Subscriber Comments for
Dutch Gardens

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

LIZTISH340	2010-07-24 11:31 AM
Love Dutch Gardens! The outdoor seating is such a pleasure with all the trees. Heaven off Hollister!
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-24 11:37 AM
You find real German food at Brummis. You find a charming atmosphere at Dutch Gardens (Deutsch = German), but nothing remotely German about its approach to food. Just because they serve a sausage, kraut and potato salad does not mean they know or care about German food. Stick to Brummis if you want to come relatively close to something you might get in Munich or Berlin.
COMMENT 92245	2010-07-24 12:19 PM
I love the Dutch Gardens but want to keep it "my" secret. Authentic/schmentic, who cares? It's food is delicious and lovingly home made. The pies are always great, and like the soups, offered in great variety. I agree about the dedicated patrons, but what I've also noticed it that some of the waitstaff are beer-o-philes, with lots of information to share about the many unfamiliar (to me) European brews they serve.
COMMENT 92258	2010-07-24 01:25 PM
The european deli in goleta is very good as well.
COMMENT 92259	2010-07-24 01:27 PM
well - in Berlin you would find turkish food, argentinian food, bars, and stands selling sausages as fast food (just like you might have to go to a rural area or in people's houses to find american food).
COMMENT 92278P	2010-07-24 04:43 PM
Dutch Gardens is absolutely darling, and cozy. Easy parking, too. I don't feel comfortable going to Brummis anymore, because of the nearby pot place. That was last year, and I felt unsafe with some of the people hanging around outside the pot place. After dinner, I rushed back to my car, and locked the doors, then went home. Haven't been back.
COMMENT 92298	2010-07-24 05:43 PM
@92284 Are you referring to Plow to Porch??? They've been a respectable delivery business for some time and finally decided to open up a storefront. But that's okay, there's nothing wrong with a little suspicion of local businesses, right? Gotta bring in the reputable out-of-towners instead.
COMMENT 92320	2010-07-24 10:08 PM
I agree that authenticity is not an issue. All I know is the food is fantastic. The soups are amazing, and Ken makes the best duck I have ever eaten. A curious, and completely unrelated fact; the worst duck I have ever eaten was at Talk of the Town circa 1978. This was a restaurant that was supposed to be SB's best. I had bad duck and indifferent service. I wonder why it is no longer there? ;-)
COMMENT 92354	2010-07-25 10:00 AM
I think it burned down, that's why it's no longer there. Didn't know about the soups at DG, perhaps I'll give 'em a try. Thanks LJ!
COMMENT 92358P	2010-07-25 10:05 AM
Admittedly I have only eaten at Dutch Gardens once. But I found the food greasy (and not in that good kind of greasy way, if you know what I mean.) Just not to my liking at all. They were friendly enough, but just nothing special. To each their own.
COMMENT 92360	2010-07-25 10:17 AM
What's with the paranoia about San Roque? I shop/dine around there often and have never felt in anyway nervous. Sometimes the bars attract a slightly rowdy crowd, but I have never been bothered. The pot shop seems less annoying than the bars, really. I think the previous posters are a but nutty.
COMMENT 92401	2010-07-25 01:42 PM
wow, now that is a sausage.
COMMENT 92406	2010-07-25 02:48 PM
Sorry for this nitpickiness, but this establishment is "Dutch Garden", not "The Dutch Gardens." Anyone know why people often tend to add an unnecessary "s" to restaurant/bar names? I may be wrong, but I notice this linguistic thing especially in Southern California. I'm not complaining, I'm just curious about this tendency to add an extra "s." Anyone else ever notice it? People used to always say "Zelos," and I've heard "Pascuccis," "Bucatinis," and other things. Is it because many restaurants actually do have "possessive" names, like "Petrini's" or "Emilio's," so we just extend that trend? [I also wonder why people say "Fiestas" instead of "Fiesta," but that's probably a different story.]
COMMENT 92358P	2010-07-25 02:49 PM
Lemonjelly, I was just wondering what they serve the gnomes with.
COMMENT 92451P	2010-07-25 05:54 PM
How abou that Piraat ale? (I call it pirate ale) isn't it great?
COMMENT 92565	2010-07-26 08:12 AM
LJ, what about the Celeriac soup? very tasty. I've always gone to Dutch Garden for lunch and soup was never on my mind. I finally made it there for dinner and was pleasantly surprised. After the gastrointestinal distress my wife and I experienced after dining at Brummi's we are sticking with Dutch Garden.
