Photo by Kevin Miyazaki
It’s something akin to Bilbo Baggins’ “There and Back Again” story for Milwaukee-born Thomas Hauck. He attended culinary school in Hyde Park, New York. From there, it was on to France; thence to Michel Richard’s famous Citronelle restaurant in Washington, D.C., where he steadily moved up the professional-promotional ladder. In 2011, he returned to his hometown and opened c.1880. As the new chef and owner of Milwaukee’s 112-year-old Karl Ratzsch, Hauck will presumably (and hopefully) be sticking to his roots for some time to come.
Speaking of roots, one of the first things Hauck decided upon was to return the landmark restaurant to its German heritage. In recent decades, Ratzsch’s seemed to have lost sight of its legendary past—adding more and more Continental and American cuisine to its menu; an experimental formula that didn’t last. But that’s all changed. The new Karl Ratzsch menu is echte Deutsch, to the degree that it’s printed in English on one side and German on the other, and every menu item—from snacks to main courses to desserts—could have appeared on a Ratzsch menu a century ago.
You know you’re in a German restaurant when the beer list exceeds the wine list in length and breadth, but even so, the latter has plenty to offer—glasses or bottles of whites and reds, both domestic and imported. The beer list is divvied up into wheat, pale and dark and you also have some fruity ciders and ales from which to choose. In addition to the usual appetizer and main course options, the menu offers “Snacks for the Table” such as herring in sour cream on rye ($6), herbed lard and pork cracklings on pumpernickel ($6), pretzels, salami, Braunschweiger and so forth. There’s also a separate list of side dishes to complement your meal; these include stewed apples, spätzle and sauerkraut. On our recent visit, my partner and I opted for potato salad and potato pancakes (the latter tongue-twistingly called Kartoffelpfannküchen on the German side of the menu). Sides are available in small ($4) or large ($8) portions.
The overall menu bespeaks the great variety that constitutes German cooking; this may surprise some, but the offerings include everything from the anticipated sausage, pork and beef dishes to mussels, shrimp, salmon, goose and duck. We chose to share an appetizer of smoked salmon with sour cream and paddlefish roe over potato pancakes ($9), which was tender and flavorful—such a variety of textures and tastes all at once creating a delicious whole. My partner opted for a main dish of gulf shrimp ($25). The shrimp were large, nicely seasoned and served atop a rich spätzle with dill and zucchini. I went for an old favorite, Wienerschnitzel ($21)—three breaded slices of veal heaven seasoned lightly with parsley and a lemon wedge. Along with this was a side of warm, smooth, bacony red cabbage.
The new Karl Ratzsch restaurant has also been tastefully remodeled. The white interior walls are attractively offset by darkly varnished wood throughout, including some lovely carvings; much more chalet than hunting lodge or beer hall. Traditional German beer steins bedeck the place but in tasteful profusion. Just interested in a cold Weißbier? Ratzsch’s has a full bar.
This is a comforting place for great comfort food; the menu, with its plethora of choices, is surely its greatest strength and the main reason to come to Karl Ratzsch. One look at it tells you you’re in the right spot for good, hearty, flavorful German dining.
Karl Ratzsch
320 E. Mason St.
414-276-2720
$$$
FB, RS
Handicapped access: Yes
