As graduation at the U of I is this weekend, we decided to avoid the crowds in Champaign and head over to Terre Haute, IN to try Gerhardt’s Bierstube Restaurant on Lafayette Ave. We had tried to eat there once several years ago, but we were there on a Monday and Gerhardt’s is closed on Mondays. Today we finally made it back. We got there about 5:30PM and had our choice of tables. We chose a booth in one of the side rooms. Gerhardt’s atmosphere is obviously modeled after a typical German gastehaus, but you won’t forget for a second that you’re still in Terre Haute.

Gerhardt’s has a wide selection of both German and American cuisine. As we went there specifically for the German food, we stuck to classic German dishes. We started off with Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancake) appetizers, which were decent and not too filling. I had a Warsteiner dunkel (dark beer) and Sarah went with Diet Coke. She ordered Sauerbraten with Rot Kraut (red cabbage) and Spätzle while I opted for the Schweineschnitzel with Kartoffel Salat (potato salad) and Rot Kraut. Sarah’s sauerbraten was pretty tasty, although the beef itself was on the dry side. Her spätzle was a little bland (although they do offer it with gravy) and the rot kraut we both had was ok, but not nearly as good as the rotkohl at La Gourmandise. My schweineschnitzel was huge. It covered the entire dinner plate. It was very good, though. The potato salad was ok, but a bit heavy on the vinegar.

If you’re in Terre Haute, then Gerhardt’s would be a good choice for German cuisine. But if you’re in central Illinois, there are better choices; one being the aforementioned La Gourmandise in Urbana.