Perhaps the Best Schnitzel in Leipzig Germany

There are a few places to get excellent schnitzel in Leipzig, Germany. One is the classic Cafe Grundmann (previously reviewed on this site). The other is a sweet cafe that overlooks the lovely old stone square alongside St. Thomas Church, or Thomaskirche (www.thomaskirche.org). The Apothekenmuseum Cafe–I think the full name is “Restaurant im Apothekenmuseum”–sits on a great historical location. They have very good service and one of the best beers I had in Germany. Its name sadly eludes me, but as the distinctive glass (shown) pictures an evil villain along the likes of Sherlock Holmes’ mortal enemy Dr. Moriarty, you’ll find it.

The schnitzel at Restaurant im Apothekenmuseum is amazing. I think this schnitzel surpasses Cafe Grundmann (but Grundmann rules for atmosphere, as one of Europe’s truly great historical restaurants). It’s perfectly fried, crisp, and light. The potatoes are buttery, crisp, and tender, with nicely singed strips of onion between the slices. A good hearty salad and a giant pilsner for proper washing. The wide sprinkling of chopped parsley across the whole plate adds some energy and flair. 

The cafe affords good people watching and a good spot for events that happen on the square during summer. Great beer, great schnitzel, great little cafe. 

In German, the menu will say “BRAUMEISTERSCHNITZEL IM BIERSCHAUM mit Bratkartoffeln an knackigem Salat.”

The Grade: Awesome

The Damage: 9.9 Euros

The Skinny: Restaurant Centralapotheke

Website: http://www.restaurant-centralapotheke.de

Best Jager Schnitzel in SF: Walzwerk

After a round-robin of German restaurants in San Francisco–heavy eating–Walzwerk laid down the best jager schnitzel I’ve had to date.  The schnitzel is perfectly seasoned in great batter, and the portions are Teutonic, titanic, huge. The spaetzle, a critical element on a schnitzel plate, is simply great.  And the creamy mushroom-onion gravy is fantastic. Amazingly, it’s just $15 at dinner, a terrific value.

Walzwerk German restaurant, San Francisco

The little German restaurant that could, Walzwerk, has a funky-cool interior that’s a paean to East Germany circa 1972. The bathroom has a tiny museum of Communist-era products in a see-through medicine cabinet; the main dining room has mod monochromatic portraits of the Communist Big Three: Marx, Engels, Lenin.Or is Engels Trotsky? Is it tongue-in-cheek or homage? A bit of both, I guess.

Because it’s fairly small, Walzwerk’s seating arrangements might require some wait time and beer so try for dinner on weeknights. But once your table opens up, you’ll probably have a great waitress who’ll get you what you need. Just make up your mind, pronto. Love this place and you should get your jager schnitzel on here.

The Great: Awesome

The Damage: $15

The Skinny: Walzwerk

381 S. Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone: (415) 551-7181

Website: www.walzwerk.com

Hours: Open Tue-Sat 5:30pm-10pm

The Word: Don’t be fooled by OpenTable’s “top 10 booked restaurants” in Palm Springs, because people going to Palm Springs are not renowned for good taste. OpenTables’s Top 10 for Palm Springs always includes chain restaurants, and overrated Palm Springs steakhouses living on dusty reputations.

For my money, the best restaurant (at least the best I’ve been to thus far) in Palm Springs in Johannes. Among the half dozen restaurants we sampled during a recent trip to Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, no other restaurant came close to its exceptional food and service.

Owner-chef Johannes Bacher injects California freshness into a strong sampling of Continental fare from his native Austria and beyond. The meaty classics here include roasted duck breast, young lamb rack, pork loin, tenderloin steak, and a lauded version of wiener schnitzel. For non-carnivores, Johannes has great seafood dishes as well.

The Vibe: Clean, fairly minimal setting, with simple, high-backed white chairs and crisp white tablecloths. A few tasteful paintings (European landscapes, perhaps) decorate the main room, whose walls are painted a cooling, canteloupe color. The wine cellar has a see-through door that revealed messy stacks of wine boxes piled in among the neatly stacked bottles in the walls, but it was a tiny detriment.

The Service: The service was truly excellent: attentive and warm but non-intrusive. I give an extra commendation because we called to say we were running late (very close to the time of closing). The hostess was relaxed and encouraged us to get there whenever we could instead of the usual restaurant response (grief and consternation). When we arrived much earlier than we expected, she welcomed us and said it would have been OK if we would have been late. That is a rare gem of service in the restaurant business, so kudos to Johannes.

The Skinny: Johannes
196 South Indian Canyon Drive (at Arenas)
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Phone: (760) 778-0017
Dinner only, Monday – Sunday 6:00pm to 10:00pm
Owner / Chef: Johannes Becher
Johannes website: http://www.johannesrestaurants.com/