Sterle’s
has a casual and infectious atmosphere that somehow always manages to make you
smile. On most weekend nights, the place
is packed – with a lengthy line waiting to be seated. For some reason, this night it was only about three
quarters full, and even though we were a half hour early for our seven o’clock
reservation, we were seated right away.
While
a tad on the empty side, the tables around us consisted of the usual assortment
you can always expect to find. On one
side, a gang of rowdy twenty somethings – yelling across the table to one
another – presumably one account of too much of Sterle’s homebrewed beers. On the other side, there was a large family
(all three generations), with children who kept darting to the dance floor to
savor once last polka.
Most
of those on those on the dance floor are always septuagenarian or beyond. They typically make up most of the seated patrons
as well. No doubt they remember when the
area around East 55th was a more prosperous location, peppered with various
Eastern European enclaves. To this day,
Northeast Ohio has the greatest concentration of Slovenians in the world - outside,
of course, Slovenia itself.
Sadly,
now much the area has fallen on harder times, and not much remains to draw
patrons to the locale outside of Sterle’s itself. But that’s okay - come for the food and stay
for the music. Sterle’s always delivers
upon your culinary expectations, and the live polka music on Friday and
Saturday nights ensures there’s a sufficiently lively atmosphere.
We
started with some beers – although don’t be surprised if the seemingly always flustered
servers ask if you’re ready to order first thing. In fairness to them, most of Sterle’s
customers probably know what they’re going to order before they set foot in the
door. The menu has the typical wine and
beer selection, but you have to go with one of the half-dozen or so
homebrews. Mia went for their
hefeweizen, while I opted for one of the lagers. It had a crisp bite to it and went perfectly
with the food.
Along
with the drinks, we ordered the Sausage Sampler ($8) as an appetizer. We usually go for the stuffed cabbage ($5),
which can always be counted on, but I guess we were feeling a little more carnivorous
– or at least that we really needed to try something new. Three different sausages arrived, covered in just
enough mustard and sitting on a bed of flavorful sauerkraut. We weren’t able to determine what the three
types of sausages were, but assuredly one was of the traditional Slovenian
variety. In any case, all three were
superb. I’m sure we’ll be ordering it
again in the future.
For
dinner, we decided to split the Sterle’s Schnitzel ($18) and Chicken Paprikash
($17). We’ve had both before, and they
did not disappoint. Before dinner, we
were served a well-portioned house salad that comes with each dinner. Customers may also choose a soup instead, but
that can seem a bit heavy given the sheer amount of food you are served here.
The
Paprikash comes atop a healthy mound of dumplings, and the Schnitzel is served
with your choice of potato. We settled
on the home fries (you can also get mashed potatoes or french fries). Both sides paired nicely with their protein. The sauces further accentuated the flavors of
both meals perfectly. The mushroom-based
sauce for the Schnitzel is a particular favorite of mine. Don’t be afraid if you don’t like mushrooms –
I can’t stand them and could still drink the sauce out of a spoon.
After
finishing dinner, we each ordered a second beer and took it out back to the new
bier garden. This is a huge and
beautiful space, but unfortunately, it wasn’t being put to any use. We were the only ones out there in spite of
the gorgeous, if not unseasonably chilly August evening. The bier garden has a large bar (also not in
use), and looks as if it could accommodate close to one hundred people. Hopefully word will get out, and the dozen or
so picnic tables will get put to good use in the near future. Perhaps they host events out there as well.
To
conclude, Sterle’s is about as good as it gets in Cleveland. If you haven’t tried it yet, that’s a damn
shame. Get yourself down there as fast
as you can, and marvel at what you’ve been missing out on all these years.
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