Finally, Great German Food in Dallas

Ever since my partner and I returned from a trip to Germany a couple of years ago I have lamented the lack of a great German restaurant in Dallas. I have always been fond of German food, I suspect it comes from my grandmother who was from the Old Country and cooked a lot of Eastern European dishes.

German food in Dallas has been limited to a couple of delis where some pretty good wurst is served, but for schnitzel, spaetzel and sauerbraten I was out of luck.

Well imagine my surprise when I found that the restaurant voted "Best German Restaurant in America" had been hiding in the Metroplex for years! Up in Plano, tucked away in a strip center is the Bavarian Grill. My partner and I fond it while scanning restaurant listings in the Dallas Observer.

I expected a hole in the wall, but this place is cavernous. It feels much like the restaurants we visited on a train ride through the Black Forest. The atmosphere was enhanced by live music in the bar complete with yodeling and beer drinking songs. The restaurant had a bad as well plaing more sedate accordion and tuba fare.

If you are a beer lover, their menu of authentic German brew is impressive. If you are a food lover, dive into just about anything on the menu. They feature a "Winter Menu" with Bavarian specialties of the season like wild boar sausages and venison. I had the G’selchtes im Kraut mit Erbs, pork chops cooked with sauerkraut. They were actually more like ham steaks on a mount of steaming Bavarian style kraut with tasty pureed green peas (think green mashed potatoes) and a side of Kartoffelpfannkuchen (latkes as my grandmother would call them). My partner had the Oberstdorfer Sauerbraten mit Semmelknödel und Rotkraut, roast beef in a ginger sauce with dumplings and red cabbage.

For those unfamiliar with German cooking, go hungry and leave your diet plans at home. Bavarian Grill is open 7 days a week and has live music almost every night.