Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

J.J's Bierstube Steakhouse & Grill- Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Oakdale, Red Wing, and White Bear Lake, MN

Cuisine: American, German, Steaks
Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking

Locations: White Bear Lake, Oakdale, Inver Grove Heights, Hastings, Red Wing
Addresses & Maps:
White Bear Lake- 2670 E. County Road E,  White Bear Lake, MN 55110 651-773-5854
Oakdale-  7121 10th Street N. Oakdale, MN 55128 (651) 731-8381
Inver Grove Heights-  6434 Cahill Ave. Inver Grove Heights, MN (651) 451-8073
Hastings-  109 W. 11th St. Hastings, MN 55033 (651) 437-8259
Red Wing-  233 Withers Harbor Dr. Red Wing, MN 55066 (651) 385-8852

Link:  JJ Bierstube's Website

Atmosphere: The White Bear Lake restaurant is located at the far end of a large strip mall on the south side of the city of White Bear Lake.  The restaurant itself is one large open room, with wooden tables throughout and a bar along one side of the room.  I believe there are also a handful of booths along the wall opposite the bar which provide a little more privacy than the other tables.

Menu:  Appetizers include Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Ber Battered Onion Rings, Garlic Toast, Breaded Mushrooms or Cauliflower, Jalapeno Poppers, Breaded Cod Strips, Colossal Buffalo Shrimp, Chicken Drummies, Mozzarella Sticks, Reuben Bites, Brat Medallions, Mini Burgers, and Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites.
Sandwiches offered at the Bierstube include Filet Mignon, French Dip, Ham & Cheese, Pork Loin, Chicken Breast, Buffalo Chicken, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Turkey Club, Weiner Schnitzel, Cof Filet, Crispy Chicken, BLT , Deluxe Grilled Cheese, Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and the Reuben or Rachel.  There is also a selection of specialty burgers.

Authentic German Dishes include the Sauerbraten, Weiner Schnitzel, Schweine Haxen, German Meatballs, Bratwurst Platter, Gebratene Leber (Liver Steak), Jaeger Schnitzel or the Taste of Deutschland sampler platter.

Steaks include quality Sirloin, Angus Porterhouse, New York Strip, Rib Eye, Filet Mignon, as well as a small Hamburger Steak.  Baby Back Ribs are also a popular dinner feature.

Specials include: Half-priced Burgers on Monday, Surf & Turf on Saturday and Sunday is Family Day (Free soda to kids under 16 with purchase of burger or hot dog)

If you're still hungry after your meal, try the Hot Fudge Choclate Volcano Cake  or the Bavarian Rhubarb Pie (both served with Raspberry Sauce), Vanilla Ice Cream served a la carte.

Price guide: Appetizers $ 6-8 Sandwiches and Burgers $6-8.50 (does not include fries) German Dishes $10-18 Steaks $10-22
What I ordered: I am a big fan of Reuben Sandwiches so I decided to start with the Reuben Bites.  I thought they were interesting and tasty with the inside a cheesy mixture of Swiss, Corned Beef and Sauerkraut while the outside was breaded and crispy.  The inside actually reminded me of the Reuben Dip that you often encounter at Potlucks, but much warmer.  The crispy outside was a nice compliment to the inside and I liked that the Thousand Island was served on the side for dipping. I would get these again! Although they aren't exactly gourmet, I think it was a pretty tasty invention....I think I might need to try the Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites next!

 

My visit was on a Monday night, which happened to be half-price burger night! You can order any of the specialty burgers or build your own 50% off whatever you get.  I went with a 1/2 pounder with Swiss, bacon and fried onions.  Burgers and sandwiches do not come with fries, so I got a half-order of onion rings as well.  I was very pleased with the burger.  It had nice texture and rich flavor, without being too charred.  The bun was lightly buttered and grilled, which is always a thumb's up in my book.  I thought the onion rings were also good but at an extra $3.50 for the half-order, I could have done without them.

 

My companion ordered the Wiener Schnitzel, which are breaded pork cutlets.  It was served with German Potato Salad, Fresh Asparagus and Garlic Toast. 

