Vilnius on the Park: Mama Papa Lithuania Bakery and Restaurant (Alameda, CA)

Mama Papa Lithuania Bakery & Restaurant occupy adjoining
spaces along Park Street in Downtown Alameda, California

While my spouse's multinational roots are fairly varied, the Eastern European (more specifically, Polish) side often comes through when we're looking for potential culinary destinations. A drive through Buffalo, New York on a trip to and back from Niagara Falls late 2014 allowed us to dive into one her favorite Christmas-time treats via Mazurek's Bakery in the form of kruschiki, or Polish Bowtie cookies. Cabbage rolls are also another favorite of hers from her childhood; if that item happens to be on the menu at any eatery we stop by, the decision is all but made up for her.

Eastern European cuisine has always held small presence in the San Francisco Bay Area to the depths of my knowledge, so anything new that pops up in that vein always catches my eye in general. In what seems like a completely unrelated tangent, my first experience with anything having to do with Lithuania, outside of the breakup of the old Soviet Union in the 1990s, came through the world of professional sports. Sarunas Marciulionis, one of the first European players to come play forthe National Basketball Association, was drafted by and then signed with Golden State Warriors (based out of Oakland) to play in 1989. He became an immediate favorite of mine and many others because of his hard-nosed and tough-minded style of play.

Thus, when my research came across a relatively new Lithuanian restaurant located in Alameda (just a stone's throw across a strait from Oakland itself), it seemed a natural to give it a visit.

Mama Papa Lithuania Restaurant, opened in October 2013 by "Mama" Damute Sukiene and her son, "Papa" Vaidas Sukys, holds a space next to the recently-opened-to-the-public (October 2015) bakery portion of the business. Since we arrived a few minutes prior to the restaurant's opening, we stopped inside the bakery to take a look. Our clerk was quite welcoming (funnily enough, she turned out to be a Puerto Rico native and we got to discussing (the lack of) her cuisine in the Bay Area) and guided us quite well on the bakery's offerings.

A small glass case and some shelves off to the side held a variety of cakes, cookies (the Lithuanian words describing the cookie shapes, including mushrooms, stars and ribbons) and breads, were found displayed in the small glass case in front and on the shelves to the left. A few savory items were packaged in bags, including a fried rye bread rubbed with garlic which was available for sampling. Even as avid garlic lovers, we were taken aback a bit by the powerful allium punch provided by this bread. We grabbed a few treats for the road (more on this later) and headed over to the restaurant.

The restaurant itself offers an interior that seems to be in tune with its home city's maritime vibe (along with a naval base that was closed in the 1990s, Alameda is home to Coast Guard, numerous marinas and a ferry service), with blocky, bench-like tables and chairs, dark wood paneling dominating most of the walls. Framed street scene pictures from Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius dot the brick wall that separates the restaurant from the bakery space.

The choices seemed fairly in line with other Eastern European restaurants we have dined in with both some unique options and taste variations. We were glad to see that all their dishes were available in lunch-size portions, as we would have been quite stuffed had we gone with the dinner-sized meal. My spouse's Stuffed Cabbage Roll was a bit different from the Polish versions she grew up with but still very tasty and satisfying, sporting a creamier tomato sauce, more paprika and perhaps even a hint of clove. For me, my pan-fried Potato Pancakes with Meat was nothing fancy but still quite satisfying, with a crispy exterior and chunks of mildly-spiced ground pork within the fluffy interior, perfectly accompanied by the dollop of sour cream on the side.

Some of the other menu options, which we did not partake in on this quick visit, seemed to be worthy ventures on a future visit.  Both the bakery and restaurant offered Lithuanian Amber Tea and Pour Over Coffee, while the restaurant itself sported a beer list from breweries in Lithuania as well as a Bread Kvass, a non-alcoholic, fermented beverage made from rye bread.

On the road, we gobbled on our three sweet treats from the bakery. The baravykai (mushroom-shaped) cookie was pleasant, and their Apple Pie (actually more of a cake) was nicely flavored, a bit crumbly, and moist.) But perhaps the most memorable of the threesome was the Honey Cake (Medutis); while this version did not sport the chocolate that is available on the restaurant dessert menu, its tangy sour cream based filling alternated with cake layers was nice satisfaction for both our sweet tooths as we journeyed toward points to the west and south..

