NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Never have I seen a restaurant patron so happy to get the boot.

Granted, it was a glass boot, brimming with dark, hoppy beer, which had been ushered to the table by a comely fraulein in a colorful, form-fitting bodice.

Such are the charms of Fredericksburg’s The Bavarian Chef.

Executive chef/owner Jerome Thalwitz—his parents founded the original Bavarian Chef in neighboring Madison nearly 40 years ago—and sous chef James Steele keep traditional German cooking as their baseline but also experiment with local ingredients (venison pate with cranberry-horseradish sauce) and global mash-ups (roast rockfish surfs atop spaetzle).

Composing a complete bite of liebercasen—a platter comprising savory homemade sausage loaf, vinegary potato salad and a silky yolk-filled egg—took some doing but proved well worth the effort.

A seductive chardonnay-mango sauce chews through spice-crusted shark steak, transforming the muscular predator into a sponge full of tropical fruit. Potato pancakes serve as the perfect backstop, adding crunch to each bite of tender fish.

Braised pork tumbles from shank to surrounding wine sauce with a flick of the tine, the mouthwatering meat joined down below by peppery sausage stuffing and fried onion straws.

Braised cabbage—sour, tangy and sweet all at once—is almost entrée-worthy.