Johnson City is one of three cities in Eastern Tennessee know as the Tri-Cities. Their quaint downtown is seeing a resurgence of development with an array of shops, restaurants, and breweries. It is also not far from the campus of East Tennessee State University.
One of the restaurants in the heart of downtown is Freiberg’s. It is an authentic German restaurant making classic dishes from scratch.
When you walk through the doors, it feels like you are transported to a restaurant in Germany.
As soon as we were seated the waitress brought us some homemade fresh bread with a dill butter. This butter was unique. The butter itself was light and creamy, the flavor of the dill was just like a pickle. There was something addicting about the butter. I could not get enough on the bread, especially as it melted on the warm bread.
We started off with an appetizer to share around the table. We ordered the Kartoffelhaut aus Sachsen. This is basically loaded potato skins.
They took potato haves and covered them with a cream cheese and spinach dip, Swiss cheese, and bacon pieces. These are then baked to warm the dip and melt the cheese. These were definitely different from a typical potato skin. The spinach, cream cheese dip worked so well with the potato. The sharp taste of the Swiss cheese accented the dip which had a slight sweetness to it. The bacon added a great crunch to the overall texture. These potato skins are filling so it is good to share them if you are ordering additional dishes.
For my meal I ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu. They took a chicken breast and filled it with ham and Swiss cheese. Then they hand breaded it. There was not an oily texture, so I think they baked the chicken. Then they melted a little more Swiss cheese on top. The chicken was tender and moist. The have gave it a salty taste and the cheese gave it a creamy texture. The ham and chicken paired perfectly together.
I also got freshly made sauerkraut and Bavarian potato salad. The sauerkraut was warm and tangy. The bite was exactly what you would want from sauerkraut. Having it warm verses cold gave it a comforting feeling.
The potato salad also came out warm, which is typical for this German side dish. It also had a nice tanginess to it because of the vinegar-based dressing that the potatoes were tossed in. They gave such large portions of these sides.
Another dish that was ordered that I got to try was the Cheddar Bratwurst. This homemade sausage was juicy and had amazing flavor from the spices that were infused. The cheddar cheese that was mixed in added a creaminess to the bratwurst. This also came with their homemade sauerkraut.
The Schnitzel Sandwich was also ordered, and I got to try that. This was a pork loin that was breaded and pan fried. They served this on a fresh pretzel roll, along with tomato, onions, mayo, and slices of Muenster cheese. This sandwich was large. The pork was crispy on the outside. That crunchy coating helped lock in the moisture of the pork. It was extremely juicy. The Muenster cheese gave a great creamy texture to the pork.
One of the sides that came with this sandwich was the Bratkartoffeln. These are pan fried potatoes with onion and bacon. The potatoes were nice and crispy. The onions added sweetness, while the bacon accented the starchy potato with a little saltiness. They reminded me of home fries that I get at some breakfast restaurants.
Finding this authentic German restaurant in this small, southern town was fantastic. The food was amazing. I would love o go back during Octoberfest. I sure it is a blast there.
Check them out at www.eatbrats.com
Enjoy!
T
