Schnitzel Platz — Restaurant in Glendale Heights

I visited Schnitzel Platz for the first time last night, and am writing this with mixed feelings.

Let me preface this by saying (1) I had a pleasant experience, and (2) I likely will visit again. I think I understand now, however, why Italians get so upset when they see a carbonara made with bacon instead of guanciale, or a dish listed as cacio e pepe but prepared with cream and parsley and peas and who knows what else.

I had been Jonesing for some schnitzel. My mom used to make it with homemade spaetzle when I was young (the slice-the-dough-off-the-cutting-board-and-into-the-boiling-water method). I sometimes make it too, and got pretty good at it.

I ordered the wiener schnitzel; what I received was a breaded veal cutlet —it even tasted pretty good—but it was not schnitzel as it lacked all the characteristics which (to me) differentiate schnitzel from any other breaded meat cutlet.

Perhaps I’m picking fly poop out of pepper, but after my first bite, I thought “La Casa de Milaneza“ would have been a more accurate name than “Schnitzel Platz.”

Please don’t misunderstand, it did taste good: I do like bistec milanese, after all; I also like tonkatsu, and I like chicken fried steak too, and veal parmesan for that matter, but they all differ from schnitzel.

First, the size: a properly prepared schnitzel is pounded flat to a uniform thickness that should NOT exceed 6mm or 1/4”—closer to 3-5mm or 1/8” to 3/16” is better in my opinion—which results in a giant but thin cutlet that takes up half your plate or more. What was on my plate measured about 4” x 7” or so, a sign it likely wasn’t thin enough..

Second, breading: it is traditionally made from finely ground dried bread (typically wheat rolls made with milk); the fineness of the grind and the type of bread results in a delicate coating that crisps nicely while still remaining tender.

The breading was made with breadcrumbs, but the texture was a little too coarse—more like cornmeal—resulting in crunchy where it should have been crispy.

Third, a proper schnitzel is prepared by pounding a cutlet thin and flat, patting it dry, seasoning it with salt and pepper, dredging it in plain flour, shaking off the excess, dredging it in egg seasoned with salt, pepper, and perhaps nutmeg, letting the excess egg drip off, dredging it well in finely ground breadcrumbs, and then dropping it gently into a heated pan with a very generous amount of oil—the cutlet should float.

It is very important that you shake the pan while cooking so the schnitzel is always swimming and never still—it should be moving in the oil throughout the entire cooking process.

This important step results in the single most defining characteristic of schnitzel: the breading tents like a pita pocket, lifting away from the meat, steaming the meat in it’s own juices, while making the batter tender on the inside while still crispy on the outside. Simply put, no tenting? Not schnitzel.

The breaded cutlet exhibited no tenting. In fact, I tried to separate the breading from the meat and I could not even cleanly cut it away; this suggested to me that what was on my plate could have been a pre-breaded cutlet that came out of a box and was dropped into a deep frier.

As to the rest of the meal, the cutlet was served with a tasty lingonberry sauce, spaetzle, and asparagus with hollandaise; pretty sure the spaetzle came from a box or a bag which was a missed opportunity as spaetzle only takes about 5 minutes to make from scratch, and dried pasta lacks the tenderness of fresh. The hollandaise was custard-thick and a bit grainy; mix from an envelope, maybe?

I had goulash soup—tasted pretty good, hint of bitterness though, perhaps the paprika got burned a touch (easy to do).

The highlight of the meal was the Heisse Wurst Platter appetizer, served with a very nice Düsseldorf mustard and some exceptional horseradish—I would come back just for that dish.

I also really enjoyed the live entertainment—Eddie from Chicago—he played a nice selection of waltzes and polkas on...

This was my first time there. So I came on the 2nd of Jan, which was a Thursday and it was an awful experience. My grandma had been there before a long time ago and said it was a good place. I got there shortly after 7 p.m., and they had a trivia going on. It was so loud that I had to yell across the table. I feel like this should be done in another room, or they shouldn't be serving food while this is going on. I guess trivia is Wednesday nights, but because they were closed New Year's Eve, they moved trivia night. It was very uncomfortable with silence, then a super loud voice. Nobody was talking, so I'm not sure why they had the speaker volume turned up so much. It's not like a bar where it's noisy and you have to talk over people for others to hear. It was an uncomfortable atmosphere. I told my grandma I wish I knew this was going on. She asked what difference it would make? I said I wouldn't have come. It's uncomfortable with no music complete silence, then a loud voice out of nowhere. I felt like I couldn't have a normal conversation, and I would have gone elsewhere.

