Monday, May 25, 2009

Rohmer's German Restaurant ~ Muenster, Texas


Latest visit: May 2009

First visit: Aug 2007

If there's a food type that the RJG thinks should be more popular it's German food. Wandering throughout Central Europe in the late 80's and early 90's, the RJG was constantly gorging on the multitude of sausages from the various street vendors, as well as devouring variations on the wienerschnitzel theme at the restaurants. With beer and fries of course. All within the backpackers budget. Yet here in America, German food seems verboten - perhaps a long lasting ban from the WW II nightmare. Personally I think German food is an untapped market. Same with low cost / Brasserie style French food. Any multi-millionaire restaurant veterans out there that want to help me prove my theory?

Here in the DFW area, German food options are slim. We love Kuby's near SMU, a place we are certain to write about eventually. There are others of course, including the cornball institution Edelweiss in Ft. Worth - the very embodiment of why German probably isn't more popular.

Which leads us to hit the trail in search of German food. Of course the natural thing to do is head south, and visit the beautiful Hill Country and its long established German tradition, especially in places like Fredericksburg. But that would be too easy. How about somewhere north towards Oklahoma? (incidentally Mr. Music recently informed us that there are lots of German settlements in southern Oklahoma). Muenster is the last reminder of a large Catholic German migration in Northern Texas. And the town, despite being just a wide place in the road, has maintained its German character. Especially during festival time in late April. Life revolves around the beautiful Catholic church in the center of town.

It's only a little over an hour drive from NE Tarrant, so the wife and I are making a point to visit more often (we've only been twice). To date, we've only tried Rohmer's, which impressed us enough on our debut visit to try it again. THIS is the way wienerschnitzel is to be made. Crispy and lightly seasoned. If a restaurant is dumping a heavy sweet gravy on top, they are ruining a perfectly good dish. I also like that you can get chicken (hochen) schnitzel as an alternative to pork. Pan fried potatoes - yum. And of course, the sausages are wonderful - guessing they come from the local German grocer. Oh, and a good German Paulaner to wash it down with.

The outside has a German look, but the inside feels more like an American Coffee shop. And if you look around, the place clearly doubles as both a German restaurant and a local gathering spot to get coffee, eggs and bacon. They also have Mexican food. Oh, and we love the ancient 1960s era sign outside.

Muenster is about 10 minutes west of Gainesville on Hwy 82.

On the way back, consider driving the pretty backroads, and making a stop at the Weinhof Winery in Forestburg (FM 455). Go west on Hwy 82 from Muenster to Saint Jo (an interesting little place itself with a winery north of town as well) and take FM 677 south.

8/04/07; 5/25/09 (new entry); 1/29/23 verified

6 comments:

bourgon said...

FYI, RJG: There's a place on 820 & Campus called Bavarian Bakery & Cafe. Good German food: no polka, but a great schnitzel w/spetzel.

RJG said...

Sweet - I'll have to check it our when we return to the DFW area in the Fall. Thanks Michael for your comments!

Ellen "EJ" Sackett said...

Hi RJG, Thanks for stopping by G ood Taste Buds! IMO, Smashburger will make its way to your neck of the woods before long, so you won't have to trek to Dallas. BTW, were you aware that I quoted you in my review of Rohmer's? Hey, you were the guy who helped me get there in the first place. So here's a hearty thanks. You are an inspiration. Maybe someday my blog will catch up with your blog! :-) ej

RJG said...

Thanks EJ for your very nice comments!

Anonymous said...

I live near Denton, TX. Is Gerhardt's any good?

RJG said...

A long time ago, we visited (and blogged about - the review should be here somewhere) their original location in Roanoke. We liked it at that time. I haven't been to Gerhard's since they moved to Denton. Hope that helps!

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