Holy Grail (First Restaurant/Bar at The Banks) set to open 3/17

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

I also spent some time in Austria and loved the food. I never once had a craving for a cheeseburger because the local food was just that much better. The small country restaurants, especially in Tirol, had some of the best food I've ever eaten, anywhere.

So true. When I moved there for school, I went months before setting foot in a McDonald's and only did so because I was feeling a little homesick around the holidays. I lived in Salzburg, which had some great restaurants that most people would never find, because they were located either in some small alley off the main street or in a residential neighborhood. And ironically, the best Chinese food I've ever had was attached to the soccer stands for a local athletic club. One of the things I learned was to strike up a conversation with a local and ask them where a good place to eat could be found. They usually tip you off to the best spots.

When it comes to German food here, I find the biggest problem to be that a lot of places cook the food ahead and just reheat it when someone orders it, rather than cooking to order. I love schnitzel and make a mean one myself at home, but when I'm out, I often find the schnitzel to be rather dry, a sign it was made earlier in the day and reheated.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

Since we are on this subject, two of my main problems with German food were the smell and the language barrier. It sounds odd but a lot of the German food has a pretty sour smell. If you think about it bratwurst don't really smell all that great. The other factor was German is such a difficult language to understand what the actual food is. In Italy or France I can get buy more because the food is more familiar and the language isn't as difficult to understand. If I wanted a sausage I just found it way to difficult to understand what each sausage was. German words run on for sentenaces.

Its unfortunate because I like sausage and their roasted chickens looked good. But when push came to shove I just couldn't pull the trigger. Don't get me started abotu the breakfast they served in our hotel. I will just say that waking up with a hangover and just looking at the food really didn't entice me. Mush, warm meants, and warm milk is the way I would describe it. I did have a steak sandwhich at Oktoberfest that was pretty good. I think we went back to the same vendor later that night. Continuing on my tangent we were at Oktoberfest one night and the beer gardens all close around 10. But we were able to go out and get shots of some vodka type liquor chased with pop rocks.

I had issues with the language barrier when I first went there, but my issue was that, even though I spoke German, I had troubles with the Austria/Bavarian dialect. Eventually I got used to it. Of course, as soon as I started having problems understanding, they usually switched to English. For breakfast, I usually just had bread or rolls with butter and cheese. The bread and cheese there are so good.

If you want to talk crazy language barrier, I went to a restaurant in Budapest, Hungary a few years after the fall of Communism. They had a menu translated into English, but all the entrees had names like "Masterly Pig Coil," "Successful Ragout," "Fineness on a Spit," and the most bizarrely named "Captured Dream of Harem Ladies." Looking at the names, it seemed as though everything was based on a dare. Fortunately, we asked for help from the waitress, who spoke German and was able to describe the food, which ended up being excellent in spite of the English translations.

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by gonelong

I've heard Schmidt's Haus in Columbus is "authentic", but I have not been able to get there to verify.

http://www.schmidthaus.com/

GL

My mother grew up in Germany and feels Schmidt's is the closest she's had in Ohio. Besides, it is just very good.

[medford]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

And ironically, the best Chinese food I've ever had was attached to the soccer stands for a local athletic club.

The best Tex-Mex food I've ever had was in a little restaurant in Bordeaux, France.

I only got to spend about 4 hours in Salzburg before catching a train for Paris to meet the last memeber of our traveling party, so can't speak to the food there (other than the pretzel I had from a stand outside the train station) However, when we circled back thru Austria, we stayed with one of my friends former host families from when he was a kid. They had a cook out that consisted of sausages and fish. All of it was great.

[KittyDuran]

@ the Lager House right now...

[Sea Ray]

The Crave is the next place to open to the public at the Banks on Monday

http://craveamerica.com/

Sounds like a place for the gals with its "chic" atmosphere, wine list and sushi to balance out the beer and fried foods prevalent elsewhere at the Banks. Looked like they had a private gathering there last night.

Anyone who tries it out, please give us your thoughts...

[wolfboy]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

The Crave is the next place to open to the public at the Banks on Monday

http://craveamerica.com/

Sounds like a place for the gals with its "chic" atmosphere, wine list and sushi to balance out the beer and fried foods prevalent elsewhere at the Banks. Looked like they had a private gathering there last night.

Anyone who tries it out, please give us your thoughts...

My only question is: when are the foodies of RZ going to invade one of these places? Group outing?

[Sea Ray]

I ate again at the Moerlein House over the weekend and found a significant "chink" in their armor. They only serve "tasters" of one set of beers, 4 or 5 of their own. A true BrewPub should make available a tray of about 6 tastes of any beer they have on tap. In fact most Brewpubs I go to do exactly that. The newly opened BrewRiver Gastropub on Eastern Av does exactly that as does BJs at Tri County.

While at Moerlein, I wanted to taste some of the other beers on tap since I'd already tried the Moerlein brews. It came across as lazy and cheap that they didn't have tasters available and that's not right for a place that's anything but cheap.

[KittyDuran]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

I ate again at the Moerlein House over the weekend and found a significant "chink" in their armor. They only serve "tasters" of one set of beers, 4 or 5 of their own. A true BrewPub should make available a tray of about 6 tastes of any beer they have on tap. In fact most Brewpubs I go to do exactly that. The newly opened BrewRiver Gastropub on Eastern Av does exactly that as does BJs at Tri County.

While at Moerlein, I wanted to taste some of the other beers on tap since I'd already tried the Moerlein brews. It came across as lazy and cheap that they didn't have tasters available and that's not right for a place that's anything but cheap.

Did you complain?

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by KittyDuran

Did you complain?

Only to the waiter

[Plus Plus]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

Only to the waiter

Aren't they running flights of Great Lakes beers, since they have a "tap takeover" going on right now?

And I am almost certain that you can substitute beers in and out of the flights - I did this at the bar the last time that I went. Maybe you just had a poor or confused waiter?

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by Plus Plus

Aren't they running flights of Great Lakes beers, since they have a "tap takeover" going on right now?

And I am almost certain that you can substitute beers in and out of the flights - I did this at the bar the last time that I went. Maybe you just had a poor or confused waiter?

I didn't notice many Great Lakes beers on the list. My waiter was clear: they chose the beers on the flight, not you. If someone has a different experience, by all means, post it here

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

I walked through The Banks today ... Ruth's Chris Steakhouse construction is well under way in what will be a two-level corner restaurant at Walnut and Freedom Way. The sign is up and the all-glass walls were being installed today.

Also, Tin Roof looks like it could be the next place to open up. Construction workers were buzzing inside there earlier this afternoon and a lot of the wall decorations are up. I'm betting this place is open before the playoffs.

Mahogany's is continuing its soft opening. It's been a popular weekend spot the past two weeks and the patio has seen some post-game gatherings as well. Of course, the humongous popularity of the next-door Holy Grail still dwarfs everything else at The Banks.

Non-Banks related, Panera Bread is going in at Sixth and Vine in the old Arby's space. It was also packed with construction workers earlier today.

And Tom+Chee is now open in the 400 block of Walnut, just a three-minute walk from GABP. For those who haven't been there yet, you're really missing out. This place is outstanding!