Lucky Frog Restaurant marks 7th year serving German cuisine. The last one was a doozy
Hearty food, great beer, and maybe some polka music played on an accordion come to mind when you think of a German restaurant.
For the past seven years, Lucky Frog Restaurant, 4625 Cortez Road W., has been serving the hearty food , the great beer, and occasionally, a little polka as well during their German music parties.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh year was the most difficult.
Owners Uwe and Simone Kaufer are German citizens operating their business under an E-2 visa. Like other restaurateurs working under a special visa, they had no access to stimulus money available to American citizens.
Rick and Kelly Jessop, British citizens who operate Katie’s Cafe at 3130 53rd Ave. E., and Marieke and Christophe Celis, French citizens who operate the French Table restaurant at 103 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach, found themselves in the same predicament during the pandemic.
The loyalty of customers helped all three restaurants persevere and survive.
“People have their vaccinations now and are going out more. We still do social distancing and keep everything clean,” Simone Kaufer said.
The Kaufers are originally from Augsburg, Germany.
“We had friends here. We visited them in Bradenton many years ago and fell in love with the area,” Simone said.
When she lost her job of 25 years with a German publishing company, the couple decided to relocate to Florida.
“I wanted the warm weather and the sea,” she said.
Uwe, a master chef who started cooking at age 15, handles all the cooking and baking at Lucky Frog. His culinary career has previously taken him to Africa, Indonesia, Israel, England and Abu Dhabi..
In 2014, Lucky Frog opened in restaurant space formerly occupied by an Italian restaurant. The menu still includes a few Mediterranean dishes, but it is truly a German restaurant.
The Lucky Frog and all of its dishes take their names from German fairy tales.
Among the most popular dishes are Hunters Shot, a breaded pork schnitzel served with spaetzle, and mushroom cream sauce for $17.90. In a German a gasthaus (tavern), a customer might say, “eine Jagerschnitzel, bitte (one Jagerschnitzel, please.”)
Also popular at Lucky Frog are the Lions Platter (bratwurst, nuernberger and frankfurter with sauerkraut and German potato salad) for $19.90, and the Happy End (beef stroganoff) for $21.90.
Beverages include a variety of German and domestic beers, notably Weihenstephan Hefeweizen, from a brewery dating to the year 1040, making it perhaps the world’s oldest.
Rounding out the menu are desserts like kaiserschmarm (fluffy crepes with vanilla ice cream and powdered sugar) and apple strudel.
“I like the food here, always,” said customer Philip Lundquist, who was having a beer after finishing his schnitzel. “Everything I have ever had here is good.”
The Lucky Frog is open 11 a.m. -8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is closed on Sunday.
For more information, visit www.lucky-frog.com or call 941-795-2132.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
