Schnitzel Works

So after a few more than a few beers (mmmm beers!) at the Mess the other night, I woke up the following morning with a GIANT craving for schnitzel.  All I could think about was this schnitzel and sauerkraut that I had at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich in 2007.  But that is not going to help me with my current craving here in Ottawa.  About a year and a half (or so) ago, I noticed a small restaurant in the industrial area of Cyrville Road, called Schnitzel Works.  I had never been there before but I thought this might be a good substitution for a trip to Germany.
Schnitzel Works is a small restaurant ... maybe 8 or 10 tables with what seemed like a self-serve coffee bar; newspapers and magazines available for browsing.   Oh, and desserts.  To eat in or packaged up to take home.  I was greeted with a friendly "hello" by the one server and being right at noon when I arrived she seemed busy but attentive to the three or four tables already there.
The menu is schnitzel sandwiches and each of the approximately twelve 'country' versions is topped with their unique specialties.  I chose the "Austrian" which is straight up, pure and simple:  schnitzel with dill pickle.  I added sauerkraut to mine (gotta have sauerkraut) which is on the "Polish" version, but which also comes with melted cheese.  I just didn't see schnitz, cheese & kraut going well together.  At least not in my frame of mind at the time.  All country schnitzel sandwiches are $8.99; I got mine to go.
As I was driving home, it was all I could do to keep myself from breaking open the take-out container and starting in on my schnitzel.  Man, did it smell good.  Finally home, I was sooooooo HAPPY when I opened up the container to see this:

Fantastic!  Eating with your eyes first:  I was very very satisfied.

But now to dig in.  The schnitzel is h-u-g-e!  There is as much hanging off the bun as there is on it.  The schnitzel is perfectly juicy - not at all dried out and not the least bit greasy.  The breading is light and delicate.  I am sure the sauerkraut is homemade; it was crispy and very fresh.  This is not sauerkraut that has been canned.  It is still bright yellowish-green and not overly salty.  It was well drained before being added to my sandwich to avoid making the bun soggy.  There was mayo, lettuce, tomato and the pickle on the bun.  I ditched the tomato, and ate the pickle on the side.  I'm pretty sure the pickle was also homemade and pickled with something besides cucumbers:  I'm thinking some kind of pepper.  Its not spicy but had a slightly different flavour than just cucumber.  A bit more ... ummm perhaps zesty than a usual dill pickle.  It was different, not bad but had a unique flavour.  It was also very nice and crunchy.  A perfect side accompaniment.  The large kaiser bun is soft and fresh -- in fact I could only eat half of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole sandwich and it fully satisfied my schnitzel craving.  I will definitely be back to Schnitzel Works ... probably sooner rather than later.  You have to really appreciate a great restaurant that knows how to do something so right and they are not trying to overcomplicate their food.  They've got a good thing going.  If you go to Schnitzel Works you know exactly what you are going to get:  some good schnitzel.  The German Girl in me says "ja, lecker!"