Buttons Undone
Pants at a Glance
- scene: Charming neighborhood vibe with colorful movie posters on the walls; not much of a nod to anything Austrian, it look like a cute Euro bistro
- sip: Austrian wines, beers
- savor: Shnitzel of any kind
- sit: With friends; with a date for a low-key night; alone...the menu actually offers a good mix of non-scary sounding dishes if people get freaked by schnitzel and sausage, so just about anyone should be able to find something to eat
- spend: $$
- address: 139 Duane Street (between Church and West Broadway)
- phone number: 212-571-8880
- website: www.kg-ny.com
Weiner Shnitzel just sounds funny, I don’t care how sophisticated you are. However, once you get past that and embrace the weiner, you are in for a meaty treat. Shnitzel, for the unfamiliar, is an amazing invention consisting of meat (pork, veal) pounded very thinly, breaded and fried, similar to an Italian veal or chicken Milanese. There is really nothing not to like about Shnitzel, especially at Blaue Gans.
I was originally a little hesitant to suggest an Austrian place for dinner with a pregnant friend, but I figured if you can’t eat fried meat when you are expecting, when can you? I heard good things about Blaue Gans and the location was perfect, and a quick glance at the menu (I’m obsessive about checking menus before I go anywhere) provided proof that there were options for people who, say, might not want Weiner. The vibe at Blaue Gans is charming, and easy, a real gem in Tribeca. We ordered some salads to start, which were fresh and light, the beet salad being a favorite.
Unfortunately we did not try sausages, but we saw some and they looked delicious….
The Schnitzels are the schtars of the show, with several varieties to choose from. The original pork weiner schnitzel is very thin and crispy, with the breading light and airy almost, not thick and dense. A squirt of lemon enhances the flavor, and that big planet of meat disappears quicker than you would think. The cucumber and potato salad is one of the most delicious things that I have had in a while, I would have had a vat of that. The Jager Schnitzel was described to us by our watier as being in a “milk sauce”, which sounds disgusting, and does not properly describe what is presented. The schnitzel is covered with a creamy mushroom and bacon sauce (oh just suck it up do another 15 mins on the treadmill, its worth it). The herbed spaetzle that accompanies the dish is perfect for soaking up the extra rich sauce, making a gooey delicious bite.
On a recommendation, we tried the bread dumplings. I haven’t fully reconciled how I feel about this dish- they sort of were like the bowling balls of dumplings, very heavy and not much variation of texture. The flavor was good enough, and the creamy sauce they came with added a little oomph…worth trying, but they sort of expand in your stomach, so just consider how much real estate you want these babies to take up
