An Ode to Resi's Bier Stube

[Fast Eddie]

Saw the thread below re Berghoff's, thought I'd steer people towards real German cuisine.

Had dinner at Resi's last night, hadn't been there in years. I'm a little biased toward the place because I first went there as a teenager when it opened thirty years ago. Herbert Stober was a bricklayer, and my dad worked with him at a big masonry contractor called VS Wallgren (now defunct) - German owned company, and they used to hire German journeymen after they'd emigrated to Chicago. They'd compete with Thorlief Larsen (old time Swede operation) for all the big projects like McCormick Place and UC Circle Campus. One day Herbie said the hell with it, I'm tired of construction and I'm going to buy a bar. Purchased Resi's and kept the old name. He had the right personality to run a bar, he loved to party and loved to have a good time. Herbert used to work the bar every day. Every third round of beer called for a shot of Jägermeister (yes, Germans actually drank this poison before the frat boys discovered it) on the house. His wife worked the tiny kitchen. A friend of the family named Edith was the original waitress and is still chugging away. I used to work as a laborer with my dad during summer vacations, and this place was a regular stop for a couple beers and dinner after a hot day at work. WGN's TV studios were right up the street on Addison, and the news anchorman Jack Taylor used to stop in by himself every night for a beer and dinner before going into work. The house celebrity, Herbie used to fawn over him big time. Resi's has been very successful, Herbie ended up buying a big house on Marco Island in FL and put all his kids through good colleges. Gotta love this country. Herr Stober has passed away alas, but his wife still owns the place. So enough of the back story...

Having been raised in a German household and having visited Deutschland quite a few times I think I'm in positon to properly judge the real deal, and Resi's is it. Have a seat out in the beer garden, which is fenced in by dark wood and tall trees and countless flower boxes that add a splash of color. Very cozy, has a Black Forest feel to it. Ten great German beers on tap, I highly recommend getting started with a big stein of Pschorr. To do it the German way you come with a group of friends and pound three or four beers first and have some laughs before you even think of ordering food.

We ended up ordering family style, and had them bring out platters of thuringers, bratwursts, weisswursts and knockwursts. Comes with baskets of really good bread, especially the whole grain pumpernickel. Tubs of hot German mustard and horseradish. I highly recommend the Leberkäse (translated = liver cheese, don't ask). This is a veal liver loaf, fried in butter and smothered in sauteed onions and accompanied by an incomparable warm potato salad. Even the unadventurous diners loved this dish. The potato pancakes are also a must, deep brown with a nice crunchy crust but moist inside and accompanied with a side of sour cream and apple sauce. The schnitzel was decent but not spectacular. Definitely some robust food, but it's a perfect accompaniment to the beer.

This is the last of it's kind as far as the old school German neighborhood places go. You've got the Brauhaus, but that's a totally different kind of experience. So get there and enjoy it while you can, who knows how much longer they'll be around. This is as authentic an old school Chicago ethnic hood kind of place as you can get. A lot of sweat and toil and joys and fears and dreams go into those meals. Enjoy, and Prosit!

[David Hammond]

Fast Eddie,

Thanks for the personal and rich back story on Resi’s, Herbert Stober, and your dad.

I was particularly taken with “platters of thuringers, bratwursts, weisswursts and knockwursts” the bread and tubs of mustard. I just had dinner at Jimmy’s Place in Forest Park – very fine braciole – and now I’m hungry again. Summer is probably the least likely season to get hankering for wurst, but with this post, you put a craving on me (as one of my good friends would say).

I was to Resi’s only once, about two years ago (with Vital Information and GWiv, when they were still talking, and MikeG, who I hardly knew at the time, and ReneG, who we rarely see or hear from). During that visit, I didn’t have dinner because we came very late (they had some kind of wieners behind the bar, where were fine, but nothing close to the repast you describe). Got to try that Leberkäse.

What I’m saying is, you hit a lot of nostalgia notes (some without even knowing it).

David

[Mugs]

Fast Eddie, that's a great post. Have you ever had a beer across the street at Laschett's? The food there doesn't knock me out, but I like drinking there.

