October 5, 2016 - Zur Kate German Restaurant - Mesa, Arizona

I visited again on October 18, 2016 with Jeanne and Willie Stecher.  Jeanne ordered the Schnitzel covered with grilled onions…red cabbage and fried home potatoes…Willie ordered the Tuesday Night special…Cabbage Roll (and it was huge) with red cabbage and German potato salad.  I ordered the Bratwurst with red cabbage and German potato salad.  Everything was delicious as usual.  For dessert we shared Apple Strudel.  Not as good as Grandma Stecher’s but certainly tasty and homemade.

I tasted Jeanne's schnitzel because I am such a schnitzel fan...and it was crisp on the outside with hot, tasty meat on the inside.  It was smothered with grilled onions...grilled the way I like them...with a little brown to them.

Willie was raised with cabbage rolls...and he liked this one.  Both Willie and I liked our German potato salad...but he tasted Jeanne's fried home potatoes...and said that he liked them, too,

My brat was thick and spicy...but lean.  I had no complaints.

I visited by myself on October 5, 2016.  I ordered  the Rahm Schnitzel with brown sour cream gravy…and it was delicious…thinlybreaded and tasty…the tenderized pork loin was covered with the brown gravy  It  was perfect and had a sharp bite…like vinegar… to it at the end of each taste.  Someone had made this white and brown swirly in the gravy on top of the schnitzel as one would do with a latte…very nice.  I also choose the sauerkraut as a side and German potato salad.  Each was served warm.  The sauerkraut also had that vinegar taste at the end of each bite.  I liked it.  The German potato salad had bits of bacon and the sauce was not thick..just right.  Two slices of rye marbled rye bread was served with the meal. It was tasty.  I slathered it with butter…even more tasty.

The evening that I chose to try the restaurant, PBS was filming inside the restaurant.  Probably because it is October…you know what the means.  An accordion player entertained us through my whole meal.

History of the restaurant (which I read on their website)

For 16 years, Günther and Irene Krause owned and operated the original “Zur Kate” in Hamburg Germany. Günther was a “Metzgermeister” (Master Butcher) and Irene was tutored by the famous Herr Keimer to develop her culinary skills. In the fall of 1983, the Krauses re-located to Mesa (for it’s “wunderbar” weather) and opened “Zur Kate German Restaurant”.

Horst Schlembach was born in Großwenkheim (close to Bad Kissingen) in the Bavaria District of Germany. When he was 23, he used his last few “D-marks” (Deutsche marks) to relocate to Arizona (he wanted to be a cowboy). He joined the Krause’s at “Zur Kate” shortly after they opened. After 23 years of working with Günther & Irene, Horst with his wife Elena and son Horst Jr. became the new owners of “Zur Kate” (still in the same location).

Zur Kate translated means “to the old smokehouse” and to this day Zur Kate still attempts to recreate the “Gästehaus” atmosphere of “gemutlichkeit” (cordiality & friendliness). Here we treat everyone as friend when they come through the door.

Zur Kate German Restaurant

Main Street Shopping Center

4815 E. Main Street #16

Mesa, Arizona 85205

(480) 830-4244

Hours:  Tuesday – Saturday  4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

www.zurkate.com