Bites Nearby: Oak Chalet

All of your favorites – pizza, burgers, sandwiches and steaks – are still in the rotation, but entice your palate with something a little bit different once in awhile, and try some German fare at Oak Chalet.

For the more hesitant eater, stick with some fan favorite appetizers such as baked clams ala maison, shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms and chicken fingers.

Of course, plenty of German specialties are available as well for the daring diner. Indulge in a hearty bratwurst appetizer, enjoy lots of flavor with the smoked shrimp and creamed horseradish or tickle your taste buds by ordering the escargots bourgogne. Other starters include German herring salad, herring filet in wine sauce, broiled scampi with garlic butter, marinated herring in sour cream, smoked trout with creamed horseradish and chicken liver pate.

Oak Chalet has 11 German specialities, so you'll never be at a loss for food options. Vegetarians will love the homemade potato pancakes served with applesauce and the vegetable du jour. Hearty, meaty entrees await, such as the weiner roast braten, a 14-ounce New York sirloin steak; jaegerschnitzel, a lightly breaded veal cutlet in homemade mushroom gravy; and wienerschnitzel ala holstein, a lightly breaded veal cutlet topped with an egg and served with potato pancakes.

Of course, the menu has other German cuisine as well including sauerbraten, kassler rippchen, wienerschnitzel, goulash with spaetzle, bratwurst/knockwurst platter, schlacht platte and frikadelle.

Not interested in these cultural dishes? Oak Chalet serves up plenty of other land and sea options. 

Seafood fanatics will be happy to know that they have the choice of twin lobster tails, seafood au gratin, filet of sole, scallops, fried shrimp, shrimp scampi or a seafood platter. Many of the entrees are available either broiled or fried.

Sink your teeth into a delicious steak, a New York sirloin steak or filet mignon with bernaise sauce for example. Treat your taste buds to a grilled chicken breast, chicken breast marsala or a chicken breast with creamy cheese sauce.

Some of the same items, such as the potato pancakes with applesauce and the grilled chicken breast, are available at lunch time too. However, the restaurant also has lighter lunch dishes including a Germanburger with fries, Chef's salad, cheeseburger and fries, grilled chicken salad, a cheese omelette with fries and more.

In a couple of weeks, you'll be able to enjoy Oktoberfest at the Oak Chalet with music from accordianist Frank Rapuano from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Thursday from September 22 through October 27.