San Giorgio - Chicken Parmigiana

San Giorgio is a busy little corner restaurant located about halfway down Rundle Street. The interior of the restaurant is quite welcoming and the sight of staff moving about eager to please guests was something I'm certainly not used to.

It had been a while since my last schnitzel, so long that I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Thankfully the Giorgio menu featured a Chicken Parmigiana.

I was surprised by the meal placed before me. Rather than chips and a salad, San Giorgio provided roast vegetables. The carrot and zucchini were both wonderful whilst the potato was passe.

The chicken schnitzel was tasty. The meat was chicken breast butterflied to create a wider piece of chicken. The sauce and cheese both covered the majority of the schnitzel and complimented the taste of the chicken well.

Sadly San Giorgio is asking diners to pay too much for this meal as neither the vegetable or schnitzel component is large enough to deserve the price tag.

Price: $18.50

Rating: 2.5 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

Brahma Lodge - Chicken Parmigiana

Conveniently located near my work, the Brahma is one of the two feasible pub lunch options I have. The Brahma's look is a bit hit and miss at the moment. A much needed upgrade has improved the restaurant and function areas but has done little for the bistro or front bar.

On a busier occasion than usual I took my meal in the bistro, a chicken parmigiana that I've had a few times before. I was presented with the plate after a moderate wait. I immediately noticed that the chips were taking up more of the plate space than normal... the salad was missing. I questioned this and was then brought out a bowl with triple the usual amount of salad.

Hit and miss again, the Brahma salad looks and tastes exactly like something pulled straight from the packet. A little bit of dressing would vastly improve it.

The chips were standard pub fare. An interesting feature is the Brahma bread triangles. The triangles are famous and amazing to all that know them, they are especially useful when used to mop up the plate after a schnitzel with gravy.

The schnitzel itself is fairly tasty. The tomato base covers the schnitzel without providing an overbearing presence. The cheese looks like it has been melted in a microwave but despite this it tastes good. The crumbing is a little too moist, however the chicken to crumbing ratio is pretty good. Cutting into the meal I noticed that the meal was formed of two smaller schnitzels... it's always best to leave the customer thinking that it is one piece.

For the price, it's not a bad meal, but don't expect too much of it.

Price: $10.90

Rating: 2.5 stars

Fountain Inn Hotel

Located on Glen Osmond Road is the surprisingly spacious and well designed Fountain Inn. Enough rambling, I ordered their well priced, $14.50, Chicken Parmi with salad. Unfortunately I received a chicken parmi boarding on having burnt edges with a side of vegetables. The chips were ok, but no seasoning to speak off left them quite bland. Despite the negatives, working my way around the edges of the parmi, leaving the most tendor and topped centre piece till last, I finished on a good note, surprisingly slowing down by the last tasty mouthful.

Price: $14.50

Rating: 2.5 stars

Roulettes Tavern - Chicken Hawaiian

Roulettes... conjures up images of gambling doesn't it? Good news is if you're gambling with schnitzel then you'll wind up braking even.

Conveniently located next to the Parafield Airport Liquor Store, Roulettes Tavern is a large bistro and gambling hot spot featuring a modest front bar. The tavern is nicely themed with airport paraphernalia to match its location.

Roulettes features prompt service; damper rolls are brought to the table immediately after ordering and the schnitzel's salad is served shortly after.

 

Fresh and well dressed, the salad makes the kind of impression you want to make on a first date. The Chicken Hawaiian is of good size. The ham and cheese was the standard fare but the pineapple helping is quite generous. The lack of a tomato base for the topping left the schnitzel a bit dry for my taste, but the pineapple made up for this somewhat. The chips were crisp and tasty but be warned, the type and quantity has changed a few times in my recent visits so you can never be sure just how much you'll get.

Price: $14.50

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Gov - Chicken Schnitzel with Diane Gravy.

My first blog, ever! Okay here goes... I am a huge fan of the Schnitzel, so much so that when dining at a venue with a schnitzel on the menu I don't need a menu and people know what to order for me without asking. My fav would have to be a chicken schnitzel with gravy. You would say this would be an easy task to supply, apparently not. For some unknown reason people these days are getting dumber and dumber and for whatever reason are unable to cook a simple schnitzel. So I am here to write about my experiences related to the beloved schnitzel for you to possibly use as a reference of where to eat a great schnitzel. I’m sure there is a place that does it, and I’m going to find it! So we went to the Gov for best of fest and the Chicken schnitzel with Diane gravy caught my eye. It came out in good time, gravy wasn’t all that great, lacked flavour. Chicken was somewhat dry and over cooked to say the least. Not their best work, and for an Adelaide fav, they should have put a bit more effort in.

Price: $15

Rating: 2.5 stars