[Kenny from Rogers Park]

Mugs,

What's the inside of Laschett's like? I've been to Resi's many times and have always been curious about Laschett's, but have never ventured in.....

[Mugs]

Moderately bright wood and lights. A bar of normal length. Across from the bar is a series of maybe four U-shaped booths that hold three persons; a chair can be set at the open end for person number four to sit with his or her back to the bar. Beyond that is a raised level I've traversed only on the way to the john. The tables up there seem suited for dining.

I don't drink (thus I'm familiar with Laschett's four brands of NA beer) and only eat German food when I'm starving, but I sure like the joint's congeniality. The crowd seems to be mostly regulars. I've heard German spoken there and have seen Alderman Gene Schulter there. Service can be odd, such as the night Latina waitresses brought us food we hadn't ordered, but that just makes Laschett's more exotic to a lad from Jollyette.

[Fast Eddie]

Well, believe it or not Laschett's is owned by another ex-bricklayer, Franz Kokott (hey I'm not kidding, you can't make up a name like that). Used to be owned by Karl Laschett. I remember I was back from college on break, having a beer with my cousin on a Sunday night in December at Resi's. Karl Laschett had just opened his joint across the street, and he comes into to Resi's - whilst Herbie Stober was tending bar - and announces to the crowd, "Hey, come across the street to my new bar and I'll buy everybody a free drink". Everyone was kind of slack-jawed going Huh? and looked at Herbie for guidance, and Herbie goes, "Go ahead, go have a drink!" Half of Resi's (present company included) followed Laschett pied-piper fashion and stumbled across Irving Park to his bar, it was hilarious.

Laschett was a character, he used to attract a tough skinhead crowd over there for awhile. If you ever hung out at the old Exit you'll remember the types. Place was surreal. You'd have these old Germans who'd lived in the hood for 50 years sitting at the bar in their cups, and then you'd have these young skinheads whacked out on angel dust mixed in. They'd ignore each other while this oompah music is blaring in the background. Laschett would be cackling away behind the bar with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, pouring shots. You'd walk in and look around, take a deep breath and nod your head, "...Okay". I don't remember much about the food though, sorry.

[David Hammond]

Fast Eddie,

What a scene you conjure: the crowd looking to Herbie for approval, hilarious stumbling across Irving Park, memories of Exit...and nothing about food (never, in my book, an insurmountable problem).

David

[JSM]

Fast Eddie

Thanks for the great posts.My mothers family owned Schulien's(now O'Donnovans) across the street from Laschetts,and I drank many of my first legal Pschorr Braus at Karl's.

Back in those days Karl would leave to make his evening rounds of the neighborhood,at which time the girl behind the bar would thankfully,turn off the German music.Two hours later a well lubricated Karl would return,crank up German army marching songs to 11 and lead all the old guys in what we called "sing along with Karl". Within 10 miuntes Mrs.Karl would come down from upstairs and put a quick end to the merriment.

Other than Landjaegers and mustard behind the bar there was no food at Laschett's.The current owners got rid of the pool table and put the kitchen in about 6 years ago.

John

[Fast Eddie]

John,

Laschett's was pretty intense, that's for sure - I like the "march music at 11" line. Sure wasn't a Shulien's, that was the classy special occasion place in the hood. You must have been sneaking over to Laschett's in the cover of night. Didn't Karl have this big black and yellow imperial war eagle banner flying at the front door? - kind of a "keep away" sign for the faint of heart. Even the Germans thought he was nuts.

[JSM]

Eddie

Karl sure was a character.The most insane night I ever witnessed in there was about 20-25 years ago.A German Navel vessel was tied up at Navy Pier and Karl,being an ex German Navy man felt it his duty to provide shore leave for the crew at his bar.

We walked in at about 12:30 and the place was mobbed with poorly tattoed,sea going skin heads.The marching music blared and the sailors that weren't face down on the bar in pools of regurgatated kirschwasser were bieng regaled by Karl with tales of his own glorious navel service.Truly a sight to behold!

Karl is gone,but his spirit lives on.His old navy pictures as well as a shot of Karl and Mayor(Dick Daddy 1) Daley marching in a parade down State Street still hang behind the bar. In Lincoln Square one of the side streets that intersects with Lincoln has been honored as Karl Laschett's Strasse.

