Country Cookin’by Chef Klaus

Love it, just absolutely love it. Great food, love the atmosphere, and love the people. It’s great place to escape to on a lunch-​break, or when you’re waiting on car repairs (the restaurant is surrounded by mechanics).

Great food, service and atmosphere. Come here for good cooking. Potato pancakes were perfect. Not greasy and perfect thickness. Applesauce was great. Not too sweet and flavorful — also perfectly cooked bacon.
We will be back and have other menu times. Skip the chains and come here.

My husband and I decided to try this hidden restaurant. The food was good. Service was absolutely horrible our waitress informed us she was tired her son was sick and she only had 1 hour sleep. I have children been there. I listened to the waitresses personal phone calls throughout my entire lunch. Went to pay the check and the hostess was on the phone talking about grandmas surprise birthday party. I understand things happen. They talk about young people on their cell phones I felt like I was in a high school lunch room. Didn’t even wash hands to put toast in toaster after being outside and on cell phone. Yuck. Guess I won’t be going back there

The best biscuits and gravy. Biscuits are huge and most satisfying. Very reasonable prices for quality breakfast and brunch. Ill be back this week

Was looking for a place for a late lunch. We almost went past it. Charming country family atmosphere. Food and service better than expected. Will definitely be back again. Next time for breakfast.

I’ve been working in area for 4 years and always wanted to stop by. I’m glad I did, nice country feel. Staff very friendly and accommodating. Orders chicken fajita skillet with side of homemade salsa. Food, coffee and service 5 stars.

First, I am shocked to see all the 5-​star reviews on this place. Either people are blind or their tolerance of average food and horrendous service is high. I am not someone to casually give a place a bad review, but this place deserves it.
Where to start?
First, the ambiance is one of a dirty old farm house. That’s fine as long as the first and only rule of dining is observed — it’s clean. Chef Klaus’s breakfast joint is not clean. There are dead animal carcasses on the walls! I would venture to say that these little dust traps haven’t been cleaned in ages. The floors and counters are dirty. When my wife asked for a cup of water, there was lipstick on it. So much crap on the walls, it’s ridiculous. Why all the crap? It’s like a hoarder is using his/​her little breakfast joint as a place to store crap.
Second, the service is horrendous. We sat at the counter, where we were front and center listening to a discussion on gonorrhea. I am not joking. There is nothing to make me want to eat then hear of wonderful ways of suppressing gonorrhea. I hear this place is very busy usually, but at this time of the day, it wasn’t and the staff acted like they just didn’t care. We waited for coffee. We waited to put in our order. We waited to get our food. We waited to pay for our checks and the entire staff was gathered around the counter looking at the paper and talking about gonorrhea. This is clearly a management problem. If I were an employer of this restaurant, I’d fire every one of these people. All those people just standing around while people are WAITING to put in their order!!! How is that acceptable?
Lastly, the food. Huge portions. I liked the hash browns, but they were burnt. Monor quibble. The eggs were fine, but the bacon was not edible. I mean, there was something wrong with it. I mentioned it to the server and she mentioned that the owner of this joint just recently switched the bacon. I’m wondering what the owner’s standards are for bacon choice as the bacon was all fat and full of funk.
What a horrendous experience. My wife and I go out for breakfast at least twice a week. There are places just down the street far better than this place. When checking out, the hostess mentioned that «They were having an off day.» You think? Never again.

One of my favorite breakfast spots. It’s in a weird location that doesn’t look like a restaurant. Food is great, I always have a hard time picking out. Sometimes I get schnitzel and potato pancakes… delish. Very cool north woods décor of you’re into that… I am. Love it.

This is generally, a good breakfast spot in the south ‘burbs.
It’s just really really really small. The service is just average. The quality of the ingredients didn’t seem great– but the food itself tasted fine (although it was very oily!).
It has a unique vibe. This may sound weird to say but, I felt like I was somewhere else in the country. Not really sure how to describe it. But while I was actually sitting in the restaurant, I felt like I was in in a small white town in the South during a different era. Probably not the best way to describe it? It wasnt a bad thing, it was just different.
Anyways, I’d recommend it to people looking for a new, cheap, breakfast spot in the south suburbs.

