Restaurant review: Zum Stammtisch

I love German food. Yes, it's heavy and rich and you don't feel good after you've eaten it, but it's in my DNA. My mother's father grew up in Germany and didn't move to America until the early 1940's, when he was nearly 30 years old. He and my grandmother owned a small hotel in Kingston, New York for many years where they also ran a successful German restaurant, the Dutch Rathskeller. When they would come into Manhattan to visit us when we were little, we usually had dinner at one of the German restaurants that used to line East 86th Street, including Cafe Geiger and the Ideal. (Sadly, all that remains of that formerly German neighborhood are the butcher shop Schaller & Weber, purveyor of excellent sausages, and the Heidelberg, an extremely kitschy restaurant where the ceilings are covered in plastic grape vines, the waiters wear sexy lederhosen, and the bar is full of rowdy Upper East Siders drinking way too much schnapps.)

I also love dining adventures in the other boroughs, and had been very excited to try Zum Stammtisch in Glendale, Queens. My mother was actually the first person to tell me about Zum Stammtisch. It has been in business since 1972 and she had been there a few times back in the 70's. (Unclear how my mother can remember the name and location of a place where she ate dinner 30 years ago, but not where she parked her car this morning.) Then I saw it featured on a recent episode of the Food Network show, "Best Thing I Ever Ate." Zum Stammtisch's jagerschnitzel (fried pork cutlet with mushroom gravy) was the response given by one of the Food Network's pundits when asked what she'd eat for her last meal on earth. Can you give a stronger compliment than that!?

Since a cold snowy night is one of the only kinds of night when eating a gravy-laden fried pork cutlet would feel comforting instead of terrible, last month, the snowiest January in NYC history, felt like the right time to head out to Queens.

Glendale is about 30 minutes from the Upper West Side by car and we didn't have much trouble parking near the restaurant. I had made a reservation day-of, but I don't think you need one. Especially if you don't mind having a stein of beer or two at the bar. The interior of Zum Stammtisch is like a time capsule of Queens circa 1970 something with lots of outdated Bavarian touches. We were seated in the back dining room which was quite cozy and less hectic than the main dining room, just off the bar. Our wooden table was decorated in some pretty cheesy place mats with a faux pine sprig centerpiece. My mother's pinot grigio arrived in one of the most unusual wine glasses I've ever seen and the beer I ordered came in a giant ceramic stein. No matter as I was really just interested in the food.

There were not too many tempting selections among Zum Stammtisch's appetizers as I do not care for smoked or pickled fish, raw or pickled beef, snails, caviar, or headcheese. So I shared a cup of tasty goulash with my sister, which I would have guessed was Hungarian not German. My mother chose pickled herring in cream sauce and Judd ordered the smoked brook trout with creamed horseradish. Both claimed those starters looked better than then they looked.

When it came to selecting an entree, there were so many things that looked good! We decided to each order something different so there could be plenty of tasting and sharing. I went with the grilled knackwurst (like oversized hot dogs) with potato salad and red cabbage. Hot dog perfection!

My sister ordered the celebrated jagerschnitzel, which came with hashed browns and more red cabbage. Not only was it really delicious, but the portion was enormous - there was not one but TWO enormous fried pork cutlets smothered in a mushroomy gravy. I ate one of them for lunch the next day.

Judd ordered a prime rib special. Have you ever seen a bigger prime rib!? It looked like something Fred Flinstone would eaten. I don't actually love prime rib, but it was surprisingly good.

Finally, my mom ordered Sauerbraten (pot roast with potato dumplings). The dumplings were disappointingly dense and flavorless, but the stewed beef was good enough.

As I waddled back to my mom's car, I decided that Food Network star may have had it wrong - Zum Stammtisch might not be a choice for your last meal on earth as much as it may signal the end of your life. The amount of fat and cholesterol in half of what I ate might be enough to snuff out even the healthiest of hearts. But you would die smiling.

**

Details:

69-46 Myrtle Avenue

Glendale (Queens), New York

(718) 386-3014

Bavarian feast for four: $180

Celebrity diners

I was having dinner a few weeks ago at Morandi, Keith McNally's take on rustic Italian food in the West Village, when in walked John Slattery and his wife, Talia Balsam, better known to most as Roger Sterling and his fictional ex-wife, Mona. I am a huge Mad Men fan and quite excited to have an unexpected dinner date with the Sterlings.

Not only was my brush with celebrity diners exciting, but it was also quite rare -- despite the frequency with which I go out to eat and my New York City location, I almost never see famous people at restaurants (spotting one on the street is far more common). Which got me thinking about where else I *have* seen one dining a nearby table. Here's what I came up with:

Hillary Swank and an unidentifiable man sitting in a back corner table at I Trulli;

John Corzine, Natalie Morales, and Bobby Flay (not together) at Fresco by Scotto;

Mayor Bloomberg with his lady friend and another couple at Maialino;

New York Senator Chuck Schumer at Tamarind (my favorite Indian restaurant);

Angela Lansbury at Telepan;

Keri Russell (from Felicity) at the Red Cat; and

Bernadette Peters (does she count?) at Eleven Madison Park.

Judd saw Joan Allen at the Hillstone on 27th and Park last summer and my sister recently saw Alec Baldwin, Lucy Liu AND the Edge at Del Posto.

Where have you spotted a celebrity?