German in the suburbs: Edelweiss Restaurant, Norridge

I recently ventured over to test out some German delights at Edelweiss Restaurant in Norridge.

Consistently voted Chicagoland's No. 1 German restaurant, the family-owned eatery serves up plenty of authentic cuisine and brews within its highly decorated walls.

But depending on your tastes and your level of comfort with German food, this place could be a hit or miss.

I personally am not one who's into trying tons of new things. I get scared when friends pick up frogs' legs at Chinese restaurants and gnaw away like it's a chicken bone. So, when a pale white sausage arrived at our table, I was flooded with nervous feelings all over again.

Surprisingly (although I didn't try said white sausage and can't remember its actual name), I really enjoyed my meal. We went here for their Easter specials with my family, and we all had a good time jamming out to the live one-man German band, who was rocking on his clarinet and Casio.

Two in our group ordered the gigantic meat platter-type special (possibly called "The Edelweiss") and seemed extremely pleased. Some things didn't have a whole lot of "pow" taste, but I think that's more so the style of particular German food.

My grandmother really enjoyed her roast duck -- something she gets every time she visits. (And yes, many elderly people do dine there.) I'm not a duck fan, so I passed.

However, I couldn't get enough of my ham that I'd ordered; it was sweet and melted right into my fork. The cabbage, German potatoes, and other side dishes I'd picked off my family's plates were also tasty.

Although the prices are a bit steep ($20-25 per meal the day we went), you do get a lot for your buck and you have to chalk it up to authenticity. Plus, they've probably got to pay the German musician for all that polka-ing somehow.