having a great German beer selection, the Heidelberg also has a really excellent schnapps menu, a long list of really unusual choices. I ordered the Herbal Bitter, something I’ve wanted to try, while my friend got the Stroh. We were happy with our choices, but I would really recommend the Der Lachs Goldwasser, which I’ve had on previous visits. The Goldwasser is a cinnamon-tasting schnapps speckled with flecks of real Gold. Mmmmm. . . I was practically licking the inside of the glass!
To the uninitiated, the Heidelberg seems somewhat touristy. The wait staff is dressed in lederhosen and dirndl. The décor is typically German—rich with heavy wood, lace curtains and other Teutonic touches. On Saturday nights, they have a man playing a keyboard and singing old German songs. But on this night, I looked around and saw a neighborhood crowd—probably not many members of the old Germantown community (they usually hang out at the bar during the day), just Upper East Side folks stopping in to have a good dinner.
So, if you have a craving for authentic German food or a hankering to idle away an end-of-summer afternoon in a beer garden, the Heidelberg is the place to go: good beer, great food and a touch of the neighborhood as it used to be.
Read the next Uppereast.com review:Per Lei Restaurant
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