Breakfast here is decent. But I come here for the lunch food. The German selections rock! The décor is a bit weird. Hunting lodge stuff on the walls for a diner? I know it is a family pastime thing so to each his own. The food is what is most important. A bit more pricey than your usual diner. Good portions and quality. Service is ok. Place is small so on the weekend you will likely wait and there is no room to wait in.
I give it 4 ½ for the German food.
A 3 for the breakfast food.
A 3 for service.
A 2 for décor.

The Chef Klaus skillet is a combination that I hadn’t seen before with gravy from biscuits and gravy plus sausage and your standard other skillet mix ins.
The environment feels like a welcoming country kitchen for sure. I will definitely be back for more.

It’s a small place so get there early. Everything was delicious. Yummy biscuits & gravy and German potatoes

What a hidden gem of a restaurant.
If you blink, you will miss this place. Hidden in an industrial strip mall location, this little place takes you away from the stresses of city life and truly makes you feel like you’re in the country.
Walking in, you’re hit with childhood memories of family vacations at the «lake» or the feeling of having just walked into the town diner with a population of 100.
It’s a cozy, seat-​yourself-​café humbly decorated and staffed by friendly people that make you feel like you’ve known them for years. Our waitstaff today was Heather, who promptly greeted us after sitting down and made us feel at home. She was friendly and helped with some great recommendations for our first visit here.
The menu is REALLY difficult to choose from. My family and I try many restaurants for breakfast and there are only two of them (off the top of my head) in the area that have menus with choices this difficult. Be ready to take some time to take in the many combinations available. Be careful though, you won’t want to forget taking a gander at the «specials» board by the entrance. There you will find some tasty combinations that are not regularly on the menu; such as my choice for the day, «Jalapeño Glazed Ham» with eggs. YUMM!
Even though the way I wanted it wasn’t in the special or on the menu, the «home town» feeling of this place just came out in their actions, «We can make it that way for you.»
Price is about average for the area about $ 10-​$ 15 a person including beverages.
The ONLY reason I didn’t give this location 5 stars is because it IS small. I could easily see this place having capacity problems and long wait times. I think we just go lucky that there were seats open.
With food and service like we received today, I could see why it would be crowded.

We came in for mother’s day breakfast with a large party of 11. I am a very big fan of Chef Klaus’ Orland Oasis, and was hoping for something similar at this Mokena location, but wasn’t exactly impressed.
It didn’t start out too well. The restaurant is very tight, as was our 3 – 4 tables that were put together to accommodate 11 people. My section of the table was really wobbly, and this might not be crucial to a Unilocal review, but believe me it was annoying enough to write about.
Coffee for everyone! Their coffee is surprisingly tasty, however, my mother needed a new cup because there was pink lipstick remnants on the one she picked up, and she does not wear lipstick.
I won’t review all 11 dishes, but I had the wild berry waffle stuffed with cream cheese and it was fantastic. The waffle itself was perfect, very light and fluffy. Not sure the fruit was fresh, but it tasted pretty good regardless. Cream cheese was a great addition to this dish, I was pleasantly surprised.
Most everyone ordered some variety of a skillet, which I must emphasize are huge, and should probably be shared between 2 people, if you aren’t trying to be like the guy on Man vs. Food and gobble it all down along with the side of pancakes or toast that comes with it.
Another issue we had was my mom’s eggs were very undercooked. She ordered them scrambled. but they were definitely very easy and runny after cutting into them. That was promptly taken care of though.
I ordered a side cinnamon melt, which started out good, but as I got to the center, became very dry. Kind of a let-​down, Cinnabon probably has better ones, and for $ 3.25 I should have probably ordered some more hearty eggs/​sausage on the side instead, as most of those types of items had good feedback.
Despite all this, the little joint handled our large party very well. Everyone was eventually satisfied and the food isn’t bad, and relatively inexpensive, especially considering the portions. I would describe it as a very old-​world breakfast café, very suitable for older people and the people who can appreciate similar restaurants. I think I will just continue to go to the Orland Oasis though, for all my local breakfast cravings.

Located in an industrial park type area is a hidden gem. When the coffee of a restaurant isn’t just passable, but actually good, I know I’m in for a treat.
Delicious cream of chicken soup, and I mean delicious. Oh, baby, just thinking of that soup…
Their country fried steak is the real deal. Best I’ve ever had. Ever. A giant piece of steak battered and fried to perfection. Hashbrowns cooked perfectly. Toast grilled, the way it should be. The Chef Klaus skillet was great, lots of meat and eggs piled on a mound of hashbrowns.
All in all, a great meal and a place I can’t wait to visit again. A+. Click.

