JULY 3, 1991
“Welcome to Inge’s Bavarian Cuisine,” says the sign out front. Beneath the sign, there are red and white flowers. Above the sign, pink plastic pennants flutter in the breeze.
Grand Forks now has a restaurant with a German accent, so we paid it a visit last week. The building is familiar. It was originally a Country Kitchen, located in the center of a clump of motels in the northwestern corner of the city. It has had a succession of different owners. The latest are Inge and Casper Bartizal. And they hope to make a go of it by specializing in German fare.
It was fairly quiet inside at 6 P.M., June 24, except for the German music that was playing softly. The restaurant is clean. It has lace valances with pink hearts on the windows. There are shiny pink place mats on the tables and dainty baskets of flowers on the walls. A black, red and yellow German flag and the U.S. flag greet you.
The menu is short and sweet and to the point. Since we wanted to try the German food, Constant Companion ordered wiener schnitzel for $7. I ordered a schnitzel sandwich for $3.50 and a cup of pancake soup, 75 cents.
Unfortunately, our waitress didn’t tell us about the daily specials, which are printed on a separate sheet. We didn’t know about them and we failed to notice the chalkboard announcement on our way in, so we were limited in choice.
My soup was interesting, although it was too salty. The pancake slices were good and not at all soggy from sitting in the soup. Our schnitzels turned out to be breaded and deep-fried pork. With his meal, CC had a salad, which was so-so. And he had German potato salad. The servings were large—more than we could eat.
There is a dainty dessert menu showing Black Forest and Bavarian cheese tortes, strawberry tarts and two other items our waitress couldn’t identify. The desserts range in price from $1.50 to $2.
Later, Inge told me that she and her husband have put all the money they could scrape up into the restaurant. They are determined to succeed, even though the credit rating has slipped with a series of changes in ownership. She says they have to pay their bills for supplies as they go. But since opening May 22, she is encouraged. So encouraged, in fact that she has given up her job at Simplot in order to give her full attention to the restaurant. Her husband, Casper Bartizal, retired from the Air Force, is working for Grand Forks Security Services.
The couple met when he was in Europe with the Air Force. She was born in Portland, but had been living in Bavaria. She worked in the food business in Europe and completed courses in restaurant management there. She has been in this area for the past 10 years and formerly was employed in the bowling lanes at Grand Forks Air Force Base.
Inge is proud of the German pancakes she serves in the morning and the spaetzle noodles she makes daily. She says she works with fresh meats from local suppliers.
Inge’s Bavarian Cuisine no longer operates in Grand Forks.