Coopers Ale House - Chicken Kilpatrick

BIG SCHNITZEL! The Ale House is known for it's big schnitzels, but thankfully the chef knows that it's not only the size that counts.

Sitting down for a meal with a few mates on a Saturday night was a pleasure. The majority of the table were aiming to take down a big schnitzel each. My current plan is to eat through the Ale House chicken schnitzel menu, to further the goal I went with the Chicken Kilpatrick.

The schnitzel was simply huge and covered the great expanse of the plate. The tasty chips, buried under the chicken behemoth, were quickly rescued and then quickly consumed.

Again, the schnitzel was cooked to perfection. The crumbing was a golden brown and a fulfilling crunch accompanied each bite. The chicken meat was spot on, not too dry and not too moist, Just Right (TM).

Sadly the meal was let down by the topping. The Chicken Kipatrick, a combination of BBQ and Worcestershire sauce, lacked the BBQ and Worcestershire sauce.  A slight saucy tang was present but not in a high enough quantity.  Topping issues prevent this from being a 5 star schnitzel.

Price:$18

Rating: 4 stars

The Wellington - Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

The Wellington has become a regular spot for Schnitzel Lover. Birthdays, going away's and schnitzels have all been good reason to attend.

First things first, a shout out to the Schnitzel Lover that suggested combining a parmigiana with gravy. I watched in awe as Simlin took up the request and was quite impressed by the outcome.

Back to the review. Given the high level of cheese intake I have due to my schnitzel diet I decided to move away from parmigiana for a change and instead hit the mushroom gravy. After ordering it didn't take long for the staff to bring us bread rolls, which always helps to make the wait for the main seem less than what it is.

I was neither impressed nor displeased when the schnitzel was placed in front of me. The salad and chips were both up to their regular standard as was the size of the schnitzel

Unfortunately the gravy was misplaced on the plate, there was more gravy underneath the schnitzel, drowning the chips. The gravy was reasonably tasty but doesn't match the famous Dan O'Connell mushroom gravy.

As far as location, beer and feeds go the Welly is a good place but for me the schnitzel just can't seem to break the 3 star mark.

Price: $17

Rating: 3 stars

The Alma - Beef with Mushroom

All rumours were that the Schnitzels at the Alma were quality.  I was very disappointed.  The price was standard so that is an immediate tick in the right box.  There is nothing worse that an establishment pricing a schnitzel out of the pub food price range.

The first thing I noticed when  my schnitzel came out was that the sauce was sparse across the top of the schnitzel - half a star off.  Moving on, the eyes fell on the chips which looked very dark in colour and certainly tasted overcooked - 1 star off.  More disappointment was to follow as the schnitzel itself was thin and of poor quality - 1 star off.  The saving grace of the whole meal was the salad as it was possibly the best salad ever.  It had plentiful tomato, cucumber and gourmet lettuce without the disgusting, cheap salad dressing.

So it certainly wasn't a must have Schnitzel but it was serviceable.

Price: $15.95

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Wellington - Beef Parmigiana with Mushroom

Schnitzel Lover gets many recommendations for the best schnitzel or new twists on the humble schnitzel. One suggestion that came through was that a Parmi with Gravy was awesome...needless to say I had to investigate.

The Wellington seemed like a reasonable place to try this Parmi experiment as I am extremely familiar with their Schnitzel quality. The theory behind the Parmi and Gravy combination is that it makes the schnitzel juicier, so I ordered a Beef Parmi and asked for Mushroom Sauce on the side.

After pouring the Mushroom Sauce over the Parmi I tuckered in and boy was it good. The taste was unique and can only be described as the Skittles of the Schnitzel World...a party in your mouth and everyone is invited! I can only describe it as layered goodness of the finest beef schnitzel, ham, tomato sauce, cheese and mushroom sauce...mmmmmmmm. *Drool*

The chips (much has all ready been written about them) as per usual were excellent and my only complaint was the pile of been sprouts on the salad...I hate been sprouts, half a star off.

The first place to put this Schnitzel on the menu will surely be onto a winner...so if you are bored of the old, plain Schnitzels then you surely need to try the parmigiana with gravy!

Price: $18.95

Rating: 4.5 stars

Ed Castle Hotel - Chicken Parmigiana

The Ed is located on the west end of town. The front bar is fairly old school yet the dining area whilst the dining area appears to be more modern.

I hit the Ed on a Friday night, looking forward to a few brews and some live tunes when low and behold a 10 buck menu, with schnitzel, appeared! Although I had eaten a Hawaiian schnitzel for lunch earlier in the day, I could not ignore the call of a 10 buck meal.

After ordering in the restaurant, I returned to the front bar with a plastic beeper that would flash when the meal was ready for collection. After staring at the beeper for what felt like an hour it went off and returned to collect the meal. Initial impressions were good.

The salad looked fresh, was dressed and tasted quite good. The chips were okay but the serving size was small and their placement under the schnitzel was pointless given the available plate space.

I quickly moved onto the schnitzel and was pleasantly surprised. The schnitzel was reasonably thick without being over crumbed. The meat itself was good quality and the crumbing was crisp without being burnt. The tasty topping was nicely spaced over the entire schnitzel and at the same time avoided the problem of over saucing the schnitzel.

At 10 bucks this is a fantastic meal but doesn't quite reach the perfect score. Chip placement under a schnitzel when plate space is available should incur a slight penalty, plus there are a few slightly better deals out there which I've eaten but not yet reviewed.

Price: $10

Rating: 4.5 stars