Who says supper can't be fun?

As featured in the October 25, 2012 edition of Dining Out, Waterloo Region Record.

Once in a blue moon, I like to go to The Blue Moon Restaurant in Petersburg, particularly on nights when the live entertainment caters to kids. This promises me hot, hearty, German and Mennonite inspired “food that schmecks” while my little ones are entertained by Erick Traplin, who sings action songs about Spiderman and comes equipped with a world-class bubble machine. This winning combination results in a mesmerizing, joyful and hilarious mosh-pit of pint-sized dancers in front of the Tree Room stage.

For 164 years now, The Blue Moon has offered a stagecoach stop, country-style food, live entertainment and a local watering hole. Recently, my family took a 10-minute drive, three km west of Kitchener, in our (Honda) stagecoach to make it a family night of comfort food and kid-friendly fun.

We started with an appetizer combo plate ($18.99), which could’ve easily fed our family of four. The bruschetta involved fresh chunky tomatoes and flecks of aromatic basil leaf perched atop crusty yet squishy sour dough, making it the tastiest on the plate. The antijitos were pretty plain, reminiscent of jalapeno Cheez Whiz-slathered tortillas, and the wings could’ve been crispier; something redeemed in the onion rings, which placated our kids until their order of grilled cheese and fries ($6.99) arrived. Clearly not a night about the four food groups but hey — it’s called ‘The Blue Moon’ for a reason, people.

For mains, I had the buffalo chicken sandwich ($9.99); sticky with hot sauce and served atop a Kaiser bun dressed with iceberg lettuce, tomato and mayo. Not bad at all.

My husband had the Oktoberfest schnitzel: four ounces of hand-breaded schnitzel ($17.49) doused with sauerkraut and served alongside mashed potato and a pot of Oktoberfest mustard. He said it was a cross between a country meal he’d have on the farm and a Bavarian supper he’d sampled on a high-school trip to Germany. I have a feeling that’s what The Blue Moon was going for: food das schmeckt gut, providing you’re prepared to say auf wiedersehen to tomorrow’s caloric intake.

It was important for us to sample dessert, but we had already eaten enough to feed large Amish family, so we took a slice of apple and pumpkin pie home with us. We preferred the apple with its sweet chunks and flaky pastry over the pumpkin, which was all right but lacking spice. In any case, both brought back that full, button-popping feeling, even the next day.

The Blue Moon is famous for what it dubs ‘Waterloo County fare: pigtails, rolled ribs, schnitzel, limburger sandwiches and its notorious smoked pork hock, a.k.a. ‘The Big Fellow.’ It looked like something Fred Flintstone would feast on: a brontosaurus-sized portion, cooked slow and low, yielding hearty, richly flavoured meat. It kinda made my stomach do the polka but it’s what people travel miles to savour, in all its massiveness.

The Blue Moon has six rooms and hosts dances, parties, weddings and a regular repertoire of adult-friendly musical entertainers. But that night, thanks to Erick Traplin, our food seemed to taste even better, our kids slept like babies and I’m sure dreamt in bubbles.

Hours
Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Wheelchair accessibility
Accessible

Cuisine
Hearty, country-style fare with Mennonite and German influences

Menu
Extensive — soups, goulash, chili, five different salads. Starters range from pigtail wontons, deep-fried pickles, quesadilla, wings, nachos, and battered mushrooms to poutine, perogies, potato skins, fries and onion rings. Burgers galore, schnitzel, meaty sandwiches, breakfast specials and a Waterloo County section complete with steak, ribs, cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, pigtails and its famous smoked pork hock. Wing night Wednesdays and Schnitzel night Thursdays.

Reservations
Usually not necessary, unless during busy times (e.g. Oktoberfest and live music nights, depending on popularity)

Atmosphere
Large country pub and tavern; lots of pine, a whimsical paper-mache tree adorned in blue twinkly lights, antique photos and wooden beer signs galore.

Drinks
A variety of local and imported beer, a couple wines, mixed drinks, coffee, tea, and fountain drinks.

Service
Overall: brusque. On this occasion, our server was quite polite but her co-workers dominated. When she seated us by the kitchen, one server griped, “You can’t put a high chair there unless you want me to plow over that kid.” My 21-month-old cherub blinked her big blue eyes in horror. Most servers seemed annoyed by having to walk in between the kids’ mosh-pit in front of the stage, but what do you expect when you create a dance floor there?

The bill
$71.13 for one appetizer combo plate, a kid’s meal, two entrées, two desserts and two pints.