Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
Nancy and I lived in Hoffman Estates for 34 years and never knew about the Bavaria Hof Restaurant in Schaumburg. She went online and found this restaurant’s Groupon coupon. Being the frugal person that I am, or as Nancy calls it, cheap, I insisted we try it.
Bavaria Hof
933 S. Roselle Road
Schaumburg 60193
(847)891-7997
www.bavaria-hof.com
Directions: Take 90 East to Rte. 59 North to Rte. 72 East to Roselle Road South
Travel Time: 37 minutes
It is an unassuming place tucked in a corner of a strip mall behind a Taco Bell. Jim and I are finding this to be a new trend. Some of the best food that we have been served lately, has come from these strip-mall hidden gems.
The interior is clean and quaint with a homey Bavarian feel. The wooden bar, with its beautiful shelving, held their collection of beer steins, which are used to serve various imported German beers.
Our drink order of iced tea was taken by a delightful German woman named Anjelica. She reminded Jim of his grandmother from his childhood.
Nancy glanced at the menu, suddenly the skies opened up, and a ray of light shone down on the potato pancake appetizer ($9.95 for four pancakes). Could this be her long sought after potato pancake Holy Grail? The suspense was killing us, and to our delight, they turned out to be crispy and tasted more like homemade than a restaurant item. ALMOST THERE!!! With every restaurant, she is getting closer….
Jim ordered the Veal Paprika Schnitzel ($19.95), which was a pan fried veal cutlet covered in a Paprika sauce. With this he had his choice of two sides. He chose the German fried potatoes and sauerkraut. He said his veal was tender and the Paprika sauce was delicious. I, as you know, won’t touch veal, so I only tried his potatoes and they were great! Best German fried potatoes I have ever had.
Nancy had the Rinds Rouladen ($18.95 for two). This was beef rolled with a pickle, diced onion, chopped German bacon and mustard topped with a Rouladen beef sauce. Her dish also came with two sides and she had the spaetzle and sauerkraut. She said the Rouladens melted in her mouth. I tried them and again the homemade flavor came through. It was very close to her recipe.
Both our entrees came with either the soup of the day or the German salad plate. Nancy chose to have the beef vegetable soup and I had the salad. This consisted of red pickled beets, bean salad, pickled cucumbers, and pickled tomato and onions. This was something totally out of the ordinary and very enjoyable.
The World Cup Games were playing on the TV in the bar, so to finish off our āWorld Cupā dinner, we decided to share the homemade apple strudel ($4.95). This was served warm with whip cream on the top.
The cost of this āwunderbarā dinner was $65.30. Sgt. Schultz would be so proud!
We never expected to be served food of this quality from such an unpretentious restaurant. This one is a ākeeperā for us.
Jim’s take: I loved the authentic home-style German cooking. I’m not a big fan of potatoes, and I don’t know how they made these, but they were unbelievable!
Nancy’s take: I’ve tried Rouladens at every German restaurant and never really liked them, until NOW. Almost as good as mine, and I personally think if they added onion to the potato pancakes, my quest would be over.
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
