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This archived review dates from 2007 or before. Use SEARCH above to find all recent reviews.
Where is it written that a four-star restaurant must sport formal white tablecloths and a pretentious manner? Certainly nowhere in the rules and bylaws of LouisvilleHotBytes.com. By long tradition that goes back to my days reviewing eateries for the late but still-lamented Louisville Times, I'm ready to bestow our maximum stellar status on anything from an outstanding ethnic eatery (Mai's Thai, Mayan Gypsy) to an exceptional barbecue joint (Vince Staten's). This rating - the equivalent of an "A" grade of 90 or above - indicates that a restaurant ranks among the best of its genre and just about guarantees its diners a memorable experience, with extra points for good value ... even if the eatery is as humble or down-home as, well, a quintessential Germantown saloon. Which brings us to the subject of today's report: Family-owned since 1952 (although the families changed hands with the turn of the millennium), Flabby's Schnitzelburg is a quintessential Germantown saloon. It earns my top rating (and a respectable 91 on our 100-point scale)
According to an account on Flabby's Website, the building long housed Heinz's, a neighborhood grocery store, until Jim "Flabby" Devine, a bricklayer by trade, opened his family restaurant there in 1952. Long named "Flabby Devine's" after the presumably adipose owner, it became Flabby's Schnitzelburg (with the slogan "Divine food" evoking the original owner's surname) with the new management. Flabby's is pretty much what you would expect of an urban saloon, with the possible distinction that it is extremely clean: The asphalt-tiled floors were buffed to a shiny glow and tables scrupulously wiped. The walls are simple maple paneling, all but covered with framed cartoons and newspaper clippings, sports memorabilia and a collection of beer signs, plus a replica of a historic American flag (the 15-star, 15-stripe model used briefly after Kentucky and Vermont joined the Union in 1792); a German "Willkommen" sign, a stuffed deer head (or maybe it's an elk) and, oddly, a row of empty beer bottles lined up on a shelf high on the wall. Ten traditional chrome-rimmed, green-topped bar stools line a simple bar furnished with a variety of taps and the requisite television, usually tuned to sports programming. The dining section includes about 10 undraped marble-look blue-gray tables and one large, round booth up front. There's no protected vestibule at the entrance, which can make for a drafty environment at tables near the door on blustery winter days. Typical of Germantown taverns, beer is served but no liquor, and food makes up a significant part of the business. Like its cultural equivalent in Milwaukee or maybe Portland, Oregon, it's casual but not at all rowdy, the kind of place where a family can bring the kids for dinner ... as long as the family doesn't object to beer being around for consenting adults. The fare is thoroughly Germanic (or old-fashioned Louisville Germanic, anyway), and very well-made. If you want to go the full German route, check the Hammalie Hahner's Traditional German Dinners, your choice of Hunter Schnitzel, Senfschnitzel, Holztein or Deutsche Wurste (all $10.95), which come with your choice of appetizer (such authentic goodies as Limburger and Braunschweiger or herring toast), main course, dise dish, potato pancakes, red cabbage, bread and butter, and bring you a tremendous amount of food for your dining dollar. There's a large selection of more casual fare, including "warm-up" appetizers ($1 for an "Austern" oyster "shooter" to $6.50 for an oyster cocktail or shrimp cocktail or oyster stew), sandwiches ($2.25 for Bratwurst topped with kraut to $5.25 for a pork schnitzel sandwich), signature dishes (from $2.59 for a Mazzoni's rolled oyster to $7.95 for a pan-fried oyster platter), and daily lunch specials such as Chicken'n'dumplings ($2.25 on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and chicken livers and fries (all you can eat, $3.25 for lunch on Wednesdays). We came for lunch and returned another day for dinner and were consistently impressed: This is not light fare, and much of it is fried, but it is consistently prepared with professionalism and care, and generous portions make it hard to beat for value. Chicken livers ($4.95 for a gigantic portion) were as light, if you can imagine it, as heavily breaded and crisply fried chicken livers can be. The pork schnitzel sandwich ($5.25) consisted of an oversize, thin slice of tender boneless pork, lightly breaded and perfectly fried, crisp and grease-free, dressed with lettuce and tomato and just a schmear of mayo, served on a sesame-seeded hamburger bun that's about as good as a commercial white burger bun can be. It was so large that it was hard to eat, but so good that it was worth the effort. A side order of German potato salad was fine, long-simmered and tender red-skinned potatoes and lots of scallions gently tossed in a creamy, sweet-sour bacon dressing. Cucumber and onion salad was right on target, too, prettily trimmed cucumbers with some of the green cut off and thick-sliced to reveal an attractive green-and-white design, with thin-sliced sweet white onion, all marinated in sweetened white vinegar just long enough to approach the line between cucumber and pickle. Long-simmered kale was tender and flavorful. It was so good that we had to go back on a Saturday night to check out the evening scene and, more important, the famous Flabby's fried chicken that's available only after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays (and from 4 p.m. Sundays during football season only). Too tempted to share, we both ordered fried chicken ($4.50) and got half of a good-size bird each, encased in a crisp, rather thin dark-brown breading that cloaked a steaming, tender and juicy interior. In a city with a number of fried chicken champions (not least the sadly departed Chick Inn), it's not easy to call a specific dish "best in town," but Flabby's fried chicken is certainly a contender. It comes in a green plastic basket with two pieces of store-bought bread and a tub of ersatz butter, plus your choice of two sides. The French fries were pleasant if unexceptional. A side of broccoli proved to be a whole "tree," simply steamed to a healthy crisp bright green and unadorned with either salt or butter (although I'm sure both would be available on request). Mashed potatoes were standard issue, served with a clear brown gravy that appeared to be beef gravy. It was passable, but homemade chicken gravy would have been perfect. The cucumber salad was just as good as it was the first time, which is why I ordered it again. Flabby's accepts cash and checks only, no credit cards. Both our meals were in the range of $20 for two, with strong and fresh iced tea for lunch, cold beers (BBC Nut Brown Ale and a German lager) for dinner, plus a couple of bucks for the tip jar. (Service is friendly but minimal, order and pay at the counter, jump up and grab your dinner when they call your name.) $ (December 2003) ACCESSIBILITY: Four or five steps at both entrances render Flabby's completely inaccessible to wheelchair users.
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