Wednesday, June 20, 2001

A taste of Europe

City Cafe continues to offer a unique dining choice in Fayette

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com

When Doreen and Jorg Schatte opened City Cafe in downtown Fayetteville nearly three years ago, their goal was to bring Fayette County a unique dining choice that ordinarily would only be found some 30 miles to the north in Atlanta. Many of their customers think they have succeeded.

"A lot of people have told us we brought Buckhead to the south side," said Doreen. "That's what we've tried to do something different for this area, a European flair, so they don't have to drive so far to get it."

The Schattes operated a bakery in Riverdale for five years before opening City Cafe in September of 1998. They came to the United States from Germany more than a decade ago, so it's no surprise that the desserts and baked goods at City Cafe would be held in high regard.

All of the food served here is made on the premises, and in addition to the desserts, there is a wide variety of lunch and dinner dishes to choose from, German and otherwise.

City Cafe has daily specials for lunch and dinner, and a $9.95 special every Wednesday and Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. The restaurant is open Monday and Tuesday for lunch only and is closed Sunday.

The Schattes decided to open in Fayetteville because they already lived here and "saw the potential," according to Doreen. They have been rewarded with a number of repeat customers, many of whom come on a weekly basis and some every more often than that.

One big draw this time of year is the opportunity to eat outdoors, on the spacious deck adjacent to Ga. Highway 85.

A large soup and sandwich menu is available at lunch, along with some other entrees. The Cafe Club on a pretzel roll, a German specialty, is a particular favorite, Doreen said, and a recent addition to the lunch menu is the panzenalla pizza salad.

Dinner features a number of pasta and seafood dishes, as well as chicken, veal and steak. The German entrees include Szegediner goulash stew, classic wiener Schnitzel and cafe roasted pork loin.

The lunch and dinner menus were updated within the past few weeks, under the direction of executive chef Rusty Hickman and sous chef Bryant Arnold. "They're excellent," said Doreen.

Coming soon is a new dessert treat gelato ice cream, an Italian delicacy that will be made with City Cafe's own recipes on the premises and sold out of an authentic European ice cream cart.

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