The Bavarian Chef

[bavarianchef]

We love your "Guestimonials"!

What a pleasure it was this morning to hear from Katherine Quann about her visit to the Bavarian Chef! She wrote:

"I posted wonderful yummy pics of our visit to The Bavarian Chef on my fb page...We had a wonderful visit and will definitely be visiting again soon! Thanks for the amazing hospitality!"

Thank you, Katherine, for sharing your photos and kind comments. It was an honor to be part of your special evening out!

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[bavarianchef]

Lebkuchen is a traditional German baked Christmas treat, somewhat resembling gingerbread. Lebkuchen can be rectangular or round. Our recipe calls for Oblaten (wafers) on the bottom that will give them a rounded shape. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon anise seed

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted (and a few extra untoasted for decorating)

1/3 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted

1/3 cup diced candied orange peel

1/3 cup diced candied lemon peel

3 oz almond paste, crumbled into small pieces

1/3 cup apricot jam

3 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

18 Oblaten

Directions

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and spices.

In a food processor, pulse almonds and hazelnuts until finely chopped. Add candied fruit peels and pulse until finely chopped.

Add almond paste to nut and fruit mixture and combine. Then add jam. Add eggs and brown sugar. Add flour mixture. Once mixture is dough-like, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place Oblaten on a baking sheet and drop approximately 1/4 cup of dough on each. Spread dough to the edges of the Oblaten keeping a slightly higher center. Place almonds close together on top of each cookie. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Whisk confectioner's sugar and milk, and brush over cooled cookies. Let stand until set. 

[bavarianchef]

Food Truck Fun - Fredericksburg Christmas Parade 2013

Yesterday we made our food truck debut at the Fredericksburg Christmas Parade. What a fun and festive event! We set up at the corner of Caroline and Lafayette, so we got to see the floats line up for the procession.

Santa's Little helpers were on board to spread cheer and serve up Christmas cocoa, along with some other tasty treats!

We were delighted to serve our very first guest!

We hope to be seeing you around town very soon! 

[bavarianchef]

We are open 11:30am - 6pm on Thanksgiving Day! Please call for reservations: [phone] in Madison and [phone] in Fredericksburg.

[bavarianchef]

Oktoberfest 2013

Saturday, September 28, is our annual Oktoberfest celebration at The Bavarian Chef Fredericksburg. Come raise your stein, savor tasty Oktoberfest fare, and enjoy some wunderbar entertainment!

The Biergarten opens at 11:30am, rain or shine, and our celebration kicks off at noon. Between 12pm and 4pm, we'll have special performances by the Spotsylvania Alpentänzer folk dance group from Courtland High School and the UVA Horn Ensemble. There will also be children's activities between noon and 3pm, courtesy of the Spotsylvania Alpentänzer. Accordionist Karl Willuhn will play from 4pm to 8pm. Please join us for a fantastic day of food, music and fun!

For more information, please call [phone]. Prost and guten Appetit!

[bavarianchef]

Weekday "Prix Fixe Before Six" August Menu

  2 courses for $22

(or 3 for $29)

Weekdays before 6pm

August Menu

  This month’s prix fixe before six menu features the fresh and flavorful tastes of summer   BBQ “Kleinehaxen” Tomaten Salat ~ Reuben Schnitzel Schwäbischer Rostbraten Chicken am Spiess ~ Peach Strudel Black Forest Brownie For reservations in Madison, please call [phone] For reservations in Fredericksburg, please call [phone]

Guten Appetit!  

[bavarianchef]

Family Table Restaurant Week

August 3 - 11, 2013

Prix fixe menu

2 courses for $20

Select one entrée and one appetizer or dessert from the courses below

      Vorspeisen & Suppen

Salat Trio

A tasty sampler of Kartoffelsalat, Blattsalat & Krautsalat

Creamy Red Pepper Soup

Our signature soup topped w/ lump crabmeat

Currywurst

Bratwurst w/ tomato curry sauce over potato pancakes

Oompah Shrimp

Sweet & spicy lager-battered shrimp over greens

  Hauptspeisen

Bavarian Sausage Platter

Weisswurst (veal), Bauernwurst (beef) and Bratwurst (pork) over homemade sauerkraut

Tafelspitz

Tender beef tri-tip w/ celery root, parsnip and carrot juliennes over Bavarian bread dumplings

