This week we moved from Africa to Europe and I chose Germany as the target country and Waldhorn Restaurant as the establishment.  This was a bit of a cheat as I have been here several times before but didn’t find any place else that really seemed to typify German cuisine.

Waldhorn is a large white building with foliage around the perimeter of the property to lend it some separation from the other businesses and the nearby James K Polk museum.  This particular Saturday they weren’t very busy but there was a meeting of some kind of Mercedes owners club so my Hyundai and a little Nissan were the only non-Mercedes in the parking lot that I could see.  I felt like I should have stopped at the car wash first just so my car would have at least been shiny.  Enough about that.

My impression of the interior of the restaurant is that it has 3 areas with different feels.  There is one section where they have windows on three sides and during the day it has a bright, airy feel to it.  The main part of the restaurant seems darker and heavier but in a good comfortable way.  Finally there is an upstairs area good for groups but not private as it is open to the rest of the restaurant.  It does get you up out of the traffic pattern though.

The staff was friendly and attentive and Paul and his trainee Ashley took good care of me while I was there.

Although Waldhorn was not new to me and I had tried their Jaegerschnitzel and my go to is usually the Schwaebische wurstplatte I had never tried the Wienerschnitzel so that was the choice for the day.  It came with spaetzle and red cabbage.  To accompany the meal I decided to go with a beer sampler to maximize the variety and still be able to drive home.  I tried the Spaten Premium Lager, Warsteiner Pilsner, Warsteiner Dunkel and the Spaten Oktoberfest.

The wienerschnitzel was thin and tender and cooked a perfect golden brown all the way around.  The spaetzle by itself could have used some more salt but along with a bite of the meat it worked.  The cabbage was a little sweet but complimented the rest of the meal.  Being a good southern boy I could have used a ladle full of that gravy but there was enough to enhance the schnitzel and spaetzle without drowning either.

Oh and the beer.  All four were decent but the Oktoberfest was far and away my favorite of the lot. Neither the pilsner or the lager really stood out.  The dunkel was bitter, in a good way.  That Oktoberfest though was nothing but smooth.

As I was eating I could overhear Paul schooling young Ashley on the finer points of being on staff and he described to her his favorite menu item and you could tell it was not just what he considered the most edible thing on the menu but that he truly liked this particular dish a lot.  That says something when your wait staff is enthusiastic about the food when they don’t have to be.

If you’re in the market for German and in the Charlotte area you won’t do better than Waldhorn.

Here’s a link to their website

http://www.waldhorn.us/

Next week I’m heading east to Asia.

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