August 2008

Helga's
It seems that every third time we do this, someone suggests Helga's, but we've never gone. I finally gave into the inevitable and in August we went. I mean, they do have the largest beer selection in the state of Colorado (though I opted for a diet cola). And the fact that it took the place of a Chili's, that bastian for suburban epicures, helped to raise it in my estimation.
It seemed to be, from the beginning, an interesting night. We took the evening in stages. I was on track to get there a couple minutes early, but ended up being late. And was still the first person there. When I requested a table for eight, the hostess looked at me funny. I assured her that more people were coming, then settled down to read a couple pages of my novel. That was 7:08.
At 7:17 Desiree came in. Our very attentive waiter took our order. I got a sampler platter, with weiner schnitzel, jager schnitzel and bratwurst. The menu has handy dandy suggested sides, but I decided to fly solo and got sauerkraut and potato dumplings. Desiree got the chicken schnitzel with fried potato dumplings. We were just tucking into our creamy, cheesy (if a little cold) potato soup starter when Carolyn came in (about 7:35)
Sauerkraut is not meant to be eaten in large bites. Wow! The scnitzel was really good. I have a bias against weiner schnitzel because I always thought it was just fancy chicken fried steak. I find chicken friend steak unnatural. But this was really good. The breading had a delicate crumb and a subtle flavor. The jager schnitzel was like the weiner, only not breaded but covered in brown gravy. The sauerkraut was actually really good, in little doses with a nice chunk of bratwurst.
At 7:50 or so, Megan arrived. The wait staff was in a bit of a tizzy at the moment. They didn't know quite what to do with each new addition. The assistant manager came over and helped Megan settle on the Rouladon "Pfalzicher Art", which is a thin slice of beef wrapped around onions, pickle and bacon. Fortunately for me, Megan couldn't finish the whole thing and let me have her leftovers to take home.
Then Carol huffed in, straight from the gym, at 8:10. I was liking my plat clean by the time she got her order, which was a duplicate of mine and Carolyn's, except she got noodles.
It is, to say the least, a heavy meal. The Germans are a robust people, and cheerfull for a reason. It might be the beer, but the food certainly helps. I had the forthought to divide my meal in half, so that I would have room for dessert. Megan and I shared the apple struesel cheesecake, while Desiree and I shared the layer cream cake. Carol sweet talked the waiter into bringing her a dish of vanilla ice cream on the house.
Probably better suited for a beer drinking crowd or a cold winter evening, Helga's was rib sticking and heavy. The wait staff was on top of it, which I like, and even better, there's a deli attached to the restaurant. So you can drop in and get a half pound of your favoite German deli meat whenever you want.