The Tap Inn - Beef with Mushroom

The Big Divot, as it is described on the menu in Mulligan's Bar at The Tap Inn, Kent Town, is a plate hanger. While the hanging was minimal on my plate, it was certainly hefty in size. At $16.80 for the schnitzel and an extra $2.20 for the sauce (half a star off), the meal would have to have been exquisite, earning it a bonus star, to score the maximum 5 star rating.
The schnitzel itself was close to top shelf, well crumbed, well cooked and a quality cut of beef...you will here no complaints here about the schnitzel. The chips were also plentiful and of a tasty nature so once again full marks in that area.
Last time I dined at the Tap Inn for lunch our mains took a full hour to arrive at the table, so wasn't I quietly surprised when the meals arrived after little more than 10 minutes and topped with a lovely toasted piece of bread (bonus half a star). Salad is normally a stumbling block for most high scoring meals in my book and the Tap Inn's salad was neither here, an asset to the meal, nor was it there, a blight on the plate leaving it still poised for top marks.
Then comes the kicker...once again a great meal is ruined by lack of sauce to "plate hanger" ratio control. I payed an extra $2.20 for sauce damn it and they can't even give me enough to go around! While I had issues, I did notice that my fellow diner, whose schnitzel appeared larger, had quite a smattering of sauce all over...alas I can only review what I am served (minus 1 star). The sauce was far buttery than most other mushroom sauces served in these parts and contained a few mushroom halves which were rather well enjoyed.
The Tap Inn Big Divot is certainly a little pricey and supersized for a lunch time meal, but if you are looking for a filling, enjoyable, dinner meal I say "Why not." and have a round of golf while you are at it.

Price: $19.00

Rating: 4 starts.

The Caledonian - Chicken Parmigiana

The Cally; a Hotel - Motel - Bar located in Hamilton Victoria. That's right, Schnitzel Lover moves interstate!

Plain on the outside but good looking on the outside, the Cally is a fine place to eat or sit back for a brew with mates. Moving there after drinks at the Hamilton Cycling Club (after eating this many schnitzels I assure you I'm not fit) I was pleasantly relieved to find schnitzel on the menu... Not being familiar with local tastes and all.

Prompt service was a fairly big plus, it wasn't long before the Chicken Parmigiana was placed before me and boy, was I impressed!

My eyes were instantly drawn to the salad, definitely the most varied and best tasting salad I have had with a schnitzel! So good it almost make me think I was being healthy ordering the meal!

The chips were a slight disappointment; the taste was okay but they were a bit soggy.

The parmigiana itself was great. The sauce covered the entire schnitzel and there was plenty of ham and cheese to go with it. A noted flaw was that the cheese was slightly undercooked, whereas a nice change was the spring onion added to the topping varying the taste.

All up the meal was very good, this is definitely one of the most complete meals (chips, salad and of course schnitzel) that I have encountered. It's just a shame I can't remember how much I paid for it!

Price:

Rating: 4 stars

Cooper's Ale House - Beef with Mushroom

If you are a fan of the Cooper's Ale House schnitzel then please turn away now. This is in no way a rave review. Supposedly in the top 3 schnitzel eating venues in Adelaide and scored highly by other Schnitzellovers, the Ale House immediately lost 1 star as salad cost an extra $1.50 on top of the all ready pricey meal. It can be debated and debated but I review the quality of the whole schnitzel meal and I am not going to pay extra for the green stuff.
The meal, when it arrive, looked very unattractive, Just a big slab of schnitzel with a dollop of mushroom sauce in the middle. People, please, if you are going to serve a large schnitzel your toppings/gravy/sauces need to be relatively increased (minus 1/2 star).
While I don't have much to say about the actual schnitzel, which in itself is saying something...if you follow me...I didn't feel the need to stuff the last 1/4 into my stomach and so left some behind (which is very un-usual, and no I wasn't feeling ill). The chips were bland and soggy (minus 1/2 star).
Final Verdict: the most overrated schnitzel in town.

Price: $18

Rating: 3 stars.

General Havelock - Dirty Gringo Chicken

Schnitzel Lover had a rather successful visit to the Havey earlier this year, managing to award their Two Pints, Two Parmi's deal a full five stars. Since then the meal has jumped up two bucks in cost... but I'm not reviewing it today.

Looking for something new to try I spotted the Dirty Gringo. No, I wasn't checking out the dirty bloke in the corner, I was checking out the schnitzel!

I was equally impressed and disturbed with the meal as it arrived. The dish looked great but it didn't look like a schnitzel!

