Mathew S.
Yelp
An intriguing gem; a decent survey of German cuisine with some traditional stateside fare with an occasional Rathskeller touch.
Tucked down on the sublevel off the street, iron stairs lead down to a Biergarten atrium and a labyrinthine dining area. It's fantastic. You kind of descend from the street into a different locale.
They've apparently taken negative comment to heart when it comes to seating and wait times. I booked on Open Table, was texted 11 minutes before our reservation and told the table was ready. I confirmed we were on the way; once inside we were seated...immediately.
The staff was warm, hospitable, and attentive to our requests. Something came up early, we had to leave urgently after ordering, and I suspect our waitress moved our food on the fly (which I boxed and ate later). This was exceptional and par excellence; despite dealing with a crisis, now that I think about it, it was hard to notice my socks rolling up and down while dealing with emergency.
When I did get to the food, man, oh man, K-f'in'-O. Brief aside: I love German food. I'm of German decent, my Grandfather own a deli in Memphis that did mom and pop Reubens, vinegar slaw, kraut, and German potato salad. Occasionally I can rook my dad into making pretty decent rouladen; a rare treat is sauerbraten. The varieties offered by SK were better, tastier, substantial (portion wise).
Highlights: the sauerbraten: the sauce that covers the meat...save the bread they give you. The sauce deserves to be sopped up with bread and devoured. The beef was excellent. Large chunks of potato salad was sweet, sour, earthy. The earthy being an unexpected but welcomed variation.
The klopse: dense but loose, if that makes sense; the sauce, rich and velvety/buttery.
The stuffed shroom: more of the same.
The frikadellen: more of the same!
There was nothing that I didn't like. Hell, the fries were even good! The cabbage rolls were above average, but not the best I've ever had (looking at you, Polonia in Hammtramck, MI), but still damned good.
All told, go. Go sooner rather than later. Starve yourself. But on your elastic waisted trousers, be a glutton, order whatever you damned well please and be prepared to enjoy every morsel. Order too much? The food travel well and makes remarkably good leftovers.
If there's anything to be said that's critical of SK, it's that the dining room is loud; it's a restaurant in a basement, er, grotto. Either way, this place is fantastic.
Wait a minute there, Matty S., you may be thinking. 4, not 5 stars? Yes. And because 5 stars is paradigm breaking, life altering, you can't find this anywhere else, an experience both new and instantly creating nostalgia for 5 seconds ago, unfair that I can't eat here everyday level. SK is 4.8 stars; and 5 star places don't get rounded up. They're unicorns. SK is a magnificent Clydesdale, big, muscle-bound, dragging a draught-cart and feeding all it comes across to the ovation of each and every individual. But just not, for some reason, a unicorn.