It took us a few mins before someone even came to our table. Why he was standing around on his hand held without even acknowledging us, I'm not sure. He was in jeans and a sweatshirt like the hosts. Okay, not the same as reviews I read. He brought drinks and took our order. I got soup. He dropped it off, and I didn't see him for over 5 min. No salt and pepper are on the tables. So finally, I got up and asked the host for pepper. My loaded potato soup was salty, and I needed something to balance it out. Then our meal came. He disappeared, and we never saw him again. Now, out of 5-7 tables, we were the only ones eating. So where he went for 30 mins, I'm not sure. He never came back to check on us after he delivered my ketchup and gravy. Good thing we didn't need drink refills. The only time we saw him, he was passing us asking how we were. We asked for Togo boxes. He asked if we wanted dessert. I said we may not get anything, but I'll look. Never know what sounds good. Nothing tickled my fancy that I could make room for. They have hand helds. So he stood there and waited for me totip and sign. I HATE that. Then he tells me that I can skip the questions... mmmm, okay, so I don't let you know how my experience is? Okay, well, here is my Google review for everyone to see, not just the restaurant.. I was very disappointed. I just left Frankenmuth, Michigan. I could have had good German food in a Bavarian town... but since I was still in the town when I asked my grandma to go out to eat with me and I knew she wouldn't say no if I said a German restaurant, I figured I'll just eat German by her. So skipped eating out there. The food was all very salty. The noodles were salty, the fries were very salty, and I felt like they made food for my mother, not me. My mom never tries anything and throws a bottle of salt on all food. She would have loved this meal. The breaded chicken was very good! Cooked very well! Gravy tasted heavy of beer. I didn't like it. But plain chicken was still good. I rubbed the salt off the fries, and they tasted better. I threw pepper on the noodles to balance those out, but I just didn't eat those much. I did want asparagus. I asked if all sides were included, and his answer was yes. Then he says "Well the asparagus is more." Ohhh. I said, "See, that's why I asked." I asked what the uncharge was, and he said $3. My eyes went wide, and he says it's not in season. So overall experience with crappy service, salty food, and bad atmosphere, if I want German food I'll go elsewhere. My grandma said the burgers she got tasted like mush. And had a mix of meat. I'm not sure. The only thing that looked good to me was the pretzel buns. I didn't see lettuce that was supposed to come with them.. good luck to others that go here. 3 stars, not 2 is because my chicken was on point, and that was my entree. Otherwise, this...

Oktoberfest tent only review, man oh man, they need to figure it out, and fast.

My family's experience tonight:

Ordered two pretzels 5 mins after sitting down at 5:15. They took 45 mins to show up.

Waiter would not take our full dinner order, he kept saying he'll be right back, meanwhile watched him take at least 4 other tables orders, it was so bizaare. Finally after ~60 mins of waiting to place our order, i got up, cornered him, and made him come to our table. We only had 4 entrees off the very limited tent menu (should be faster, no?).

Must add, we treated everyone with respect and kindness the entire time, despite the terrible service.

We waited and waited for our food, talked to our waiter at least 2x asking for status. Luckily there was beer and live music (thank goodness we could order and pay a la carte in the tent)

Finally, after one hour of waiting for 4 entrees off the tent menu, we had enough, and just had to leave bc our young children needed to go to bed.

After deciding to leave, we tried to pay our pretzel tab for another 15 mins. The waiter couldn't figure out how to check us out. Meanwhile, i was so invested and hungry, I was hopeful that while trying to pay, our entrees would magically come out. 75 mins after ordering, they did not. Talking brats and schnitzel sammies here...

Finally the manager, who i actually felt bad for, admitted the waiter was having a "rough night", just comped the two pretzels and we left without eating dinner :(. It was 2:15 mins after originally sitting down.

Beyond disappointing. I'll probably go back for the beer and my 25 yr history with the place, but ill never get my wife / family in there ever again. It was a bummer all around.

Worst part, we had my mother-in-law in town from Oregon for 72 hrs and this is where we went for dinner on Saturday night.

2 stars from 1 star due to beer...