Jagerhof has the market cornered?

Jägerhof Looks really narrow out front but it's quite spacious inside. Also looks like a hunting lodge with no shortage of stuffed and mounted animals, so if you have vegan friends you don't like, definitely try tricking them into going in for a scream.

Price for what you get is pretty tough to judge here but probably the main thing that lets them get away with charging over $20 for modestly sided mains is the fact that when you are tasked to think of Germanic restaurants, your mind will probably go blank. That and their being in North Vancouver.
If neither of these are good reasons for you, then you will likely be wondering why they are priced like Yaletown restaurants when they are not in Yaletown. And no, it's not the quality of the food (heck, even many Yaletown restaurants don't have the food quality to warrant the prices they demand).

Just about everything comes with a fluffy pile of arugula with what appeared to be fresh parmesan (i.e., the flakes, not the powdered stuff you can get from Superstore). This makes your order look bigger than it is.

Pictures courtesy of A. and B. who probably would prefer to be anonymous.















Artisan Bread Basket ($4) Artisan selection of organic stoneground breads, pumpernickel and rye bread with butter and sea salt.

• We were asked if we wanted bread. We thought it was the complimentary bread that comes before your meal. Not that many restaurants do it any more, but the old school ones like Bishop's and Joe Fortes and probably every posh steakhouse in town that has $20+ entrees.
• No price was discussed but it magically appeared on the bill. When she first asked if we wanted bread, she asked a second time to confirm we wanted it, but still did not mention any price. I thought this was odd at the time, but didn't realize how right my hunch was until I saw it on the bill. I count this as a sneaky cheat. That is like a patron having to confirm that water will be free. FAIL.
• There is a reason why I did NOT order the "artisan bread basket" because I did NOT want really dry pumpernickel and boring rye bread and I definitely wouldn't have paid to have it inflicted on me.
• We didn't finish this. Probably because it was really dry pumpernickel and boring rye bread.

Swiss Rösti ($15) Crispy, grated potato pancake complimented with Nanuk smoked steelhead trout, baby arugula, spiced sour cream.

• You are probably paying for the thin slices of trout (about three ping pong balls worth) because there's just a single potato pancake.
• The potato pancake sort of tastes like Pringles potato chips.

Jägerhof Platter ($24) Slow smoked pork chop, bratwurst and small schnitzel served with our special

sauerkraut, pan fried potatoes and mushroom sauce.

• Slow smoked pork chop tastes like the ham you can buy at Superstore, except it is tougher and drier.
• Bratwurst is a really tender sausage. You can get it seperately for $5. This was the only really decent thing.
• Mushroom sauce was actually really decent -- very thick, and with slices of mushroom. Would have been even tastier if it didn't have flavour notes of having been burnt.
• "Special sauerkraut" is marinated in white wine and vinegar. Slightly fermented, if you like your sauerkraut that way. Watch out if you don't.

Pork Tenderloin ($22) Wrapped in bacon, stuffed with sundried plums and apples, seasonal vegetables, red wine demi glace.

• Four ping-pong ball sized pieces, plus asparagus, about a cup of red cabbage, and about a cup of pan fried potatoes.
• Could not locate any sundried plums or apples, stuffed in the meat or otherwise. When I asked the waitress after, she said she thought it was in the demi-glace. Sorry -- FAIL.
• Portion looked small for $22.

Eggplant Ravioli ($18) Eggplant stuffed with camembert, breaded with panko, served with baby arugula and spicy tomato sauce.

• The token vegetarian option in this stronghold of meatiness.
• Three pieces of "ravioli", which is basically a "sandwich" made of slices of eggplant.
• Each "sandwich" is so thin you would be forgiven if you failed to locate anything significant in between. Instead of "stuffed with camembert", read the menu as "smeared with camembert".
• Each eggplant sandwich is maybe 2 inches in diameter and maybe a quarter inch thick. That works out to $6 a piece.

Vienna Apfelstrudel ($8) Served warm with a vanilla cream sauce.

• Pretty decent and portion is also pretty decent. The safest, culturally appropriate choice for this Germanic restaurant.
• Where's my vanilla cream sauce?

Palatschinken stuffed with apricot marmalade ($7)

• Basically, this is crepe with jam. Pay $1 more and get the brownie instead (see below).

Blackforest Cake ($8) Flourless, dense chocolate cake topped with drunken cherries and vanilla sauce.

• Portion is about one hockey puck, except it's roughly cubic.
• As brownies go, it's really decent -- super-chocolatey and delicious.
• You're getting a brownie. If you're thinking of a classic Blackforest Cake like what you see in Superstore, it's nothing like it.
• Token pitted cherries soaked in something. Red wine, maybe.
• Sits in disgusting looking soup. I dare you to drink it.