The best German restaurant in America is just around the corner, according the the GermanDeli.com. This year the Bavarian Grill in Plano received the award. They won in 2009 too. The restaurant is celebrating this evening at its bi-monthly stein club meeting.
Inga Bowyer started her online grocery in 2008 and then developed a website to promote German restaurants across the country. The contest was a way to showcase restaurants that provide exemplary experiences rooted in authentic German dining. Bowyer admits there were some duds to sift through but her database is growing: right now nearly 500 restaurants are listed on her website.
Each year Bowyer has increased her efforts to make sure the contest is conducted as fairly as possible -- first implementing cookies to prevent repeat voting and subsequently adding an increasingly complicated registration process for voters. Now she sends out undercover judges to restaurants that garner top votes, in an effort to assure the establishment serves food that aligns with her vision of authenticity.
The Bavarian Grill opened in 1993 and has built a growing customer base, expanding three times over the years and serving up German classics like rinder rouladen, a pounded top round of beef rolled and stuffed with mustard onions and herbs, schnitzel and sauerbraten. They also serve beer, lots of German brews in fact, which is more than enough reason to head to make the drive to Plano, presuming you're not the one driving home.