Dining Out, Dinner, Lunch, Manhattan, Revisited, Update, Upper East Side, YorkvilleKerry Alaric CheeseboroSeptember 22, 2012au jus, bar, Bavarian, beer garden, cabbage, cheese, cheesy, communal seating, crispy, Dining Out, Dinner, duck, dumpling, German, Germantown, Heidelberg, Lunch, Old Germantown, Outdoor Seating, pork, potato, raisins, red, revisited, roast, sauerkraut, shank, skin, spatzle, UpdateComment

Bold Germantown

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AS I'VE BEEN GIDDILLY WRITING the Upper East Side is experiencing one heck of a culinary renaissance. The neighborhood, for almost the last two full decades, had become so homogenous that most local diners became disillusioned by the lack of dinner choices, and restaurants stopped caring enough to do something new, bold, or even pride-worthy with their menus.

And so it become a great concern of me and my fellow denizens when Yorkville staple and Old Germantown institution, Heidelberg Restaurant, temporarily shuttered their doors, alerting the wistful of only a vague "re-opening" date, often a "code" of sorts—in this neighborhood of overbearing subway construction—of a business impending demise.

But, hallelujah, no such fate will befall Heidelberg anytime soon, as they did a bit retooling, staying true aesthetically to its German and Bavarian roots, while re-appropriating itself ideologically for our increasingly 21st century zip code. So the lattice woodwork has been removed from the ceilings to add space to the interior while better featuring some definitely old school art work, and new sturdy wood-topped tables have replaced the linen-covered ones of old to give the room a modern "beer hall" feel.

Heidelberg

And, as always, it's eternal Oktober at the bar, with the best of German beers and spirits, and an atmosphere with matching uniforms that is neither kitschy or ironic, nor feels dated.

Heidelberg

But draw for nearly 90 years has always been the authentic German fare on the menu, with it's many brats, wursts, and schnitzels, as well as slightly more eclectically traditional dinner plates such as the leberkase and weiner a la Holstein I thoroughly enjoyed on a previous visit. Now, with my very good friend Dieter—whose family has owned the place the entire time—taking full charge in the kitchen, superlatively yummy dishes are flying out of the kitchen, such as the Bavarian classic schweineshaxe (a slow-roasted pork shank served with sauerkraut and boiled potato), a comfortably homey cheesy spätzle skillet, and, newest to the menu, a roasted half duck served with raisins and in its own jus.

Roast Duck

Cheesy Spätzle

Bavarian-Style Pork Shank

Plates

Excellent dishes all, with the aurally crispy pork shank skin giving way to tender and juicy pork, flavored by the long rendering of its inherently melt-in-your-mouth fat, an aromatic and deceptively light casserole of house-made and al dent spätzle mixed with gooey, flavorful cheeses, and a likewise crispy-skinned roast duck half, decadently tasty, with its jus expertly reduced to a viscosity that makes it cling lovingly to the duck meat with each forkful.

Even my new, young PHUDE apprentice, Mike—who was trying these dishes for the first time—was extremely impressed with boldness and delicacies of these dishes. The portions are so huge, too, that even after sampling them ourselves—and offering tasting plates for my friends Karl and Jill from The Seahorse Tavern around the corner, and new friends, Debbie and Laura, who we met this day at the bar—we still had plenty left to pack a takeout container for Mike to bring to his dad.

To-go plate

Heidelberg easily and quickly starts to fill up, as long-term and new neighborhoodies develop a steadfast love for one of the very last vestiges of Old Germantown, and are only happy to continue to patronage the place to keep it around for another three generations. You should do so as well. Debbie and Laura promised they would.... =)

Debbie & Laura

Bun Apple Tea!

KAC

Kerry Alaric Cheeseboro