109 N Mulberry: Downtown's New German Café Reviewed

Key Takeaways

• Britten and Michele McDowell reviewed the new 109 N Mulberry German-American Café downtown — German classics next to Kentucky comfort food, from Janine Washle, "The Flavor Queen"
• Standout dish: the sorghum pork belly — "that might have been the best bite of the night," crispy, sweet, savory and full of umami, served with a candied-pecan sweet potato casserole (Michele's favorite)
• Also tried: the Big "E" Benedict (chicken schnitzel over a potato pancake), chicken schnitzel with Jäger mushroom gravy, German potato salad, spätzle, soft pretzels with beer cheese, Black Forest cake and apple strudel
• It was a true soft opening — the point-of-sale system crashed and the room was packed — but the staff stayed poised and worked through it, so go with patience and give a brand-new spot grace
• 109 N Mulberry Street, (270) 982-7308 · breakfast and lunch for now (dinner coming) · seats ~40 · park behind the building via the side alley

Summary

This week the Experienced Eaters tried something genuinely new for Hardin County. Britten and Michele McDowell hit the Monday-night soft opening of the 109 N Mulberry German-American Café, a downtown Elizabethtown spot from Kentucky chef and caterer Janine Washle, known regionally as "The Flavor Queen." The concept: authentic German plates served right alongside down-home Kentucky comfort food. And because the footage had no built-in audio, Britten and Michele narrated the whole thing live on air — a new format for the segment.

The visit landed on a real soft-opening night, kinks and all. The point-of-sale system went down, the place was packed wall to wall, and the McDowells ended up sharing a table while staff took orders by hand. Their take: that is exactly what a soft opening is for, and the team handled it with grace. For Hardin County, the bigger news is a brand-new cuisine downtown — and on this first look, one worth being excited about.

The verdict was warm and honest: genuinely excited, eager to go back once the kitchen is dialed in, and a reminder to readers to be patient and give a new local business some grace.

Full Article

"You two hit the soft opening of the brand-new 109 N Mulberry German-American Café downtown Monday night," Phil teased as the segment opened. What followed was a first for the Experienced Eater: with no audio on Britten's pre-edited footage, he and Michele voiced the whole thing live on air, narrating each plate as it scrolled by.

Before a single dish hit the screen, Britten set the table on the experience itself. The McDowells got their invite for the 6-to-8 soft opening, arrived a little late, and found a line out the front door and down the side of the building. Then the technology gave out. "Their point-of-sale software crashed," Britten said. "The internet provider blamed the point-of-sale, point-of-sale blamed the internet provider. That's how it works. It was pandemonium." On top of that, the invitation software that was supposed to stagger guests into 30-minute windows didn't — so roughly 50 people showed up at 6 p.m. all at once.

Here's the part Britten wanted folks to hear. "It's great that it happened on a soft opening night," he said. "Everybody was very agreeable... the staff is poised. They're experienced, and they're poised because they found a way, and they got through it." Michele agreed: the team "worked through it completely gracefully, and they got it done." That's what a soft opening is for, and as a former short-order cook who grew up in his parents' restaurant, Britten knows exactly how hard a packed first night with no working tickets really is.

Then the food. The sorghum pork belly stole the show. "That might have been the best bite of the night," Britten said. "It was crispy. It was sweet. It was savory. It had a great combination, a lot of umami there to go with that." If you're not familiar with sorghum, he explained, the deep brown color comes because it almost scorches as it cooks down, leaving a charred sweetness on the pork. It came plated with a sweet potato casserole finished with candied pecans — "some of the best I've ever had," he said, and the dish Michele named her favorite.

The German side held up its end. Britten praised the chicken schnitzel with Jäger mushroom gravy, the German potato salad, and the spätzle, and his bottom line was clear: "Everything that I had that was German last night was exceptionally authentic." The execution impressed him even more given the circumstances — the kitchen had trained one way and then lost the tools it planned on, and still delivered.

The dish that surprised him most was the Big "E" Benedict — a chicken schnitzel set over a potato pancake. "It's an Eggs Benedict," he said. "You cut the egg, and the yolk kind of comes out a little bit... I really enjoyed this. It was very, very refreshing." (Michele, who doesn't do eggs, took a hard pass on that one.) Rounding it out were soft pretzel bites with beer cheese, the potato-leek and tomato-basil soups, and a dessert run that included a Black Forest cake and an apple strudel with a fresh homemade cherry filling — "they did a fantastic job, especially under some very tough circumstances."

Britten saved his strongest words for the people behind it. He took aim at "the keyboard warriors" who trash a new place secondhand. "These people that have opened this business... they have tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in what they're doing to provide a service or provide an experience to you, the consumer," he said. "Have some class and be understanding." When something is brand new, he added, "you have to go in with an open mind and give them some grace."

One detail told him this place would find its footing fast. "I was talking with one of the chefs," Britten said, "and he said, my goal is a 12-minute ticket time, and there's nothing pre-done. They're doing everything as they go." A 12-minute ticket with every plate assembled to order, he said, "that's legit." He and Michele are already planning a return trip in about a month to see how much the kitchen has tightened up.

Practical notes for your visit: 109 N Mulberry Street in downtown Elizabethtown, (270) 982-7308. For now it's breakfast and lunch, roughly 7 to 2, with dinner coming once the team gets its bearings. The room seats about 40 — quaint, and decorated cute (Michele lent a hand on the décor) — so be patient. Parking is behind the building: take the little alley along the side and park in back.

And don't miss the bonus. The free members-only special report on HardinLocal.com now includes a combined bonus video — Nate's full menu reveal plus this Experienced Eater taste test — and that video can only be watched there. Create a free account and you're in.

Or, as Britten signs off every time: "This is an experience you've got to eat."