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!
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