The neighborhood could use a new Karl.

John

[Aaron D]

Yep, I'm ready to leave work right now, go to Resi's, eat the wurst they've got, and drink large steins of German beer until the workday ends at 5. Ah, well, maybe not. But I'd sure like to.

Great report.

[Kenny from Rogers Park]

"Yep, I'm ready to leave work right now, go to Resi's, eat the wurst they've got, and drink large steins of German beer..."

Me too. But that's pretty much true anytime. Aaron, thanks for your great post on the LTH board in response to my query about Chicago bars. It was a very interesting, entertaining read. KFRP.

[Aaron D]

"But that's pretty much true anytime."

Hmmm...good point.

Laschett's, by the way, to confuse the thread a little bit, is well worth a visit, as ReneG might say. They have a nice selection of beers, though less extensive than Resi's. Mugs describes the interior pretty well. A big potential advantage to Laschett's is that it has a a few televisions, so you can go, get a stein der Stiegl and watch a game. I'm glad the Bierstube doesn't have TVs, but I'm glad the place across the street does. Laschett's also sports a huge absurd cartoonish painting of Rubenesque Germans with a German phrase I can't recall (either in German or English) across the top. I'm not describing this well at all, but it's a nice atmospheric touch.

Another advantage to Laschett's: When there last fall, knocking back a few Stiegls, watching some Monday Night Football, I spied, from our perch on the raised tier Mugs mentions, a bottle of what looked like whiskey with a Japanese label sitting atop a microwave in the backroom behind the bar. I asked the Latina waitress what it was. She revealed that it was indeed Japanese whiskey. I asked if it was for sale. She said no. But later, she kindly brought out a shot a piece for my companion and me. It was surprisingly good. This was sometime before I saw Lost in Translation, and Japanese whiskey was new to me. Sure enough, it was Suntory. The whole experience added a subtle layer of enjoyment when I finally saw the movie, and it greatly added to the esteem of Laschett's in my eyes.

[Aaron D]

Just as a final note, this is one of the few Chowhound posts that has actually motivated me to go eat at a place that very night.

Went to the Bierstube for dinner tonight, some Ayinger Jahrhundert bier, some thuringers, some schnitzel...a wonderful evening and meal. Thanks, Fast Eddie.

[Omnivore]

I love both places. Had my bachelor party at Resi's and Laschett's. Karl and Mrs. Laschett are gone now, but I remember when Karl was behind the bar, German music playing softly and Mrs. Lashcett dragging on a smoke lording over the place from her perch on the upper level. A few Maibocks, pretzel with mustard, and a fricadelle and you're feeling great. I will have to plan a visit soon.

Fritz and his wife are serving some very good German food the last time I was at Laschett's.

Link: http://www.laschetsinn.com/

[overbythere]

I ordered the braciole recently at Jimmy's Place and was shocked: the meat was rolled and stuffed with....NOTHING. It was chewy to boot.

[David Hammond]

Jimmy's braciole is VERY inconsistent, unfortunately.

[Chicago Mike]

Having been raised in a German household and having visited Deutschland quite a few times I think I'm in positon to properly judge the real deal, and Resi's is it.
*******

Nuff said. Resi's is the bomb for a GREAT selection of draft and bottles... and the atmosphere is laid-back.

BUT... if you want a raucous, partying, drunken-dancing scene then go with Chicago Brauhaus. Not nearly the beer selection (though it's adequate), but quite a fun venue for drunken german partying.

[rl]

Thanks for the great stories about Resi's and Lachett's. I live in Boston but always make a point to stop at Resi's for dinner and a few beers whenever I'm in town. Probably the biggest selection of German beers I've ever seen in one place and I just love having an Augustiner Maximator for desert.

I've never been to Laschett's though - but will try it the next time I'm in town. Do they have Schwienshaxen on the menu there? That is my favorite German meal and I usually end up going to Edelwiese out in Norridge for the crispy Schwienshaxen.

Funny how many people try to send me to Berghoff when I mention German food and beer in Chicago. A lot of people I have talked to in and around Chicago have never heard of Resi's.