by ELIZABETH HEY
In the tiny community of Cole Camp, people flock for miles around to dine at The German Table, only open Friday and Saturday evenings. Cole Camp dates to 1839 and is the site of one of the Civil War’s first skirmishes in 1861. Historic brick buildings line Cole Camp’s main street, and Highway 52 bisects downtown. On Friday nights, souped-up cars and trucks power through town.

The German Table is decidedly authentic. Clientele spans city folk, like my husband and myself, Amish women wearing head coverings and local couples out for the evening. Owner Sam Cole—no relation to Cole Camp’s founder—remarks, “With very few exceptions, everything is made from scratch. And I keep two books for diners to look at that tell about our history and German heritage and include pictures of the town.”

For an appetizer, we started with the plate-size, warm pretzel served with house dressing and German mustard—so delicious! (Later in the evening, our waitress, Kenda, who owns the town’s beauty salon, confessed to making the pretzels and popular cheesecakes.) Diners can choose from six schnitzel variations, with pork or chicken served on a bed of German egg noodles fried in butter called spätzle. I chose Rahm schnitzel, a thinly pounded chicken breast lightly coated with flour, eggs and bread crumbs and fried to perfection. Smothered in cream gravy with mushrooms and a hint of brandy, it reminded me of my German grandmother’s cooking as did the accompanying crispy-golden potato pancakes.

My husband ordered the wurst plate, featuring a brat from local Back Yonder Farms and barbecue brisket bratwurst, potato pancakes and green beans cooked with onions and bacon. Creamy red skin potato salad and warm German potato salad, a longtime Cole Camp recipe, are noteworthy. Chilled sweet-sour cucumber and onion salad, Sam’s mom’s recipe, complements the heavier dishes. Corned beef lovers will be pleased that the restaurant bakes and shreds their own corned beef for the popular Reuben sandwich.

Homemade desserts, served on antique glass bubble dishes, include apple dumplings boasting an incredibly flaky crust, black forest cake soaked in cherry liqueur and topped with homemade whipped cream and the not-overly-sweet Bavarian chocolate torte layering a brown sugar-whipped cream filling. Kenda bakes more than 30 flavors of cheesecake that rotate weekly; order ahead and take home a whole cheesecake for a very reasonable price. German beers and wines round out this satisfying German dining experience.

Visit TheGermanTable.com for more information.