Great American Bites: The Student Prince serves up legendary German fare
— -- The scene: Just over 3-point distance from the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. (where basketball was invented), lies one of the least-known but most successful classic restaurants in the nation. After all, how many eateries ever get to celebrate their 75th anniversary? Thousands of travelers drive through downtown Springfield on Interstate 91 each day, sadly unaware that just two minutes off of the exit ramp on a quiet side street sits The Student Prince, honored as one of "21 Legendary American Restaurants You Must Visit," by now-defunct Gourmet Magazine.
Named after a comedic operetta, The Student Prince was opened in 1935 by a German immigrant and originally did a brisk business with the many other transplanted Germans who worked in the region once famous for its bustling firearms factories. One regular customer was local Theodor Geisel, better known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss. Arms manufacturing has greatly dried up in New England, but the restaurant's fortunes have continued to soar as new generations of food lovers from all backgrounds discover one of the most authentic and charming German eateries in North America.
It gets a downtown business crowd at lunch, a post-work business crowd starting at five and a local celebratory dining-out crowd on weekend nights. It started as a bar with just a few tables, but has been expanded so many times that even the owners have lost count, and today The Student Prince boasts three large dining rooms filled with tables, and two large bars, ringed with more casual and cozy heavy wooden booths. The entire restaurant is devoted to beer steins, a collection that has been estimated to be worth seven figures and which the menu humbly describes as "one of the largest in the United States," but more likely the world. The little wall space not occupied with shelves full of steins is given over to Germanic china, serving platters, old oil portraits and mounted animal antlers. The newer horseshoe-shaped bar also boasts an extensive antique corkscrew collection. The Student Prince is one of those places that has just grown more endearing with each passing year, and while it does not look like much from the street, inside it is vast, warm, and instantly transports visitors to Bavaria, where it would fit in perfectly.
Reason to visit: Sausages, schnitzels, roast meats, wild game, side dishes and beer.
The food: The food at The Student Prince can be summed up in one word: hearty. The menu is vast but the recurring theme is large portions of meat, often adorned with heavy gravies or sauces, served with equally generous portions of multiple starchy or otherwise rib-sticking side dishes. Finesse is not the strong suit here, as the kitchen stresses simple flavor and comfort over haute cuisine.
