Cheese Spaetzle rules!
One of the things I often Google is “cheese spaetzle in New York City.” For the longest time, the attempt was futile (like Googling “German falafel”). But a few months back, Café Katja, an Austrian restaurant on the Lower East Side, started popping up. Captain Carnivore and I finally made it there last night and I was not disappointed. In fact, it makes it onto my top 5 list of NYC restaurants!
We were warmly greeted by the owner and offered two seats at the bar while we waited for a table. The atmosphere is cozy (25 seats), and a mix of modern (clean lines) and kitsch (decorated with lace curtains and pinecones.)
As we waited, Captain Carivore ordered a Goesser on tap, while I tried a “Lower East Side Cider”—fresh pressed cider, vodka and Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray. It was a strange combination but it totally worked!
[As an aside, I would NEVER have ordered a drink with celery flavored soda had I realized what is was. Who on earth drinks celery-flavored soda? New Yorkers apparently. When I find a whole can of it, I’ll be sure to blog about it:-)]
Pretzels-- warm, soft, light, and perfectly salted came next. Best of all, they came with what I thought was a dollop of paprika and onion quark. I’ve since read that the “quark” was Liptauer- a seasoned cheese spread. It was divine!
Cheese spaetzle isn’t on the menu last night but the staff was quite happy to make it for me. Captain Carnivore was excited for a Brat, saurkraut and pickled veggies. Simply put, everything was wonderful. The spaetzle noodles appeared to be homemade and there was a perfect balance of cheese onions and noodles.
The entertainment of the evening was watching the 2 guys next to us try to outdo one another by trying to drink 2 liters of bier out of a Hofbrauhaus boot-shaped glass. We sat next to them for almost an hour and neither had made a dent.
Interestingly, there is a review of Café Katja in next week’s New Yorker.
The Schlecker family cheese spaetzle recipe remains the gold standard, but the Café Katja recipe comes in a respectable second. Guten Appetite!
Cafe Katja, 79 Orchard Street
We were warmly greeted by the owner and offered two seats at the bar while we waited for a table. The atmosphere is cozy (25 seats), and a mix of modern (clean lines) and kitsch (decorated with lace curtains and pinecones.)
As we waited, Captain Carivore ordered a Goesser on tap, while I tried a “Lower East Side Cider”—fresh pressed cider, vodka and Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray. It was a strange combination but it totally worked!
[As an aside, I would NEVER have ordered a drink with celery flavored soda had I realized what is was. Who on earth drinks celery-flavored soda? New Yorkers apparently. When I find a whole can of it, I’ll be sure to blog about it:-)]
Pretzels-- warm, soft, light, and perfectly salted came next. Best of all, they came with what I thought was a dollop of paprika and onion quark. I’ve since read that the “quark” was Liptauer- a seasoned cheese spread. It was divine!
Cheese spaetzle isn’t on the menu last night but the staff was quite happy to make it for me. Captain Carnivore was excited for a Brat, saurkraut and pickled veggies. Simply put, everything was wonderful. The spaetzle noodles appeared to be homemade and there was a perfect balance of cheese onions and noodles.
The entertainment of the evening was watching the 2 guys next to us try to outdo one another by trying to drink 2 liters of bier out of a Hofbrauhaus boot-shaped glass. We sat next to them for almost an hour and neither had made a dent.
Interestingly, there is a review of Café Katja in next week’s New Yorker.
The Schlecker family cheese spaetzle recipe remains the gold standard, but the Café Katja recipe comes in a respectable second. Guten Appetite!
Cafe Katja, 79 Orchard Street
posted by Erin at 7:13 PM
3 Comments:
Wow, even as someone who LIKES celery (and soda), celery-flavored soda sounds very weird.
I am totally in on the celery-flavored soda - I think it would taste great! No kidding. ( really like seltzer water - I can imagine it with a hint of celery taste).
Erin - I got hungry just reading this review.
CJS
Something I've read compares Cel-ray to flat Vernors. I've GOT to find a can and do a bit of research. Though for a drink that NYers tell me is sold "EVERYWHERE" in the city, 6 or 7 markets have produced nothing! The search continues.
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