We love Schnitzel so we’re always looking for a good German/​Bohemian restaurant that can satisfy our monthly indulgence. So, as I was checking reviews on several places nearby, I read the ones here that were mixed. I am sorry to say I must agree with the negative ones, and the only reason I’m not giving ONE star is because the soup was delicious and our waitress offered for us to order something else since we didn’t care for the food.
My fiancé ordered the Swiss Schnitzel (pork schnitzel with mushrooms and swiss cheese) and I ordered the chicken schnitzel, we both had cream of spinach soup and red cabbage. First of all, the cream of spinach soup was one of the best I’ve tasted in any restaurant — lots of spinach and very creamy. We also were served 2 dinner rolls and slices of rye bread. I was surprised when I picked up the dinner roll to find it was COLD — not just room temperature — but COLD — as if it was just taken out of the freezer. And, I’m sure it was because when I took a bite, it was a little FROZEN on the inside. I thought perhaps they forgot to heat it up, so I told the waitress and she said she could warm it up but they usually don’t do that. I didn’t know what to say. Yuck!
The most disappointing part of the meal was the Schnitzel. It was not only bland, but I thought it tasted weird and greasy and my fiancé thought it was fried in butter. Whatever it was… while the chicken and pork tasted fine, the breading tasted horrible to both of us. Maybe there was corn meal in it? I’m not sure. But, we peeled the breading off, and when the waitress noticed that she asked if something was wrong. After I explained she looked surprised and said that they are well known for their Schnitzel, but if I wanted to order something else, that would be fine. I opted not to do that only because I didn’t want to wait for something else to be cooked.
I HATE to give bad reviews. But, I felt I had to in this case because our meals were SO disappointing. The good news is we didn’t get sick from the food, and we appreciate the other Eastern European restaurants we frequent more than ever now.

I am a big fan of Potato pancakes so I was excited to return here for a breakfast after many years without eating their food. Boo hoo! The potato pancakes are very heavy and greasy. I think if they had been drained or something, it could have maybe saved them but I would not order them again.
I also ordered fruit instead of the hash browns which came with my breakfast as I had the half order of potato pancakes coming. Apparently they went back to the 1970’s to get the fruit, I have not seen «fruit» like that in decades. It was a half a canned peach, a spoonful of canned pineapple, something else, maybe apple sauce and a thin slice of unripe cantaloupe. This was an upgrade?
The eggs, English muffin and turkey sausage were fine. The oj was lowish grade sortof institutional juice and the coffee was bitter, some of the worst restaurant coffee I have had in a while.
Now I remember why we hadn’t been back in so long. It’s crowded, the food isn’t very good and there are way better places in the area.

We hadn’t been here in a while so I suggested we have breakfast here on Sunday.
Do you ever suddenly remember why you stopped going somewhere? It all came back to me as the morning went on. You have to wait, the tables are crowded in very close together and the food is not that great, kind of greasy and average.
Coffee was plentiful and hot but bitter and not at all smooth. Our own server visited to take drink orders, food orders and then afterward to ask perkily, «Was everything fabulous?»
Sure, if fabulous is sortof meh. Now I remember why we hadn’t been here in while.

Great place. I will definitely be back!
Pro’s
* Great kitchey ambiance inside. Full of hunting and wildlife decorations.
* Friendly staff and helpful.
* Food is great. Portions are generous!
Con’s:
* not really. Restaurant is located in an industrial strip mall, so outside is not that scenic. But really who cares, as long as the food is great!
Tips:
* Good place to bring family of all ages

Schnitzel for breakfat (not a typo).
Weekend breakfast leads to overindulgence. Chef Klaus is happy to oblige. The hashbrowns, biscuts and gravy and the breakfast schnitzel are all phenomenal but…
gosh this place is crazy. Pelts on the walls, lotsa kitsch. The first time we went, our waitress was obviously mentally ill, like having a break from reality mentally ill. She actually was going in and out of a strange southern accent, picture Brittney Spears right before she shaved her head. She was touching people and making googly eyes at my then toddler and my husband. Then she interrupted our conversation about our day at the beach with”…I went to the beach once…“
Okay that aside this place is definitely worth a stop. Go early, it fills up quickly and often has a weekend wait.