Ludwig's Club Cafe

Article from the SouthTown - July 16, 2000

Ludiwg's mixes European, American Fare

By Eloise Marie Valadez
Staff Writer

At Ludwig's Club Cafe, diners can experience the tastes of Europe in a cozy, down-to-earth setting. "We want to bring them the feeling of the old country," said Hans Enderlin, chef/owner of Ludwig's in Hammond.

Enderlin establishes that "old country" feeling with many traditional favorites not only on the restaurant's regular menu, but the brunch menu as well.

European dishes, with an emphasis on German cuisine (and some French and Spanish thrown in occasionally), and traditional American fare are highlighted at the Northwest Indiana restaurant.

The cafe's brunch, which Enderlin sad has been available since the eatery's inception in 1996, is offered on Saturdays and Sundays.

We visited Ludwig's for Sunday brunch recently and found a charming environment where various recipes -- from blintzes and eggs Benedict to pork with sauerkraut and Italian scrambled eggs -- were in the spotlight.

A diner tries some of the European fare on the brunch buffet at Ludwig's Club Cafe

It's an all-you-can-eat experience at Ludwig's and at $8.45 for the champagne brunch and $7.45 without champagne, the cost is economical as well.

We were seated in the pavilion at Ludwig's, which is a narrow room decorated charmingly with country-inspired and ethnic knicknacks.

The pavilion proved a good choice and was inviting, as the sunlight poured in through the room's many windows. Enderlin says the Pavilion is one of the restaurant's newest additions. Other dining areas at Ludwig's include the club, which is set in the rear of the restaurant and the cafe, which is a section with stools surrounding the eatery's kitchen.

"We wanted to create a comfortable and cosmopolitan setting", he said of Ludwig's decor. Brunch items are set up on tables on tables in Ludwig's cafe section, which is a short walk from the pavilion.

A waitress took our beverage orders, and we were off to fill our plates for our leisurely meal. Among breakfast food selections that day were scrambled eggs, eggs Benedict, Greek-style French toast, buttermilk biscuits and gravy and cheese blintzes.

After filling up on the gbreakfast items, we headed back to choose lunch items, including barbecued rib timps, beef stroganoff, Polish sausage and stuffed cabbage.

Among desserts were coffee cakes, doughnuts and fresh fruits. Enderlin says many of the brunch items are regular features every Saturday and Sunday, but he'll occasionally add different dishes.

"I'm always experim3enting, and I try to come up with new items once a week", said Enderlin, who honed his chef's skills as a culinary apprentice in Germany and later in other European towns.

Enderlin also worked in the food services industry at various hotels in the UNited States and had a role in corporate management for the Holiday Star's restaurant division in Merrillville, Ind., during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The chef said he plans to make more changes to the brunch menu at Ludwig's, including the possible addition of an omelet station.

Enderlin says Ludwig's through the years has grown from an eatery that largely attracted only patrons from the neighborhood to a restaurant that draws diners from Illinois and Indiana towns.

"We've gotten many people from Lockport, Tinley Park, Orland Park and Naperville to Valparaiso, Merrillville and Schereville," he said. "We've tried to make this more of a destination-type place."