Eine Kleine Nacht Schnitzel
If there is something that Austria is better known for than the music of Mozart, than it has to be schnitzel, thin veal or pork cutlet pounded thin and breaded, fried until golden brown and delicious and served with sides such as spätzle and sauerkraut or the more traditional french fries (seems odd, doesn’t it?).
I have often heard of The Granary in Eganville and oft passed it by on my way to Kingston. I have always wanted to try it and this weekend, after a day touring the countryside with the folks, I finally got my chance. We had finished a brief tour of Almonte (a nice little town) after a tour of the Deifenbunker, Canada’s main Cold War nuclear bunker for high ranking military and government personal (well worth the time and expense if your ever near Carp, 20 minutes from Kanata), when we found ourselves a wee bit peckish. Remembering that Eganville was somewhat on the way home, we decided to finally give Eganville’s premier (if, only) Snitzelhaus, recognized far and wide for being, in their own words, “Famous and Tasty”, a try.
You can’t miss big yellow barn-shaped Granary on the corner of Lett’s Cemetery Road and Highway 60. Although there isn’t a lot of parking, we didn’t have any problem finding a spot. On entering, I found the dining room a little dark, although this could have been only by contrast to the bight outside. We were informed that the only available tables were on the patio. This turned out to be better, as it seemed as though the temperature inside the restaurant was even higher than outside. The patio was pleasant although the tables and chairs were the standard white plastic deals that you might get at a Mr. Hotdog or the like. Also, the table was bolted to the deck, which made finding a comfortable seating arrangement a little difficult (I couldn’t help but notice that this also caused difficulties for the group of eight (the tables only sat four) sitting near us). The service was prompt and friendly but not overly helpful or attentive, what I would consider average for the level of establishment.
We first ordered drinks. I was the only one interested in beer and I was surprised to find an extremely meager selection of draft beers – two. For a restaurant specializing in the cuisine of Austria, you would expect them to have a representative selection of the required schnitzel accompaniment. I chose the Hacker-Pschorr, a light lager typical of the German style. The other option was Stella Artois, which is, in my opinion, a rather pedestrian brew, and at the least, neither Austrian nor even German.
We all ordered starters. Jenn had the spinach salad which was surprisingly very tasty -a light dressing accompanying baby spinach and mandarin oranges. My mother and father both had garden salads. They seemed to enjoy them but they were the classic iceberg lettuce, a few veggies and standard restaurant dressings. I had the soup of the day, a very tasty minestrone soup. It was thicker than usual; a feature that I felt went well with the copious amount of pasta in the soup. The double serving of crackers got my approval, as one of my many pet peeves at restaurants is only getting one package of crackers with my soup.
For the main course, unsurprisingly, we all had schnitzel. One thing that did bother me was that the schnitzel mains came with mashed potatoes and veggies as a standard side, with spätzle and sauerkraut being a substitution for which you paid extra. Although I can accept that this might be an adaptation for the local clientele, I still thought it was rather odd for a restaurant specializing in the Austrian dish. My parents both had the Weiner Schnitzel with spätzle and sauerkraut. The portions were large and the schnitzel was well prepared and delicious with the traditional lemon. The homemade sauerkraut was very good and probably represented the highlight of the meal. The addition of the bacon’s savory notes contrasted very well with the vinegar bite of the sauerkraut. Jenn and I both had the Mushroom Schnitzel (traditionally called Jägerschnitzel, or Hunter’s Schnitzel) with spätzle but no sauerkraut. We unfortunately had the vegetable side. The horribly overcooked frozen vegetables were hardly edible. The spätzle with both meals were just as you might find in downtown Vienna, although they were bathed in a mushroom sauce, the same as covered the schnitzel. The sauce was good, but we would have preferred to have the spätzle simply sautéed in butter – a more traditional service.
For dessert, my father and I split a piece of Viennese cheesecake. It consisted of a simple ricotta based filling between two layers of light and airy cake, with a thin layer of raspberry preserves and topped with whipped cream (schlag in German) and confectioner’s sugar. It was a perfect finish to the meal – light and not cloyingly sweet.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a decent meal, reasonably priced (our bill came to about $25 per person plus tip), then the Granary will deliver. I think that my next visit will be better as I’ll know to avoid the side vegetables and ask for my spätzle to be simply prepared. But then again, should you really need experience to get a great meal at a restaurant? Shouldn't that come standard?
Till next week and “The Pie that Loved Me” – Don’t eat bad food.