Service: There weren't many guests dining in the restaurant on the evening my companions and I visited, so we had our choice of tables, etc.  The service was good considering we were practically the only ones there, but the server tended to leave us alone.
Overall Impression: I was actually pleasantly surprised at how large the menu was.  I had driven by this restaurant many times without stopping because I was under the false impression that the Bierstube was just a bar serving basic bar food.  It was much more than I expected.  The prices were good and the food was good too, especially the half-priced burgers!

Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter ~ Stillwater, MN

Cuisine: German/Bavarian

Restaurant Features: Bar, Live Music, On-Site Parking

Location: Stillwater, MN

Address: 8390 Lofton Avenue Stillwater, MN 55082 651-439-7128

Links: Google Map Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter

Atmosphere: The Gasthaus is a family-owned restaurant tucked away in the woods and rolling hills on private property in rural Stillwater. There is no mistaking this restaurant as anything other than traditional German/Bavarian. All staff wear traditional German attire and if you visit on a Sunday afternoon, you can listen to live accordian music. Inside you will find evidence of the Bavarian Hunter theme, complete with mounted antlered animals adorning the entry and antler-shaped chandeliers throughout the dining room and bar areas.

Menu: Appetizers: Bavarian Hors D'oeuvres Tray, Schnitzel Sampler, Sausage Sampler, Chicken Tenders, Veggie Plate, Smoked Liver Paté, Herring prepared a variety of ways, Bavarian Assorted Cheese Plate, Warmed Bri Cheese, and Fried Bread Dumplings.

Schnitzels: Wiener Schnitzel ("Vienna Style" golden brown breaded pork cutlets), Jagerschnitzel, Rahm Schnitzel, Schnitzel "A La Holstein", Puten Schnitzel, Rahm Puten Schnitzel (breaded chicken)

Pork: Schweinsbraten, Schweinshaxe, Bayerische Ripperl, and Bavarian Smoked Ribs

Fish: Walleye fillets

Beef: Rouladen, Sauerbraten, and Rostbraten.

Wurst/Sausages: Bratwurst, Knackwurst, Metwurst, and Weisswurst

Vegetarian: Veggie casserole

View full menu here.

Price Guide: Appetizers: $6-9 Entrees: $13-20

What I ordered: To start off, I tried the Manhattan Clam Chowder (soup of the day). Delicious mix of cooked veggies and tender pieces of clam in a pleasantly spicy red broth.

The Bavarian platter is the perfect dish if you would like to try a few of Gasthaus's specialties. Included are the Jager Schnitzel (breaded pork cutlet covered with mushroom sauce) Rahm Puten Schnitzel (breaded chicken breast covered with sour cream-based sauce), Knackworst (beef sausage with garlic seasoning) and potato dumplings. I thought the Jager schnitzel was very good- The dark mushroom sauce seemed somewhat upappealing to the eye, but had a very mild flavor that perfectly complimented the pork. I enjoyed the flavor of the knackworst and although it was boiled in the German way, I prefer my sausages cooked cripsy on the grill. The flavor of the potato dumpling was good, but I did not enjoy the texture. Next time I would order mashed potatoes or the spaetzel instead. The Rahm Puten schnitzel was my favorite. The sauce that covered the chicken was very mild and creamy, yet the chicken stayed somewhat crispy.

Other dishes enjoyed by my companions: Jagerschnitzel with spaetzel (mini potato dumplings). This was a HUGE hit!

Walleye dinner. Incredible! Even if you do not enjoy German cuisine, come just for the walleye!

Dessert: The dark chocolate cake was very rich and delicious, although the piece was incredibly slim for $4.50. The apple streusel cheesecake was incredible. Light and creamy cheesecake blended with apple pieces and drizzled with a butterscotch topping. German chocolate cake was good, but there was too much frosting and not enough cake. Two bites of ooey, gooey caramely-coconutty, and pecany frosting was enough for me!

Service: The weekends are very busy and reservations are recommended.  Staff were friendly and did a nice job of answering any questions my companions and I had.