ON THE MARK
Mark's East Side serves up German favorites

Half of Mark Dougherty's heritage is German, the half that doesn't show in his name. But, more than that, it may be the other half of his heritage, that of restaurateur, that prompts him to cook German fare.

There is a Dougherty family tradition in the restaurant business. He and his father before him have run the restaurant at 1405 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton for most of 41 years.

It was at the age of 15 that Mark began to learn the details of cooking at his father's elbow.

"He taught me the basics, things like gravy-making and meat-cutting," Dougherty said. "It's what I grew up with."

The younger Dougherty began to take a fuller, more permanent role in the restaurant after graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1982, where he earned a business degree.

In any case, German fare is featured at Mark's every night except Fridays, and it is one of the few places in the Fox valley that serves any such food, despite the numbers of residents of the area who share that ethnic heritage.

He is rightfully proud of his offerings. "I buy whole pork loins and have them smoked," he said, "rather than use the frozen ones, which tend to be dry;" Beef for the Rheinischer sauerbraten is marinated for eight days.

Three varieties of schnitzels (veal cutlet) are offered, Wiener Schnitzel, which is Viennese style; Black Forest Schnitzel, which is topped with a mushroom sauce; and Schnitzel a la Holstein, which is topped with fried eggs.

Dougherty said that he really got his interest in German food on a skiing trip to Germany a number of years ago. When he returned, he began experimenting and putting the occasional German dish on the menu.

That eventually led to the present offerings, which also include Tenderloin Stroganoff, Baked Sausage (Knockwurst, Weisswurst and Mettwurst) and Kasseler Rippchen, which are those smoked pork chops, grilled.

The German fare is served with a choice of Bavarian red cabbage or sauerkraut and spaetzles or potato dumplings. All made in house at Mark's Eastside.

Of course, German food isn't the only thing on the menu at Mark's East Side. Other items include Roast Duck, Veal Liver, Stuffed Tenderloin and Chicken Cordon Bleu, Oscar and Mozzarrini.

They are also known for their Steaks. Mark's father was also a Butcher. Saturday nights, Prime Rib is featured. There is, in addition, a seafood menu. Featuring fresh salmon so top quality, hand cut beef is the standard fare in the Steak Departrment.

Mark's also serves lunches, with a wide variety of specialty sandwiches, croissants and burgers, along with luncheon versions of some of the dinner offerings. The German dishes are available at lunch Monday - Friday.

Dougherty said that the secret of a successful restaurant is a combination of small details that individually may not seem important, but added together makes the world of difference.

"It's all part of the whole," he said.

Making everything from scratch is a lot of work and labor cost but it's the only way to make things better for the customer. It's who we are and what our customers except it to be.