Notes

Huntsville, Alabama German Restaurants - The Schnitzel Ranch
If you're looking for an authentic German restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama, you've got several fine choices to select from. Huntsville is home to a lot of Americans of German heritage, and many of them are fairly recent newcomers to the Rocket City, thanks to the wave of scientists who immigrated to the area to work on America's space program after World War II. The most famous of the German scientists who came to America was Werner Von Braun, of course, but there were lots people from German that settled in the Huntsville area after the war to help with America's rocket program. And some of these folks wound up starting German restaurants.

Well, now Huntsville has a brand new German Restaurant, The Schnitzel Ranch. Located very conveniently on University Drive just off Memorial Parkway, it's just a short drive at most from anywhere in Huntsville. The Schnitzel Ranch opened in Spring 2008, and they moved into the building that Beauregard's vacated when they moved over in front of Books A Million and Costco. Just getting the restaurant open was a real triumph over adversity in itself! The couple, who came to Huntsville directly from Germany had all sorts of trouble getting their new venture off the ground - their kids couldn't get enrolled in school because their records were buried in a storage container in Savannah, GA., for example. After they signed the lease on the building, they found out that there was a huge water leak, and that they were now responsible for a past due water bill for around $10,000. Then, just as Fat Dissolve Huntsville, AL were about to open, the air conditioning went out. Of course, trying to run a restaurant in Huntsville, AL without air conditioning is just unthinkable. Well, they were told that it wasn't fixable by contractor after contractor, and they would have to spring for a brand new system, which there was no way they could afford. But finally, an elderly HVAC contractor told them he could fix it, and by golly, he did.

And if you like German food, and lots of it, you'll be very glad that the owners of The Schnitzel Ranch didn't give up. The food is certainly not gourmet quality, and the ambience is nothing to write home about (a converted fast food joint) but the food is pretty good, and the portions are huge. And I do mean huge - my Jaeger schnitzel filled my plate. The German potato salad was excellent, as were the other sides we sampled. I must say that the side salad was very disappointing - it was basically a tiny bowl of little more than shredded lettuce. But that was the only complaint anyone at my table had about the meals at the Schnitzel Ranch. Everyone was too full to order dessert! If you've never been to The Schnitzel Ranch, give it a try in the next few weeks. The night we were in, the waitress said they were about to get their beer license, so that's an added attraction for a lot of folks.
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