I've been to Germany and Austria a couple of times so when we decided to try Hansa for the first time I definitely had a certain expectation... and it did not disappoint.
Sitting on the patio, which captured the buzz of people walking to or from nearby W. 25th St., we started off with drinks. I'm not into beer so I went with a bourbon smash -- a nice, light drink that captured the bourbon. But Jeannene had a weissbier and enjoyed it plus I know of beer aficionados who have come here and been impressed.
For an appetizer we had the potato pancakes and they were definitely Old World -- three of them, a half-inch thick and crispy on the outside, served with a nice tart chunky apple sauce and a smooth, mild sour cream.
For the main course, what I had been waiting for --the wiener schnitzel. It's possibly the most simple dish in the world, just a piece of pork hammered down so that it's thin and spread out over the plate and then covered with a nice crispy golden-brown breading and topped with a lemon wedge to be squeezed over top. And Hansa nailed it, especially the crispness of the breading. It came with the fluffiest spatzle (you could also get fries or fried potatoes) and a little bit of pickled peppers (arghhh, was really wishing for the traditional red cabbage and apple instead of this very non-German taste).
Jeannene had a similar dish but with a mushroom sauce over the schnitzel and that also tasted top-notch.
Dessert menu looked good -- crepes and strudels -- but we were done for the night. But we will be back.