Blue Danube

Spaetzle, pierogies, stuffed cabbage and noodles with homemade sausage – this bistro in Trenton serves Central European comfort food at its best.

By: Kate and Tom O’Neill

Blue Danube

538 Adeline St.

Trenton

(609) 393-6133



Food: Good

Service: Informal

Prices: Moderate

Cuisine: Central European and Italian

Vegetarian Options: Salads, pastas and potato dishes

Ambience: Central European neighborhood bistro

Hours: Lunch: Tues.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dinner:
Tues.-Sat. 5-9 p.m., Sun. 2:30-9 p.m.

Essentials: Accepts major credit cards; not wheelchair
accessible; liquor license; on-street parking.

Directions

   Blue Danube offers the atmosphere, décor, service and menu found in neighborhood bistros from Germany eastward to the Black Sea. But this neighborhood is in Trenton, just a block or so from South Broad Street. Romanian songs, gypsy favorites like "Dark Eyes" and, somehow, a Polish band playing a Mexican polka, came from the sound system. A small table near the entrance bore an oval tray crowded with schnapps, liqueurs and slivovitz. All that was missing were the clouds of cigarette smoke and corner-table card players invariably found in such places east of the Oder.
   Blue Danube is a family enterprise. During a short wait, two regulars made us feel welcome. We then were shown to our table by Margaret Pulhac, who shares the direction of the restaurant with her husband, Chef Peter Pulhac. Our server turned out to be Darlene, Margaret’s sister.
   The restaurant has about a dozen tables, some a step up from the main floor and divided from it by a wide railing set with beer steins and other memorabilia. The woodwork is dark-stained, as are the ceiling beams, and the stucco walls are ivory. The walls are hung with still lifes, rural scenes and souvenirs of the region, including long-handled brass bed warmers. Jugs and bottles wrapped in wickerworks are perched on the high-set windowsills. Small bouquets of Peruvian lilies decorate the tables, and Tiffany-style pendant lamps hang low over the end tables.
   The wine list is limited, but no matter. The menu and setting at Blue Danube are better suited to steins (or at least glasses) of robust beer. We happily ordered a pair of Pilsner Urquels ($4), that might well have been custom-brewed for the meal we were about to enjoy.
   Blue Danube offers an extensive menu, with plenty of choice for those not drawn to central European fare. These options include paella; salmon filet topped with shallots, tomatoes and a dill/white wine sauce; and Italian specialties. But central European comfort foods are the heart of the dining experience here.
   The appetizer choices establish the style, leading off with a Danube sampler for two (stuffed cabbage, pierogies, homemade sausage and fried cabbage), followed by the Mediterranean combo for two. Other appetizers include turoscuza, "a Danube favorite": noodles topped with homemade sausage, bacon, cabbage, onion and Feta cheese. In addition, the menu offers three soups. The potato-tomato soup is tinted rosy pink by a splash of tomato juice, and a judicious dash of caraway seeds give it an interesting boost.
   We enjoyed two appetizers, one from Thursday night’s special menu of German and Polish dishes: generous slices of rich, savory kielbasa, lightly sautéed with onions and red and green peppers. The stuffed mushroom caps from the regular menu were cooked al dente and filled over their brims with lump crabmeat blended with a splash of heavy cream.
   Thursday’s special entrees are $11.95, and include sauerbraten with spaetzle, Gypsy schnitzel (breaded pork cutlets), chicken Zophie (sautéed in cream sauce with mushrooms and shallots), and fisherman’s tilapia, served with capers and garlic in a lemon/white wine sauce. The veal schnitzel from the special list proved to be a medium-thick medallion of high-quality veal, lightly breaded, cooked tender and freshened with a spritz or two from the wedges of lemon that brightened the platter. A side dish of Chef Peter Pulhac’s handmade spaetzle ($1.25) was as light as the schnitzel, and came with a pat of butter. This is traditionally heavy food, served light.
   Less light, from the "Old World Classics" section of the menu, were mititei ($12.95), small, caseless Romanian sausage made in the Blue Danube kitchen. Grilling brings out the flavors of ground beef, veal, garlic, oregano and the chef’s secret spice blend. A side dish of creamed spinach was over-strong and did not complement the mititei, which paired better with gentle, paprika-sprinkled roast potatoes.
   Darlene told us that the tiramisu at Blue Danube is famous but, true to the evening’s dining theme, we chose and shared half of a portion of placinta. Described by Darlene as a cross between cheesecake and bread pudding, the lightly sweetened placinta was both solid and creamy, with cake layers alternating with creamy ricotta filling. Like all Blue Danube desserts, it was made on-site by the chef. (We took half, a goodly slice, to our former associate reviewer Tim, who now lives in the Adirondacks.)
   A hearty cappuccino followed dessert, graced with a perfect crema and served in a tall, brown-glazed mug. We ended the meal with Hungarian slivovitz, the plum brandy found everywhere from the Balkans to the Urals. True to the bistro style and family atmosphere, we stayed a while for to chat with the Pulhacs in the bar. We learned of the chef’s odyssey — a journey that took him from the mines of Romania across the Danube to the former Yugoslavia, thence to an Austrian refugee camp, and finally to this country, where he began cooking professionally and polishing the skills learned in his mother’s Romanian kitchen.