Mader's German Restaurant: Famous for the Food?!

Last year, my mom told some people from work that she was going to Milwaukee for German Fest and she said that at least 7 people asked her if she was going to Mader's? "It's a famous German restaurant!" So we thought, huh… we should go! On Friday evening, my mom and I headed out to Milwaukee for an event on Saturday at the Mitchell Park Domes, Germany Under Glass, but first, dinner at Mader's Restaurant.

Our Server, Krystal

When we first walked in, the staff was very polite and sat us in a booth by the bar. My first thought was wow! The decor was very Old World German. Not beer garden-y, not old-german man-y, not oma-y but like 16th century German monk style. It was very impressive, but the intense decor didn't take away from the warmth. I felt welcome and comfortable.

I loved that the servers wore dirndls! It looked like they all wore their own and they were all classic and traditional style dirndls. Our server Krystal was great! She was super sweet and I later found out on Saturday that she had asked someone to get some Rare Dirndl information for her because she wants a dirndl!

The 3rd thing I noticed (1st being the decor and 2nd the dirndls) was this table stand advertising their specials… using the font Papyrus… this font needs to die. I loathe this font. Ok, moving on to the good stuff.

The menu was difficult to read because it was full of pictures of all the famous people that have eaten there. While it was cool to see who all has been there, I was really more interested in what I was going to eat.

But first… beer! I order a Weihenstephaner Vitus, a weissbock that is one of my favorites and my mom ordered, (uh… i don't remember, oops!) Anywhoo, they were both served in their 110th anniversary steins, which was kinda cool, but very heavy.

Ruben Rolls

Looking over the menu, there was 1 thing I noticed right off the bat; the entrees were expensive. Not outrageous, but definitely more than I'm used to paying for German classics like schnitzel. We started with the Ruben Rolls, because when I called to make the reservation that's what the recording recommended, and it was a great recommendation. It was essentially a Ruben inside an egg roll served with Dusseldorf mustard and boy were they tasty.

And then there was the complimentary pretzel roll. I will go back for that roll. It was fresh out of the oven, soft yet crispy, not too salty. (I may or may not be drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it.)

The best thing we ate all night!

Unfortunately that's where the salivating stops because the rest of our meal was… meh. I was so put off by the $30+ for all the German favorites that I ordered one of the "Kleinen Platten"(small plates) of Vegetarian Spaetzle, a side of Roasted Brussel Sprouts and the Friday Night Fish Fry Special with potato pancakes and sauerkraut. The Spaeztle was some veggies and Spaetzle in a bland Alfredo sauce, the fish was so thin we could barely find it amongst the breading, the potato pancakes were kinda sweet and fluffy, (like a breakfast pancake) and the sauerkraut was so sour! But, the brussel sprouts were really good and fresh.


For dessert, I had to try one of their after dinner drinks, the "Pink Squirrel: a forgotten Milwaukee favorite" It was ice cream mixed with some alcohol and raspberry something… that was a tasty treat!

Overall, I feel like I jipped myself because I didn't get any of the German food because the prices got me all nervous. I would go back again to try some actual German favorites and for the pretzel roll, but I honestly have no idea why people were so insistent that we go there. Just because Usher, William Shatner, Clark Gabel and Tim McGraw ate there?

What do you think? Did I miss something? I'll be back in Milwaukee again soon, what should I try there that you think is better then the alfredo spaetzle concoction and the heavy duty fish fry?

P.S. The suit of armor in the window was really cool too. Seriously, the decor was fantastic!

Rare Dirndl: Under the Glass

This week I thought I'd test my new iPhone6's photography capacity by taking a magnifying glass style look at some of our most popular accessories that I'll be featuring at this weekend's event in Milwaukee!

Here are some of the "Under the Glass" style photos! Pretty cool huh!?

You can take an up close and personal look at all of these in Milwaukee this weekend. Rare Dirndl will be at "Germany Under Glass,” a family-friendly celebration of German culture will be presented by German-American Societies and various German clubs of Milwaukee, in partnership with the Milwaukee County Parks, Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The Domes, “Milwaukee’s Living Landmark,” is located at 524 S. Layton Blvd.

I'm super pumped about this event, I think it will be a lot of fun. In addition to music, dance, authentic foods, and table-top displays, this year’s festival will celebrate two historic events and the recent soccer championship. Speakers will provide details of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (Nov. 9, 1989), the centennial anniversary of the start of World War I (July 28, 1914), and Germany’s winning of the 2014 World Cup.

We will have a booth set up featuring all of our favorites accessories and some of the new 2015 collection to take a look at. For more information click here for the full PDF press release about the event and follow us on Facebook and instagram (and now @raredirndl on snapchat) to see more fun pictures and behind the scenes goodies!

3 MORE German Fest Secrets Revealed!

German Fest Milwaukee starts tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited! My mom and I are heading up there later today to start setting up and so I'll be brief since I should go start packing the car soon!

I've been going to German Fest for a long time, however every year, I talk to some of my good friends from Milwaukee and I learn of MORE little secrets, events, and things to see at German Fest that I didn't know about! This year I chatted with my friend Kevin who is not only a long-time German Fest goer, but also works as security all weekend (I wave as be flies by on his official golf cart) Anyway… he has 3 musts that you might not have known about.






#1- Sprecher's German Fest Bier! - Kevin said it is a must try! "It's a special brewed batch only available at German Fest!" How awesome is that?! Along with so many other German and local Milwaukee beers, they have a German Fest Beer... I will be trying this FO SHO!









#2- The Glockenspiel - Accodring to Kevin… "Don't miss the Glockenspiel!" Every year they have a live Glockenspiel performance. Last year the Glockenspiel was performed at 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Friday; 2, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2, 4 and 6 p.m. Sunday… I'm not sure of the times this year, but I'm sure there is an event schedule there that you can check out.






#3- CHIKERIA!! - When I asked Kevin if there was anything else that was a must see he said "CHIKERIA of course!" Every other year, Milwaukee welcomes CHIKERIA and this party band has performed for more than 25 years for communities, festivals, and celebrations all over Europe and North America. I'm so excited to listen to the them play original songs, classic fan favorites, upbeat Volksmusik and new cover songs that are sure to keep us dancing all night long in our booth!
AND… Sonja, one of the singers from CHIKERIA, will be performing in a Rare Dirndl!

Her custom Rare Dirndl is silver, black and hot pink and is sure to be a hit on stage! I can't wait to see it outside of my studio and on stage!











Last year we asked another German Fest regular, Erika what her top 3 German Fest Must Sees were and if you didn't get a chance to see her's Click Here!

Also I have one to add… You should come visit me!!! The Rare Dirndl pop-up Boutique will be set up on the Southeast corner of the Marktplatz and we will have free give-away bags full of fun goodies, all the new Spring/Summer 2014 Dirndls and the Limited Edition "Weltmeister" Dirndl that is on Sale this weekend only for $199!

So quick recap… just come to German Fest and have a great time!!! See you there!

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