Restaurant review: Swiss Pastry Shop in Fort Worth

The last time I set foot in the Swiss Pastry Shop, I am completely ashamed to admit, it was give or take 30 years ago.

I was just a kiddo, lured in by my mom and the promise of a slice of the bakery’s legendary Black Forest cake, which was on the table at every bar mitzvah reception — not to mention any other special social event — in Fort Worth. Its very inclusion on a given spread seemed to connote: Yes, we are celebrating!

Now there’s something better, and possibly even more caloric, to rejoice in at the restaurant, other than the meringue-infused “Uncake.”

Chef and owner Hans Peter Mueller and executive chef Peter Kreidler have debuted a German dinner menu that builds on the dessert’s legacy. And if your previous exposure to that country’s cuisine has been limited to lackluster wienerschnitzels and boring bratwurst, you’re in for even more of a treat.

Kreidler, whose impressive résumé includes stints with Top Chef’s Tom Collicchio at Craft in L.A. and at Michelin-rated Boulevard in San Francisco, has infused the menu with vivacity and interest. Yes, wienerschnitzel is here, but so are short ribs (sauerbraten) and a trio of irresistible-sounding appetizers.

So, our voyage to Deutschland began there — excuse me, right after we ordered a couple of bottles of Revolver Blood and Honey and Sidewinder Pale Ale ($3.50 each) — with orders of pan de fondue ($8), potato pancakes ($7) and Alpen macaroni ($7).

The fondue, not the traditional stringy, gooey iteration, was half of a large hoagie roll, grilled and topped with delicious melted Gruyere cheese and decadent sauteed mushrooms. The result tasted like fondue, but the textures were different. The crispy bread absorbed the cheese but still had heft. It was an ideal complement to the cold beer.

Even heartier fare awaited with the pancakes and macaroni, the latter of which improved on the standard, using penne pasta, melted Gruyere and chunks of bacon and diced potatoes. Yes, this is as good as it sounds. Stringy cheese, chewy pasta and creamy potatoes gave way to the smoky bacon, and all of it worked very well, thank you.

The pancakes were a slight stumbling block for us, but that just might be based on preference. These are not like latkes, but rather a standard Germanic rendering with three medium-size disks that had a filling not unlike mashed potatoes. Flecked with parsley and garnished with sour cream and chunky applesauce, they were slightly mushy and lacked dynamic flavor.

The same cannot be said for any of the entrees we tried. The sauerbraten ($16) was a perfectly braised hunk of Niman Ranch beef, juicy and completely succulent, topped with tangy sauerkraut and resting on a pillow of feather-light whipped mashed potatoes. The combination of ingredients was sublime.

The weisswurst ($12) was also a success. Slices of veal and pork sausage conspired with the mashed potatoes and a fabulous white wine mushroom sauce. It was very rich and heady stuff, yet we had no problem taking care of the plate’s stragglers with a couple of swipes of brown bread.

Mueller has made a name for himself with his creative Akaushi beef burgers, and that menu is available nightly as well. The littlest dude at the table, whose kryptonite is a plain cheeseburger, could not resist ordering one ($10.35), and it delighted, with melted cheddar cheese and a doughy roll. No french fries here — the burgers are served with outsourced chips, which slightly devalue the effort.

Glancing around the diner-esque dining room, I realized it looked the same from how I remembered it years ago. Red leather chairs, booths that overlook Vickery Boulevard and, dang, if that Black Forest cake ($2.95) we had for dessert didn’t taste exactly like it did at my bat mitzvah.

Some things may change, and some may stay the same, but this place is as real as the city it has called home since 1972.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Restaurant review: Swiss Pastry Shop in Fort Worth."