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Swiss Cafe

By: The Lady of The Night Out

Why should you eat at the Swiss Cafe?

Out-of-the way neighborhood cafes are one of the most charming things about visiting Europe. You pop into a quaint eatery and relish the atmosphere. The food is home-made and proud because the owner is in front of the flame.

This description doesn’t sound like the typical LVNV establishment. But it describes exactly your dining experience at the Swiss Café. The only difference between this appealing restaurant and a counterpart in Switzerland is the view. (They don’t have palm trees.)

Who Should Eat at Swiss Cafe?

Discriminating Diners. Chef Wolfgang Haubold, who owns the eatery with wife Mary, trained in Europe when Europe was synonymous with elegant. The restaurant takes classic Swiss fare and extends the boundaries. There’s often a surprise twist – like a haute cuisine relish or an unusual flavor. In our opinion, that’s a great recipe for success.
European Food Lovers. I lived in Germany and can vouch for the authenticity of the food. Here’s a geography lesson: 20 percent of the Swiss speak French, 20 percent speak Italian and 60 percent speak German. Swiss food reflects this delicious ethnic mix, which Chef Wolfgang faithfully recreates here. And the décor at the Swiss Café is déjà vu, down to the wispy lace tablecloths so popular in the Swiss Alps.
Fondue lovers. If you flower children miss the table games the fondue pot, eat at the Swiss Café. Both cheese and chocolate fondue are on the menu.
Neighborhood Café Sleuths. There’s something scrumptious about a lovely restaurant in your backyard, especially one that’s a successful family business serving great food since 1982.
Folks paying Uncle Sam this week. If you had to write a four figure check to the IRS this week like yours truly, you might be worrying about where you next meal is coming from. You can still eat out at the Swiss Café! The prices are remarkably reasonable.
The short set. The dress code is decidedly casual, especially if you dine under the stars.
Alfresco diners. The Swiss Café has a charming outdoor patio. Trees and a patio cover make it a lovely place to season your food with some fresh air. Spring Mountain ain’t exactly the Jungfrau, but the peaks are close enough for government work.
Jewish diners. Chef Wolfgang worked for the owners of the Dunes, who kept kosher. He found it amusing that they had to hire a German to prepare a proper kosher pizza. He’s sensitive to Jewish dietary laws; the menu clearly delineates which items have ham.
People who want food their way. If you have a specific request, don’t be shy. Chef Wolfgang loves to experiment.
Antique shoppers. The Haubolds have been collecting eclectic European items for 20 years. Everything except the stemware is for sale. If you have to own a pair of Swedish ice skates from 1932, this be the place.
Food historians. Where else in town can you find café di prix butter? It’s butter mixed with 27 different spices that must ferment for three days. Its purpose in life: to drizzle over a filet. Chef Wolfgang does this right here in River City.

Who shouldn’t eat at Swiss Cafe?

The fress to impress crowd. There’s nothing fancy about the Swiss Café. In fact, that’s part of its charm. Charlie Palmer Steak and Alize are better places to see and be seen.

X-ray women trying to fit into their itsy, bitsy, teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikinis: Alas, bathing suit season is here. If you’re one of those pencil thin women Tom Wolfe described in his book, “Bonfire of the Vanities,” Teutonic fare is just too fattening. Bratwurst and kartoffeln are not for the super sleek.

Ok, so what’s the food like? Your best bet: the chicken schnitzel. The thick, juicy chicken breast was pounded, then encased in a perky crust that absorbed just the right amount of oil to give it depth. This sun-drenched oval was dotted with fresh parsley for chewy color and then was doused with lemon juice to add some citric high notes.

The crackerjack surprise here was the cranberry chutney. A burning red, it was the consistency of expensive jam. It was so tart it made my lips pucker, making it the perfect counterpoint for the gravitas of the chicken.

Also on the plate was spaetzle, the traditional German starch. Two thousand years ago, who thought this was a good idea? Anyway, the spaetzle at Swiss Café is as good as it gets: the noodles are crispy on the outside but perfectly doughy on the inside. The rich brown gravy covers for ‘em and provides a wonderful meaty taste.

If you are hungry for a heftier version, try the stuffed schnitzel. Chef Wolfgang sandwiches Bavarian ham and Swiss cheese inside a chicken breast. The heat of the oven melts the cheese over the ham. One bite has three different flavors cascading through your taste buds. The red wine Bordelaise sauce adds a shot of alcoholic sweetness.

