A family affair: Jörg and his wife, Cathy, run Jörg’s Café Vienna with their two sons.[/caption]
When diners step through the doors at Jorg's Caf Vienna, they are treated like family. That's the way it is if the restaurant's proprietor and namesake, Jrg Fercher, has anything to say about it. Jorg's, specializing in authentic Austrian and German cuisine, is family-run and has been serving local diners in downtown Plano since 2000.
"When we found this place, it was very quaint and a very historic part of Plano," Fercher said. "It was not as shiny as other places, but we gutted everything and preserved the history of this building."
The 100-year-old space bares the original brick walls and steel fixtures, and even the outdoor patio tables are constructed from the original wood flooring. Originality and authenticity are concepts that Fercher takes seriously, and it shows in his menu and his hospitality.
"My mother was a teacher for the culinary arts of Austria," Fercher said. "I grew up with cooking all around me. I never went to cooking school, but I pretty much got everything from my mom."
With a few minor changes to the food, like swapping out light virgin olive oil in place of lard, Fercher said his food stays true to his mother's words. Diners can expect quality fresh food cooked to order, and none of it leaves the kitchen without Fercher's taste-testing approval.
"We are not fast food. What [people] should expect is a little part of Austria or Germany. It's our 'Gemtlichkeit,' which is our word for hospitality," he said. "We are not in a rush. Life is too short. That is one of my philosophies. We are only open four days a week, so we are not going to stress out, we enjoy what we do."
Fercher is originally from the Austrian state of Carinthia, a region bordering northern Italy. Much of its cuisine reflects that region. But the food differs in some ways due to the mountainous landscape of Southern Austria, Fercher said.
"The upper part of Germany uses a lot of potatoes. People use what is around them. The people of Carinthia do not have very many flat areas, [and] we don't have many potatoes in our cuisine," he said. "We do more with flour products because we have a lot of grains and a lot of smoked meats. Pork is very big over there, [and] the white meat is excellent smoked, fried or sauted."
White meat options include the popular cream schnitzels (chicken or pork) such as Oma's paprika schnitzel ($12.95 lunch, $18.95 dinner), made with a sweet Hungarian paprika cream sauce, or Mutti's jager schnitzel ($12.95 lunch, $18.95 dinner), which features a grilled mushroom cream sauce. Both are served with spatzle, a type of soft egg noodle or dumpling, and braised cabbage. The Viennese veal weinerschnitzel ($13.50 lunch, $21.95 dinner) is also popular among customers.
Jorg's Caf Vienna
1037 E. 15th St.,972-509-5966,
www.jorgscafevienna.com
Hours: Wed.–Thu. 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 4:30–9 p.m. Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–10 p.m.
A family affair: Jörg and his wife, Cathy, run Jörg’s Café Vienna with their two sons.[/caption]
When diners step through the doors at Jorg's Caf Vienna, they are treated like family. That's the way it is if the restaurant's proprietor and namesake, Jrg Fercher, has anything to say about it. Jorg's, specializing in authentic Austrian and German cuisine, is family-run and has been serving local diners in downtown Plano since 2000.
"When we found this place, it was very quaint and a very historic part of Plano," Fercher said. "It was not as shiny as other places, but we gutted everything and preserved the history of this building."
The 100-year-old space bares the original brick walls and steel fixtures, and even the outdoor patio tables are constructed from the original wood flooring. Originality and authenticity are concepts that Fercher takes seriously, and it shows in his menu and his hospitality.
"My mother was a teacher for the culinary arts of Austria," Fercher said. "I grew up with cooking all around me. I never went to cooking school, but I pretty much got everything from my mom."
