Singing on Stuart Street

A Boston classic since 1868, retaining its old time feel with its mahogony bar and pub atmosphere, Jacob Wirth Restaurant transports you back in time. Serving traditional German food and some American staples, a meal at Jacob Wirth is not complete without the beer. With a huge selection of beers and ales, and cask conditioned beers - richer and more full-bodied flavor - Jacob Wirth is a place people go to enjoy their drinks as much as the food.

Yet the German mixed grill fare is the most authentic food of the Rhine region that I've found in Boston; specialties include weiner schnitzel, bratwurst, and jaegerschnitzel - breaded veal tenderloin drowned in a Jaegermeister sauce. Not the place for you if you are a) a vegetarian, b) on a diet, or c) not a drinker. Though they do offer selected small plate versions of the popular dishes as well. Their epic German tasting menu, four courses each paired with a different beer, is not for the faint-hearted. You begin with their potato pancake (can be dry, but yummy with cinnamon roasted apples), followed by wiener schnitzel, then your choice of wurst (with sauerkraut of course), and then finally the German chocolate cheesecake (at which point I leave on a stretcher.) Of course they do Oktoberfest as well.

Friday nights at Jacob Wirth is when the festivities really happen, as the piano player Mel plays tunes of all the great classics, from the Beatles to Motown, and everyone in the dining room is invited to sing along. With song books with the lyrics at each table, the evening becomes a giant sing-along ... growing louder as the drinks are drained ... It's a great venue for celebrations of special occasions, and there's a birthday party nearly every week. Though keep in mind that the noise level in the spacious dining room can become a cacophony, so this is not the place for a quiet dinner (or even a conversation) on Friday nights.

So go with a group of friends, be sure to make reservations in advance since the tables in the dining room near Mel's piano are sure to fill up quickly, sample the fresh beers on tap, and get ready to sing! Finally, I like to finish with a "Winter Warmer," their coffee drinks such as the Winter Mint Coffee and Black Forest Coffee, the perfect boozy hot mugs to fill your belly before heading back out into the Boston cold. You'll leave happy.