Biergarten Lunch Review 6/4/05

[MandaBella]

Restaurant: Biergarten
Where: German Pavilion in Epcot
Meal: Lunch Buffet
When: Saturday, June 4, 2005
Menu: http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_ger.htm
Who: Flutter, Stitch, DH, myself, and 5 others from the RADP/DIS universe

We ended up here because we were trying to find a location that could seat approximately 10 people at one table. There were about 9 of us at this meal. Tracy, April, myself, DH, and some others from DIS/RADP. I had a great time meeting everyone and enjoyed the lunch. If you go in small groups, you will be seated with other groups. It’s similar seating style to that of Teppanyaki. We ate dinner here back on our honeymoon, so we were familiar with this place. The dinner is slightly better because it features the sauerbraten.

After seating us, the waitress took our drink orders. I’m just going to say it now. Our waitress wasn’t that good. I don’t know if she was confused or didn’t speak English well or what. She screwed up April’s bill, so the four of us were stuck waiting to get it rectified. AND…despite the separate checks, we all got the “parties of 8 or more will have 15% gratuity added” to the bill. Grrr… Would that have happened if we didn’t have a PS and just randomly met up and sat at the same table?

Onto the food portion of the meal! This is one of the few buffets DH and I like. Yep, even with all the pork products used in German fare…we still liked it. I particularly enjoyed the pretzel bread. Heh…I ate pretzel bread in the WS 2 days ago, and here I was enjoying it again. I noticed they had spaetzle on the buffet, so I grabbed some. Spaetzle is basically a dumpling made by running the dough through a colander. It reminds me of a dish my maternal grandmother would make. Can you ever go wrong with carbohydrates? Also on the buffet is chicken schnitzel. That is basically a seasoned with breading chicken cutlet. You can put gravy/sauce on it. I think I did, but I don’t remember what it was. It was good. And then there is the dessert portion….Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce…think about it, it’s good isn’t it? Oh yeah, you hear about this dessert. It really is quite tasty, the best on the buffet. It tried some of the sausages, but I’m not really a sausage fan. :::Amanda’s grandfather quickly rolls over in his grave::: He did own his own meat shop you know; and sausage (Italian) was one of his specialties.

I enjoyed the entertainment. I suspect I was one of the few at our table into it. I like the corny Oktoberfest atmosphere, music, dancing, etc. See, I really do have German genes in me somewhere. I almost contemplated getting up and doing the Chicken Dance. Tracy and I were sorta doing it at the table. The kid sitting with us probably thought we were crazy. Tracy just figured she hadn’t been to many weddings yet. I also started singing along to “Edelweiss….Edelweiss….each morning you greet me. Small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me.” Oh and ZIGGY SOCKY ZIGGY SOCKY…HOI HOI HOI! :::down your drink::: The crowd didn’t seem to be into it. It’s more fun when the entire room is into it, but I still enjoyed the entertainment. We’ll be returning here eventually, but for dinner since it features the sauerbraten. You like beef? Try the sauerbraten.

COMNG NEXT: Well this concludes this trip's Adventures in Dining, but look for the next trip's reviews.

[Stitch]

Not only did she mess up my bill, she put a lemon in my coke *yuck* (all the coke drinkers had diet, I was the only regular). Diet coke gets the lemon, not regular...so when she handed it to me I had to do the whole "are you sure this is regular? I can not have diet." She said it was and she put the lemon in it to tell them about. I didn't have a recation, so I guess it was fine. Got to remember to say no lemon next time.

About the meal...good mac & cheese, rice, and pretzel bread. Couldn't tell you about any of the other items.

[Goofygirl]

Okay Miss Adventurous Eater 2005........how come you were not adventurous at this restuarant. You used to live in Germany and eat some of that food. You were young so maybe you don't remember!

[MandaBella]

And really....the spaetzle and schnitzel is not that exotic here. It's just dumplings and breaded chicken, respectively.

And you are right about the lemon in the coke April. Most places, both inside and outside of Disney, typically put the lemon in the Diet Coke to differentiate...and to make that awful soda more palatable.

[Stitch]

One really great thing about this meal was the company! And the mac & cheese...and trust me, I know mac & cheese!