Datebook Diner: Hessen Haus

Inside Hessen Haus. (Credit: Register file photo)

Hessen Haus has always served up a rollicking good time, but in the midst of the glass-booted drinking games, the polka bands and the froth-topped steins of beer, it was usually possible to get some reliably good German and American food. On a recent visit, however, the focus seemed more on serving up a good time, and less on serving up good food.

Atmosphere: On a pleasant summer night, I went to Hessen Haus hoping to report favorably on its patio; sadly, the hot sun bore down ceaselessly on most tables. Surely a crew that can fashion an admirably true-to-Deutchland beer hall out of a defunct Midwestern train station can rig up an umbrella system that successfully shades an outdoor deck. We settled on dining inside, where the quintessential beer-hall atmosphere remains jovially intact.

Menu: German fare, such as Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten and Kassler Ripschen (smoked pork chops) shares the menu with American bar food, some of which is tweaked with German touches - the Bavarian nachos, for instance, come with Muenster cheese and chopped brats.

The menu also features Cajun and Creole items from the former Buzzard Billy's restaurant, which closed after last year's floods.

The food: For sheer bar-food satisfaction, complete with a clever German-American angle, go for the Hunter's Pizza, with its creamy, spicy Alfredo sauce, wild boar sausage, thin-sliced mushrooms and judicious sheen of cheeses atop a cracker-esque crust.

The Kassler Ripschen, juicy smoked pork chops with a raisin sauce, won best of show in the German category. Better veal might have saved an otherwise well-prepared Wiener Schnitzel; this one's gaminess made us wonder if the cut were a day or two past its prime. Dried-out meat made the Rind Rouladen - beef wrapped around a pickle - less than memorable.

The Buzzard Billy's fare proved equally hit-or-miss. An expertly spiced Jamaican jerk chicken salad pleased the diner who ordered it, though the blackened catfish dinner brought two overly soft, overcooked filets and a one-dimensional burn to its Cajun-style coating.

Bottom line: Could it be that a Cajun/Creole and a German/American menu may be too much for one kitchen to handle?

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