Mama Papa Lithuania
1239 Park St. (Bakery)
1241 Park St. (Restaurant)
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 521-1108 (Bakery)/(510) 522-4100 (Restaurant)
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Köstlichste! Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant

The entrance to what has become a Columbus restaurant institution

German restaurants in the Bay Area were something of a conundrum for me: the more traditional style "meat-and-potato" styled restaurants such as Suppenkuche and Walzwerk personally seemed a little spendy for what you would end up getting. This perception is much of the reason why Berkeley's Gaumenkitzel, which put a California-twist on traditional German dishes, turned out to a preferred destination when I wanted to delve into this cuisine.

Still, I was really hoping to drop by a more traditional type restaurant one of these days, and my move to Ohio gave me that opportunity in the form of Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant. The fact that the dishes would come in at Columbus-region prices made this visit even more appealing.

This German Village area restaurant, which started as a meat-packing operation in 1886 (the restaurant itself began serving diners in the late 1960s), has in its years of operation become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike; in addition, it has remained a family institution as well, with the fourth generation of the Schmidt family now handling restaurant operations. In 2008, they obtained some national publicity when they were featured along with several other local restaurants in a Columbus-focused Man v. Food episode starring Adam Richman. Most recently, they have expanded their operations into Columbus' flourishing food truck world with their Schmidt's Sausage Truck.

As I approached and entered Schmidt's, I was not surprised to find the restaurant had numerous tourist-friendly trappings: included in these were the Mann und Frau "stick-my-head-in" cutout at the entrance; the polka/oompah music by restaurant regulars Squeezin' N Wheezin'; and plenty of German-themed tchotchkes and other media scattered about the brick-walled interior. I imagine it could be a bit too much for some, especially in combination with the typically large crowds, but I found the atmosphere as a whole quite fun and enjoyable.

The interior of Schmidt's unsurprisingly plays up its German heritage,
and you can't NOT post a picture of their luscious cream puffs.

We were joined for dinner by two eager diners (a very good friend of ours as well as my mother-in-law, both of whom have distinct German generational lines) with both of them as well as my spouse itching to visit Schmidt's after a several year absence. Thankfully, our wait for a table wasn't too long and, after some debate as to whether to go the buffet route, we all decided to order various of their traditional dinner dishes.

Our two guests both ordered the Bavarian Cabbage Rolls topped with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese ($13.50), while my spouse ordered the Alpine Chicken Spatzel ($12.75), a combo of grilled whole breast chicken sliced and served on German spatzel noodles, peppers, mushrooms and onions with garlic-basil sauce.  All dinner dishes are served with two side dishes of the diner's choosing.

With this being my first visit to the restaurant, I dove into a Schmidt's standard by ordering the Bahama Mama Sausage Platter ($11.75). This more flavorful-spicy than heat-spicy sausage was served with a hot-dog style bun along with sauerkraut, potato salad and applesauce.

My spouse and my mother-in-law also supplemented their meals with a beer; Schmidt's has a decent collection of both Euro-centric and local brews, including two special house beers produced by Columbus-based Elevator Brewing.

Clockwise from top left: Bahama Mama Sausage Platter, Alpine Chicken
Spatzel, sample Schmidt's menu, and Bavarian Cabbage Rolls

Some of us also decided to grab a dessert to take home. Our friend spotted the German Chocolate Cake ($5.25) in the pastry case while we were waiting to be seated, and could not resist taking a slice home. As for us, Schmidt's renowned half-pound cream puffs (these mountainous creations are enough of a reason to start your meal with dessert at times) normally would be calling our name. However, since that actually was the last (and only) thing I had had from Schmidt's prior to this visit, we brought back some of their Apple Strudel ($5.25) instead. Their strudel, which structure wise reminded us more of an apple pie, was a pleasant sweet treat later that night.

Simply put, Schmidt's serves hearty comfort fare in a fun and welcoming atmosphere. These dishes may not be wow-inducing, but they are quite tasty and satisfying in their own right; our happy smiles and full bellies at the end of the night pretty much sealed the deal on what was a dandy experience for all of us.

Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant
240 East Kossuth Street (German Village)
Columbus, OH  43206
(614) 444-6808
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