“Chuck, I Want to Take You and Kate to Dinner.”

“To a German restaurant.”

So one Friday evening we drove to Mesa, AZ to visit with Chuck’s Aunt Evie to see her new apartment and to enjoy dinner at Zur Kate German Restaurant. (The name Zur Kate translated, means “to the old smoke house.”)

“For sixteen years, Günther and Irene Krause owned and operated the original Zur Kate, located in Hamburg, Germany and then managed the Thalia State Theatre Restaurant for the City of Hamburg for six years. While in Germany, Günther earned his certificate as a butcher and Irene trained…to develop her culinary skills. In the fall of 1983, the Krauses came to Arizona from Hamburg to open the current Zur Kate German Restaurant.

“Horst Schlembach was born and raised in Großwenkheim, Bayern and used his last few dollars to move to Arizona when he was twenty-three. He joined the Krauses shortly after they opened the restaurant here in Mesa. After almost twenty-three years of working for the Krauses, Horst, his wife Elena and their son Horst Jr. purchased Zur Kate” (zurkate.com).

“This quaint hideaway is a gastronomic trip to the motherland…. With just a single step beyond the entrance’s glass door, we were immediately transported to a lively rustic eatery that would seemingly blend into the scenery of a charming Bavarian village. An eclectic collection of German décor is accented by posters, maps, framed photos and wooden shelves holding decorative and vintage steins. Wood trim on the walls and wainscoting that surrounds the dining area add coziness and warmth. A small bar area greets patrons, as do comfy booths and padded chairs in the dining area. German tunes play over the speakers” (Georgann Yara at azcentral.com).

Instinct told me that in a city (Mesa) that has become home to many a retired Midwest farmer, arriving for dinner at an early hour would be well advised. My instincts were right. There were a few open tables when we arrived at 5:30 p.m. but ten or fifteen minutes later there wasn’t an empty table in the house. And I should note that the same small strip mall hosts another German restaurant.

In addition to the German décor, the waitstaff were dressed in German attire.

But does any woman’s legs look good in knee-high socks with horizontal strips? But we don’t stop there.

On weekend evenings we get German entertainment, and on this night it was an accordion player, who, in true German stoic fashion, never cracked a smile. And what you don’t see here are the lederhosen and knee-high socks worn by the accordion player.

Zur Kate offers specials on weekend evenings and on the night of our visit it was pork roast stuffed with bratwurst. That didn’t appeal to any of us, so we studied the regular menu. All meals come with a choice of French fries, home-fried potatoes, potato dumpling, German potato salad, or spatzle. There’s also a choice of red cabbage or sauerkraut plus rye bread for the table.

As you would suspect, there was a long list of “wursts” including Hausmacher Bratwurst (coarse ground grilled bratwurst), Feine Bratwurst (fine ground grilled bratwurst), Weisswurst (fine ground boiled white sausage), and Polnische Wurst (spicy and smoked grilled sausage).

And, of course, there is schnitzel—Wiener Schnitzel (lightly breaded and tenderized pork loin), Zwiebel Schnitzel (lightly breaded and tenderized pork loin with onions), Jaeger Schnitzel (lightly breaded and tenderized pork loin with mushroom gravy), Schnitzel Cordon Bleu (with ham, Swiss cheese, and cordon bleu gravy), Rahm Schnitzel (with sour cream gravy), and Schnitzel Holstein (with a fried egg).

From the menu section titled Other Entrées that included Sauerbraten, a burger with fries, and a Cornish game hen, Evie selected the Kassler Rippchen—smoked and grilled pork chop with the red cabbage and potato dumpling.

Chuck ordered the basic Wiener Schnitzel with home fries and sauerkraut.

And how could I pass on a schnitzel covered with mushroom gravy? I couldn’t and ordered the Jaeger Schnitzel.

“Jaeger schnitzel means ‘hunter’s cutlets’ in German, and the dish was originally made with venison or wild boar backstrap, pounded thin. It is now normally made with pork, and the Texas specialty chicken fried steak is believed to be an outgrowth of this dish brought to the USA by German immigrants. Jaeger schnitzel at its core is a thin cutlet of meat served with mushroom gravy. Potatoes—boiled, mashed or in a salad—are a traditional side dish. It is a manly meal, and the only green thing allowed is, occasionally, parsley” (Honest-food.net).

Now I have been known to joke about German food. I remember making comments like “The Germans should have stopped when they invented the sausage.” (Actually, the Germans didn’t invent the sausage. The original sausages were invented by Sumerians who are the current occupants of Iraq.) But I may have to reconsider. The schnitzel was moist and tender and the frying left it crisp, but not oily. And the mushroom gravy was “the bomb.”

To top off our meal, the three of us shared a large slice of Black Forest Cake—chocolate cake with cherries and an icing that reminded me of the “cooked” icing that my mother (German) would sometimes make when I was a child.

Thank you, Evie, for our 4.0 Addie meal and a 5.0 Addie visit.

To review the role of Adler, Kitty Humbug, and the Addie rating system, read the November 14, 2011 blog.