Our Tri-State Bucket List Returns With a Feast at Gerst Haus

Living in western Kentucky, and especially on the Ohio River, I have the benefit of having southern Indiana and all its wonderful German heritage just a trip across the bridge away from me. There's a lot of German in my family, but even if that weren't so, I'd likely love German food just as much.

Now that it's October, folks may be seeking out that type of cuisine. I mean, we're talking Oktoberfest, so yeah, bring on all the schnitzel and sauerkraut you can find. Trust me, I can handle it.

And handle it is exactly what we did when Ashley, our digital managing editor, and I decided to kick off the best month of the year at Gerst Haus on Franklin Street on Evansville's west side.

German Food and Evansville History at Gerst Haus

When you step inside, you're immediately transported back in time. The building where Gerst Haus has been located since 1999 began its life in 1890 as a grocery. In fact, the adornments on the outside windows hark back to that time and to 1925, when the place became a hardware store.

Ash

Of course, history wasn’t the only thing we came to soak up. There was beef stroganoff, jaeger schnitzel (a veal cutlet with sauteed mushrooms in a brown wine sauce), kraut balls, and—excuse my watering mouth—that turkey reuben.

Ash

The Tri-State Bucket List Is Back

Our October 1st visit marked the return of the Tri-State Bucket List, our long-running series featuring locally owned tri-state restaurants. We asked the Gerst Haus crew to prepare some of their specialties, and that glorious lineup is what they brought to the table.

Take a look.