Minnesota Monthly readers honor two local restaurants

By RACHEL WEDDIG

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Recently the Kaiserhoff, 221 North Minnesota, was named one of Minnesota's "Best German Restaurants" and Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor, 1700 North Broadway, was named one of Minnesota's best "Birthday Party," restaurants by readers of Minnesota Monthly.

"We were very surprised and very proud to have received this award," said Kaiserhoff owner Don Veigel. "We do our best to achieve good food."

Happy Joe's Owner Lee Strum said the award is a tribute to his waitresses who host the birthday parties.

"I'm happy for the girls that put on these parties," Strum said. "Our girls are really friendly and don't shun away from kids. We love kids here."

The awards were announced in the tcTaste Issue supplement of the May edition of Minnesota Monthly as part of their annual "Everyone's a Critic" program. Neither restaurant owners knew about the award until their plaques arrived in the mail.

The restaurants that received the most votes were listed in the May supplement. Minnesota Monthly had four winners listed for each of the various categories.

"The Kaiserhoff and Happy Joe's received several votes," said Pamela Nettleton, editor of MInnesota Monthly. "It was nice to see because in the past couple of years we haven't had a strong response from people outside the metro area."

Co-owners Jan and Don Veigel appreciate their customers and thank them for the award.

"Jan and I would like to thank all the people who voted for us," Don said. "Without them, this award would not have been possible."

The "Everyone's A Critic" ballot came out in the January and February editions of Minnesota Monthly. The ballot was blank, as readers wrote in their favorite restaurants for the various categories. The readers voted for a restaurant in the metro area, and a restaurant out of the metro area.

The Kaiserhoff has a unique German menu that Jan put together. German fans can taste a variety of German food at the Kaiserhoff such as: bratwurst and sauerkraut, German potato salad, sauerkraut and ribs and wiener schnitzels.

Don said customers come from all over the U.S. and foreign countries to taste their food, especially the barbecued ribs, which the Kaiserhoff's specialty.

Happy Joe's offers two standard birthday packages, but Strum said basically the restaurant can do whatever the parents and children want for the birthday party.

Happy Joe's waitresses serve all the food, sing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday child and make sure everyone is having a good time.

Strum said a big reason the restaurant is so popular for birthday parties is because the restaurant has a very relaxed atmosphere and a game room children can enjoy.

"Parents can just sit back and relax while the kids are in the game room," Strum said. "This is the kind of atmosphere where the parents and kids can feel at home."

Strum said on average Happy Joe's hosts five to six birthday parties a week, with the busiest time during the fall and spring seasons. Strum said families come from all over the area to have birthday parties at Happy Joe's.

Since Happy Joe's opened 21 years ago they've hosted birthday parties. "Our speciality is pizza, ice cream and birthday parties," said Strum.