I have often heard of The Granary in Eganville and oft passed it by on my way to Kingston. I have always wanted to try it and this weekend, after a day touring the countryside with the folks, I finally got my chance. We had finished a brief tour of Almonte (a nice little town) after a tour of the Deifenbunker, Canada’s main Cold War nuclear bunker for high ranking military and government personal (well worth the time and expense if your ever near Carp, 20 minutes from Kanata), when we found ourselves a wee bit peckish. Remembering that Eganville was somewhat on the way home, we decided to finally give Eganville’s premier (if, only) Snitzelhaus, recognized far and wide for being, in their own words, “Famous and Tasty”, a try.
You can’t miss big yellow barn-shaped Granary on the corner of Lett’s Cemetery Road and Highway 60. Although there isn’t a lot of parking, we didn’t have any problem finding a spot. On entering, I found the dining room a little dark, although this could have been only by contrast to the bight outside. We were informed that the only available tables were on the patio. This turned out to be better, as it seemed as though the temperature inside the restaurant was even higher than outside. The patio was pleasant although the tables and chairs were the standard white plastic deals that you might get at a Mr. Hotdog or the like. Also, the table was bolted to the deck, which made finding a comfortable seating arrangement a little difficult (I couldn’t help but notice that this also caused difficulties for the group of eight (the tables only sat four) sitting near us). The service was prompt and friendly but not overly helpful or attentive, what I would consider average for the level of establishment.
We first ordered drinks. I was the only one interested in beer and I was surprised to find an extremely meager selection of draft beers – two. For a restaurant specializing in the cuisine of Austria, you would expect them to have a representative selection of the required schnitzel accompaniment. I chose the Hacker-Pschorr, a light lager typical of the German style. The other option was Stella Artois, which is, in my opinion, a rather pedestrian brew, and at the least, neither Austrian nor even German.
We all ordered starters. Jenn had the spinach salad which was surprisingly very tasty -a light dressing accompanying baby spinach and mandarin oranges. My mother and father both had garden salads. They seemed to enjoy them but they were the classic iceberg lettuce, a few veggies and standard restaurant dressings. I had the soup of the day, a very tasty minestrone soup. It was thicker than usual; a feature that I felt went well with the copious amount of pasta in the soup. The double serving of crackers got my approval, as one of my many pet peeves at restaurants is only getting one package of crackers with my soup.
For the main course, unsurprisingly, we all had schnitzel. One thing that did bother me was that the schnitzel mains came with mashed potatoes and veggies as a standard side, with spätzle and sauerkraut being a substitution for which you paid extra. Although I can accept that this might be an adaptation for the local clientele, I still thought it was rather odd for a restaurant specializing in the Austrian dish. My parents both had the Weiner Schnitzel with spätzle and sauerkraut. The portions were large and the schnitzel was well prepared and delicious with the traditional lemon. The homemade sauerkraut was very good and probably represented the highlight of the meal. The addition of the bacon’s savory notes contrasted very well with the vinegar bite of the sauerkraut. Jenn and I both had the Mushroom Schnitzel (traditionally called Jägerschnitzel, or Hunter’s Schnitzel) with spätzle but no sauerkraut. We unfortunately had the vegetable side. The horribly overcooked frozen vegetables were hardly edible. The spätzle with both meals were just as you might find in downtown Vienna, although they were bathed in a mushroom sauce, the same as covered the schnitzel. The sauce was good, but we would have preferred to have the spätzle simply sautéed in butter – a more traditional service.
For dessert, my father and I split a piece of Viennese cheesecake. It consisted of a simple ricotta based filling between two layers of light and airy cake, with a thin layer of raspberry preserves and topped with whipped cream (schlag in German) and confectioner’s sugar. It was a perfect finish to the meal – light and not cloyingly sweet.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a decent meal, reasonably priced (our bill came to about $25 per person plus tip), then the Granary will deliver. I think that my next visit will be better as I’ll know to avoid the side vegetables and ask for my spätzle to be simply prepared. But then again, should you really need experience to get a great meal at a restaurant? Shouldn't that come standard?
Till next week and “The Pie that Loved Me” – Don’t eat bad food.
Waiting patiently for your review of Longshot's new menu (e.g. Sambucca Shrimp)
ReplyDeleteI was there last Thursday and they said there was no new menu yet. That was the 2nd! Where did you, Mr. Anonymous, see the new menu? Are they hiding it from the local restaurant critics?
ReplyDelete