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-26 09:49 AM
Any dining distress one could experiences at consistently highly recommended Brummis had to come from trying to eat all of their very large portions of excellent food. Ask to take home what is beyond your ability to eat instead of wolfing it all down and later regreting your own choice for excess. Dutch Gardens has nothing to do with any particularly style of food other than its own. It is okay but nothing special and the setting is charming (but noisy from the freeway traffic) and more power to any restaurant that has its longevity in this fickle local dining climate. Solid sells and that is what you get at both Dutch Garden and Brummis. But only Brummis offers German food. Dutch Gardens offers whatever it offers.
COMMENT 92565	2010-07-26 11:01 AM
Not sure what the hoopla is over Brummis. Sure it's not that bad, but it's also nothing special. I could never recommend it or call it a real German restaurant as they don't even offer schnitzel made with veal.
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-26 12:52 PM
What part of the word "schnitzel" says veal? It doesn't. It refers to a cut of meat; not which kind of meat. There are veal schnitzels, chicken schnitzels and veal schnitzels. And probably even tofu schnitzels. Silly parochalism to condemn a restaurant for one's own vocabulary paucity.
COMMENT 92565	2010-07-26 02:46 PM
Yep, authentic German schnitzel is made with veal, but 92717 is correct in that it is also now made with other types of meat. For a place to call itself an authentic German restaurant the schnitzel most definitely needs to be veal. Sure they can offer sub chicken for those who don't like veal, but you can't call that version true to tradition and I'm not sure I'd ever trust a German restaurant that doesn't serve this classic properly.
COMMENT 92789	2010-07-26 02:55 PM
The gnomes are there to observe you and perhaps to keep you company, for no additional charge, in the DG dining room. The piraat ale does rock. Love that it's served in its signature glass. It went well with my broccoli cheddar soup.
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-26 05:02 PM
Authentic German food is made in Germany. Live with chicken in your US schnitzel. Who wants to eat penned up baby calves anyway. Yuck to any claim for authenticity. Tofu schnitzel would work better in this town anyway.
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-26 07:04 PM
Oh dear, looks like someone got Austrian weiner schnitzel (required to be veal, if it is so named) mixed up with German schnitzel which is traditionally pork, though not required. Gosh, Brummis never pretended they were an Austrian restaurant now did they. Funny how those little things can trip self-appointed and opinionated food experts up. I suppose a retraction of the negative review would be appropriate at this point, but not expected. Even though they don't speak Austrian in Austria, they do seem to mean different things when they sprechen schnitzel.
COMMENT 92565	2010-07-27 07:05 AM
Oh dear, looks like someone has been confused by some dish that doesn't even exist. German schnitzel? Is that made with German people? The schnitzel during my time in Germany was refered to as Wiener Schnitzel made with a veal cutlet, Schweine-Schnitzel made with pork, and Hänchen-Schnitzel made with chicken as well as all the other varieties that refer to the toppings rather than the meat. I'd say 92783 is not too far off in doubting the quality of a German place that doesn't even offer a legitimate Wiener Schnitzel
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-27 09:23 AM
Oh dear, Weiner Schnitzel is not made up of sliced up Viennese people either. Auch du Lieber. Or, even made up of slices of wine. How cruel these misrepresented food names are as to their true intent and disclosure of ingredients. Don't even get me started on Saltimbocca.
COMMENT 92565	2010-07-27 09:34 AM
As a confessed schnitzel lover I can't say I've ever seen one referred to in America or abroad as "German Schnitzel." As far as schnitzel goes, pork, chicken, veal, mystery.. Brummi's is mehhh, but the rest of the food is passable. Better offerings elsewhere.
COMMENT 92229	2010-07-27 11:12 AM
Brummis bockwurst, potato salad and saurkraut, with her special German mustard on the side is as good as it gets in this town. Yum, I am going there tonight.
SEEDLADY	2010-07-30 01:41 PM
mmmmmmmm...bockworrrsst...slurp, drool.

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