Alpine Schnitzel

Pan-fried pork schnitzel topped w/ sautéed mushrooms, bacon & Emmantal cheese over chive cream sauce

Mahi am Spiess

Skewered, blackened mahi w/ fresh summer vegetables over rice pilaf

  Nachspeisen

Apfelstrudel

Granny Smith apples, almonds & golden raisins in pastry, topped w/ homemade vanilla crème

Bavarian Nutball

Vanilla ice cream rolled in toasted nuts & coconut, set into chocolate sauce

Peaches & Cream Cheesecake

Our special house cheesecake with rich vanilla ice cream baked into the batter, topped with fresh peach coulis

  Choose 2 family-style side dishes to accompany your entrée:

Red cabbage, spaetzle, glazed carrots, creamed corn, string beans, whipped potatoes, potato dumplings or zucchini

  For reservations, please call 540-656-2101

[bavarianchef]

Happy Anniversary Bavarian Chef

Last month we celebrated 39 years in our Madison location, and today is Fredericksburg’s third anniversary!

Before the thought of opening another Bavarian Chef restaurant was even a twinkle in our eye, a friend brought us to downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia, for a visit. We were charmed by the Old Town and its rich history. Then we saw the historic train station building and promptly fell in love with it! With a setting reminiscent of the many lovely bahnhof restaurants in Germany, we could immediately picture it—hearty meals, clinking mugs, and smiling faces set to a soundtrack of Oompah music and the occasional rumble of a passing train.

If you are ever in the area, we invite you to join us! From Schnitzel to Spätzle and beer to Bratwurst, we dish up all your traditional German favorites. We also have fresh seafood and steaks, and all our desserts are homemade.

Before or after your meal, you’ll find there are lots of interesting things to do. In Fredericksburg, we highly recommend taking a trolley tour for an entertaining and informative tour of the historic downtown district. There are lots of fun shops and museums, too. For an idea of where to go and what to see, visit the Fredericksburg tourism website. In Madison, you can hike Old Rag or take a ride up Skyline Drive. Visit the Madison County Chamber of Commerce website for a full list of outdoor activities and special events.

We hope to see you soon!

Click here to take a tour inside our Fredericksburg location.

Click here to take a tour inside our Madison location.

[bavarianchef]

Tanz in den Mai!

A few weeks ago when we were at the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, the air had a cold bite to it and the sky was gray. Standing at the foot of the huge Maypole, I couldn’t help but think ahead to what it would be like on May Day. I gather from an expat blogger that as of today, the sky was still gray! Nonetheless, there must be excitement in the air tonight as new Maibäume across Bavaria are safeguarded until their big debut at tomorrow’s festivities. The typical celebration has far more on tap than just Bier. Oompah music, dancing, great food and perhaps even some Maibaumkraxeln (maypole climbing) are in order! 

Here are a few fun links to explore if you want to learn more about this fun holiday:

http://www.thesojournseries.com/bavaria/?p=1787 (a great blog to read if you like all things Bavarian)

http://www.enduringwanderlust.com/the-bavarian-maibaum-festival/ (a beautiful photo essay)

http://mountainroseblog.com/wine/ (a lovely May Wine recipe)

Tanz in den Mai! Dance into May!

[bavarianchef]

What is The Bavarian Chef?

That cozy-looking chalet near the Plow and Hearth outlet in Madison, Virginia—you pass it on Route 29 every time you drive between Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. It is The Bavarian Chef restaurant, founded by Eckhard and Bruni Thalwitz in 1974.

Attracted by the beautiful Blue Ridge mountain vistas, Eckhard and Bruni Thalwitz made Madison County their home after leaving their native Germany. They ran the restaurant for 13 years before turning over the reins to their son Jerome.  Today, Jerome and his team of chefs continue to dish traditional German favorites along with tempting daily specials that fuse classic and contemporary European cuisine.

In May 2010, Jerome and his wife Christine opened a second Bavarian Chef restaurant in the historic train station in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. Whether you join us in Madison or Fredericksburg, we hope you’ll enjoy the special recipes and traditions of our family’s culinary heritage.

Want to know more? Take a peek in this behind-the-scenes video to see what we’re all about! http://youtu.be/Qugc26ae1Bk