Gunk Haus, Highland, NY

I've been hearing about this place for a while, and from some reliable sources, so we decided to pay a visit on a clear summer day. Now the address is Highland, but it is closer to Clintondale. I'll give you the website and you can find directions and other stuff.

Gunk Haus bills themselves as a German Gastropub using local and organic food as much as possible. As a result the menu changes almost daily to reflect what is available and fresh. The beer menu changes as well to reflect pairings and seasonal offerings.

Inside it is fairly large and open with plenty of windows. Unfortunately they don't have shades so some of the tables are in severe sun. The staff is friendly and welcoming and we were seated right away. We did have to move over a table though because of that light.

We looked through the menu and quite a few offerings looked good. After careful deliberation we ordered a side of potato salad (pictured) for an appetizer that was very good with sliced pickles on it.

Teresa decided on the pork tenderloin sandwich, with salad on the side and she said it was good. I was pondering the array of sausage based meals and I finally went with the Haus burger, with smoked gouda on it and the Haus cole slaw instead of fries. I ordered it medium and paired it with a Mother's Milk, a fine Milk Stout from Keegan Ales in Kingston. The burger came on a fresh baked pretzel roll and it was a thick eight ounce burger. When I picked it up juice ran out onto the plate. I bit into it and it looked a bit overcooked. Further investigation found it to be much closer to well done and most of the juices were in my plate. I pointed it out to the waitress and she quickly offered to make another one. I said no, this wasn't bad, and it really wasn't, I only pointed it out so they would know and because this is getting to be an issue with me lately. Every time I order a burger it seems to come out cooked a step or two above what I ask for. Several other people came and apologized as well. The cole slaw was okay, but it needed something, it was a bit flat tasting.

Now we don't do this often, but the five desert offerings looked so good that we saved room for desert. The winner was the cherry and blueberry strudel shown here. It was good and finished off the meal perfectly. In retrospect we should have ordered coffee to go with it, but we inhaled it anyway.

Okay, the bottom line is this; good service, good prices and good food. Out of four dishes we ordered, three were perfect. If something isn't right they take care of it and you can usually customize parts of the meal, like leaving out an ingredient you don't want. The whole thing was forty buck plus tip for two entrees, an extra side, a beer and desert. We'll be back to try them again and that time I'll look into those sausages.

Update- We went back and found it to be as good as the first time, maybe even better. Click here for the review.