Cox: Café Europe

Kalbs wiener schnitzel at Cafe Europa. (Jeff Kan Lee/ The Press Democrat)

Café Europe, the German restaurant in Santa Rosa that’s been in business almost 25 years, hasn’t changed very much in that time, and when it has changed, it’s usually been for the better.

There’s no place better locally for a celebratory meal during the holiday season, as owner-manager Herbert Zacher decorates the room with nutcrackers and Weihnachtsmänner (Father Christmas figures) from his native Bavaria and fills the air with German carols sung by boys’ choirs.

In the kitchen, chef Robert Buchschachermair does classic German and Austrian dishes beautifully. And in recent years, he’s added specials that go beyond the specialties of the German-speaking regions of Europe. A current list of dinner specials includes wild boar ragout, chicken breast with pasta, trout with rice pilaf, and live Maine lobster. There are also nights when no corkage is charged. The specials and the corkage-free nights change, so you’ll have to check with the restaurant.

Baked bone-in pork chop

One of the specials on a recent night was a Baked Bone-In Pork Chop ($19.50 ***), a thick chop lightly seasoned, baked and topped with sautéed chanterelle mushrooms redolent of sherry, paired with sauteed chard and the chef’s highly regarded mashed potatoes. Unless you’re very hungry, there’ll be some chop left to take home.

But it’s the German dishes that make Café Europe something special. These dishes are German home cooking. When Germans go out to eat, they often like Italian, Balkan, Chinese, Japanese and even Australian restaurants. At home, they’re more likely to eat a plate of breaded veal cutlets sautéed in butter, better known as Kalbs Wiener Schnitzel ($22 ***½), literally “calves Vienna cutlets.” They are also offered as pork cutlets. In either case, you get three cutlets and they are delightfully buttery and delicious. With them comes a traditional German potato pancake, pureed baby spinach, apple sauce, and the best way to eat cabbage ever invented: rotkohl, or red cabbage prepared with bacon, onion, red wine, cloves, sugar and apples.