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.
Jim’s grandparents emigrated from Bremerhaven, Germany. When Okoberfest draws near, this old man’s fancy turns to thoughts of Sauerbraten and Sauerkraut. Being the ever-vigilant food critics who anticipate our readers’ needs, we wanted to celebrate early so that you won’t miss out on this artery clogging festival. We decided to give the Heritage House in Harvard a try since it was recommended to us numerous times.
Heritage House Restaurants
21225 IL Rte. 14
Harvard 60033
(815) 943-6153
No website available
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Rte. 14 West to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 34 minutes
After driving for a while, our GPS proudly proclaimed, “your destination is on the left.” Nancy and I were freaking out when we saw the Heritage Inn Hotel. Nancy starting calling Siri numerous names that couldn’t be put in print. It was only then she noticed to the right an adorable Bavarian style cottage and a sign that said Heritage House Restaurant.
When we entered, our thoughts immediately went to the quaint family-owned restaurants that we frequented on our travels through Germany. All that was missing was an Oompah Band. The dining area looked like it was right out of a travelogue.
Immediately after being seated, the busboy brought over a relish tray (green onions, carrots, celery and radishes), a cheese ball, liver pate, crackers, and a carousel of three different salads (bean, beets and macaroni). This will remind you of the “good old days” when restaurants went that extra mile. We received all of these goodies, and we haven’t even placed our order yet.
After munching to our hearts content, we still decided on the Sausage Platter ($8) appetizer. This was a Thuringer that snapped back at you when you cut into it and was served with a delicious sauerkraut and a slightly sweet Bavarian mustard. This appetizer would even satisfy Sgt. Schultz, and everyone knows no Oktoberfest would be complete without some kind of sausage.
Nancy threw caution to the wind and decided to try the Pork with Apple Jack Cream ($19). This was medallions of pork tenderloin sautéed with apples, onions, and fresh rosemary, and finished with Apple Jack mustard cream. After one forkful, Nancy said she died and went to heaven! It came with German fried potatoes and vegetable of the day which was Mirai sweet corn on the cob. They don’t cut corners at this restaurant; they seem to serve nothing but the best!
Jim wanted to try their Rouladen, but unfortunately they ran out of it, so he went with the Sauerbraten ($17). If you are unfamiliar with this German dish, it is marinated beef with sweet-sour gravy, red cabbage, and homemade spaetzle. He loved everything about this dish, right down to the lightly browned spaetzle.
All dinners come with either soup or salad, and we both chose the salad with their homemade creamy garlic dressing. Everyone knows if both people have garlic, this cancels out the smell of the “Stinking Rose.”
Remember, we are celebrating Oktoberfest, so in spite of all this food we ordered the Apple Strudel with ice cream ($5.50) for dessert. This came from the Swiss Maid Bakery down the road in Harvard. To avoid imminent bloodshed, our waitress wisely split it into 2 servings for us.
FYI: Handicap accessible and they are closed Monday and Tuesday. They do not have a “special” Oktoberfest menu, so feel free to improvise your own celebration like we did.
It’s hard to find quality old school restaurants like this one. Look how much food we had and our bill was only $57, wunderbar!
Jim’s take: This is now my favorite German restaurant. The food and service was impeccable.
Nancy’s take: I love all the goodies we got beforehand. Next time, I would take a pass on the apple strudel.
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