 

 

So as not to dwell on the unimportant, the salad and chips were both tasty, plentiful and above standard pub fare.

The chicken schnitzel was covered in a delicious mix of toasted corn chips, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. There was plenty of of this topping as well, easily covering the schnitzel. The taste itself is hard to describe but I can say for sure that it is fantastic!

So what prevents this from being a perfect meal? Well I honestly don't know, I guess there is just something in my mind telling me not to give it the full five stars. Regardless, you can't go wrong with a Dirty Gringo... well... maybe you can.

Price: $17.40

Rating: 4.5 stars

Slug 'n' Lettuce Tavern - Chicken Parmigiana

Despite sounding like several items you may find in the base of a well used shopping trolley the Slug is a better pub then the name suggests.  Predominantly wooden, and hence brown, the bistro is not a bad looking place to eat either.  My one hope sitting in there that the food matched neither the name or the location.

Surprisingly I chose to purchase a Parmi for tea.  It wasn't long before the meal arrived and it's appearance didn't surprise me.

Overall the appearance and quantity of food was average.  The salad was ok but the chips were sub standard.  Given how simple chips are it is always surprising how they turn out wrong.

The schnitzel itself was a much better eat.  The chicken was nicely cooked and the crumbing was quite well done.  The cheese melt and accompanying ham were better than average whilst the sauce was tasty and plentiful enough to cover the meal.

Overall the Slug does an alright schnitzel.

Price:

Rating: 3 stars

Mawson Lakes Hotel - Mawson Mega Chicken Parmigiana

BIG SCHNITZEL ALERT!

The Mawson Lakes Hotel is quite a nice eatery. The bistro is large and well furnished and the other areas, from my brief look, appeared to be of the same high standard. During recent years the Mawson has become infamous for its dangerously large schnitzels, somewhere eclipsing the Earl of Leicester along the way.

Upon arrival I immediately ordered the Mega Chicken Parmigiana and after some meal ordering amusement I took my chair in the bistro. Today, there were four Schnitzel Lover associates in tow, of which three were aiming to devour mega schnitzels.

I wasn't disappointed when the meal arrived... it was big! Clearly the schnitzel was two standard schnitzels joined together, but I didn't mind. The size of the meal made it necessary to forgo the chip rescue in favour of beginning the meal itself.

Cutting in and taking my first bite was a joy to behold, the chicken meat was delicious and perfectly cooked whilst the slight crunch to the crumbing was just right.

The cheese covered the entire meal and was toasted to an excellent golden brown. The chips were above average and were found in a decent quantity under the mega schnitzel.

Size-wise, how does it compare to the Coopers Ale House? pretty well actually. The Ale House schnitzels often feature a larger surface area and cover more of the plate. The Mawson Mega instead provides a thicker schnitzel which, without having the luxury of weighing the meal, makes the two equal in my book.

Problems with the meal? Maybe the cost of $19.90 (plus $4 for parmigiana topping) is a bit too high for some, but with the standard meal costing $15.90 why wouldn't you upsize when you're getting double the schnitzel? Further to this, the cost of the meal includes access to the salad bar in the centre of the bistro, which is far superior to paying an additional $2 at the Ale House for a crappy salad.

If you can eat big schnitzels this is worth paying for.

Price: $23.90

Rating: 5 stars

The Orient - Beef with Mushroom

There is no substitute for quality meat when it comes to a schnitzel and at the Oriental they use quality meat. The beef schnitzel down the road at the Alma seems like paper thin cardboard in comparison. Despite a mix up with the order I still received my "moo" schnitzel with mushroom sauce in reasonable time and when I saw the thickness of the schnitzel I was glad I didn't order the 500g "Sumo" schnitzel for $6 dollars more. It was unequivocally the best schnitzel I have had and although cooked to with-in a second of being overcooked the meat was still tender while the breading was a shade darker than perfection.

So what let the meal down...well it wasn't the chips, they were stock standard what we have come to expect from real Schnitzel contenders, or the mushroom sauce, which was tasty and well portioned but still out of it's depth when compared to the Daniel O'Connell. It was the salad. Some places seem to not put too much stock in delivering a good side of salad. The Orient tries to add an asian flavour to its meals (obviously derived from the name) but its orient inspired salad was un-attractive and not fun to eat (half a star off). I ended up leaving half of it behind, which was mostly grated carrot.

A final note: the meal was very nicely proportioned and I left satisfied and uncaring that a few seagulls around poached a chip or two from my plate.

Cost: $16

Rating: 4.5 stars