No one in town serves crepes to match the lighter-than-air concoctions at the Swiss Café. The chicken curry crepes combined the best of French and Indian cuisines. A sweet crepe was wrapped around a ear-smokin’ curry. The duo was an amazing contrast between sweet and spicy. The whole slices of white meat provide a juicy dose of protein. And it came with the fluffiest rice this side of the Great Wall.

The Hungarian goulash soup had a satisfying stick-to-your-ribs aura. The beef stock was thick as gravy. Larges chunks of peppers and tomatoes gave it its vegetarian edge. The fun part: it arrived in a stainless steel measuring cup. Kewl!

The German fare reminds me of my days along the Danube. The sauerbraten is a top round steak marinated in vinegar and spices for days before its simmered in the oven. It’s surprisingly tender and retains that tasty sour persona. Chef Wolfgang buys his bratwurst, a white sausage, from a German sausage maker in California. It explodes with juicy flavor and is worth an extra dress size. He adds a bit of raspberry to the red cabbage to intensify the flavor. A drop of vinegar gives the cherry red cabbage a noticeable sting.

All entrees come with a house salad, served on an icy plate. The creamy tarragon dill dressing was a breath of spring time. I especially liked the garlicked croutons, although no one would get near me for hours.

Dessert in the desert: In one word: Apfelstrudel! Our slice was so hot the apples and raisins were sizzling. The buttery pastry is so delicate it flakes at the touch. In stark contrast was the cold vanilla ice cream. In case there wasn’t enough flavors, strawberry and caramel sauces criss-crossed the perimeter of the plate.

History: A Swiss immigrant opened the Swiss Café as an ice cream shop on east Charleston in 1968. The original menu hangs by the front door. The Haubolds purchased the restaurant in 1982. They relocated to east Tropicana in 1995.

Chef Wolfgang grew up in East Germany after the Communists took over but before the wall went up. His family fled Leipzig and settled in Hanover, where he became a chef’s apprentice at 16. He cut his teeth at an elegant German restaurant where the chefs shot and dressed their own deer and knew how to make their own chocolates. He worked for the Holiday Inn chain all over the world before moving to Las Vegas. He met Mary, who’s English, when he worked in London.

The last word: The Swiss Café offers a taste of Old World charm. Chef Wolfgang has all the qualities of a star chef without the arrogance. And his prices don’t match those in New York City. It’s a gem!

Where is it? 3175 East Tropicana at Mojave in the Wal-mart Shopping Center. The phone is 702.454.2270.

By: The Culinary Curmudgeon Lady of the Night Out

The weather is so extreme in LVNV that the town is really not an alfresco dining city. That said, there are some lovely patio places. You can’t beat the view of the Bellagio Fountains from the patios of Olives or Elements. I’d add to that august list the patio at the Swiss Café. Towering Mondell pines give the patio a distinctly Alpine feel. It’s a deliciously secret hideaway, even though angry honks from exasperated drivers on east Tropicana periodically pierce the calm.

Having served in the armed forces myself a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I find the boycott of all things French rather silly, especially since most of the ingredients used at LVNV’s Gallic restaurants come from California. I don’t understand the connection between patriotism and pastry. If you share my sentiments, here’s a political reason to eat at the Swiss Café: you can enjoy French food and not be accused of breaking bread with the enemy!

I just love the idea of eating elegant duck a l’orange or slicing into a steak dripping with café de prix butter – you know, the fancy stuff the chef ferments for three days – wearing shorts. They serve great French food at La Cirque, but you have to wear a jacket in their dining room. What’s up with that? I know they’re from New York, but someone needs to tell them it gets hot in Las Vegas. I think food always tastes better when you’re comfortable.

And speaking of the 1960s, where else in town can you order cheese fondue? When I got married, I got 10 fondue sets as wedding gifts. And I think it’s a great idea for the restaurant to sell everything on its walls. I love the selection of antiques at the Swiss Café. The Hausfrau can go “antiquing” and I don’t have to drive 200 miles to some dusty town so she can unearth some great finds…that end up – like the fondue sets – in the next garage sale.

I do have one major complaint about the food: Even though the bread is served steaming, that doesn’t hide the fact it’s very boring white bread. People, we’re all too worried about our colons to eat white bread. Let’s have some roughage in the bread basket. And the gussied up butter is, well, too herbal. Simple sweet butter will do nicely, thank you.

Aired 11 April 2003

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