It is...SO hard to find good chicken cordon bleu at a restaurant these days. That's why I happened by this place. I did a search for German restaurants in the area with the hopes of finding something closer to my house than North Mesa (seriously, it's like EVERYTHING is on North Mesa). What I came across was the German Pub; a quaint little corner spot on Viscount Boulevard.
To start off, this had to be the strangest and least comfortable bar I ever sat at. I remembering walking in wondering if I should really sit at the bar at all or just get a table. Since the place was ostensibly desolate due to it being a slow Sunday afternoon, I decided I'd look pretty ridiculous sitting at a table alone. I mean, I was literally their first customer of the day.
So I approach the bar, order my drink, and sat awkwardly on a bar stool that felt harder than granite and so low, I felt like a midget. The bar itself was high enough to give a guy a nosebleed. Although to be honest, that's the least of German Pub's problems.
I mentioned how I basically sought this place out specifically for a cordon bleu. The last time I had one that was better than the frozen ones sold at the market was at a place called "Tripp's" in North Carolina. Unfortunately, the cordon bleu I ate today was miles away from both that one AND the frozen DIY meals at the supermarket.
Okay. I did some research because I honestly wasn't sure. And it turns out that yes...deep frying cordon bleu is apparently a thing. Although I'm used to having mine baked, resulting in a light brown breaded coating on the outside. I dunno...chalk it up to personal preference. Well, when I got this one, I could tell immediately that it was scorched. It looked like a sacrifice to the German Gods. Not only that, but I could also tell it was left in the deep fryer far too long.
Still, I really wanted to like this dish. So I gave it a chance thinking, "hey, maybe if I get passed the outer crust and closer to the cheesy filling, it will get better".
Right! Cutting through the outside of this thing was like trying to cut through tree bark with a butter knife. I had to ask the bartender for a steak knife, which helped. Sorta. The inside of the chicken didn't look like how I'm used to seeing other cordon bleus. It...it looked dreadful, you guys. But perhaps that's only because this one was deep fried. Surprisingly, the chicken was tender and juicy. Or maybe that was just grease...I'm not sure. But I'll tell ya...this portion of chicken was HUGE! These guys seriously need to get a grip on portion control, at least with this dish. Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but this chicken was big enough to cover half of Texas! I'd say a good...12 ounces minimum. Needless to say, I ended up leaving a third of it on my plate.
Now...my experience wasn't ALL bad. The fries were awesome and the bartender was super nice and attentive! I made sure to leave her a nice tip because I could tell she was really trying. Unfortunately, I have no idea if the chef was trying or not because, to me, deep frying a cordon bleu seems...lazy. Again, maybe it's just a personal preference. But I'm used to gently finishing off my chicken in the oven.
Overall: I'm giving this German Pub 2 scorched chickens out of 5. And that's mainly because this place's redemption via the attentive, cordial bartender and the perfectly cooked fries. Oh, and the wine was nice, too!
But the cordon bleu looked and tasted burnt beyond recognition, with the inside tasting borderline bland. I didn't want to send anything back because I really, really wanted to like this dish and give it a chance. That will be the last time I ever order that particular dish here.
In all honesty, I *might* consider coming back for a lunch one day (if I happen to be in the area) to try the fish n' chips. Only now I'm scared they might burn the fish, too. What a shame. read more