Das Smorgasbord, a new cafeteria-style restaurant in Austinburg, has quietly opened its doors this week, bringing Sokolowski’s-style Eastern European comfort food to diners roughly 50 miles east of downtown Cleveland. The small operation leans into hearty classics served along a tray line, with a menu built around family recipes and portions that keep an eye on the budget.
Chef-owner Michelle Lange is running the spot with partner Nick Kustala, and the restaurant sits in the back of a former eatery on State Route 45, according to Cleveland.com. The outlet reports that Das Smorgasbord borrows from both Lange’s mother’s recipes and the Sokolowski’s tradition. Staff plate dishes cafeteria-style, and purchases are tallied at the register via a card handed out when you walk in.
What's on the menu
The menu leans on thick-cut schnitzel, spaetzle, pierogies and a stuffed-cabbage casserole, with “Grandma D’s chicken paprikash” already listed as the top seller, plus a $40 sampler platter that bundles vegetables, chicken paprikash, Salisbury steak, cabbage roll casserole and schnitzel. Lange told the outlet she revived the stuffed cabbage using Sokolowski’s and her mother’s recipes and framed the approach as straightforward comfort food. These details were reported by Cleveland.com.
How it works and where to find it
Das Smorgasbord is listed at 1571 State Route 45 in Austinburg, per Roadtrippers, and occupies the back portion of a property that previously housed The Farmer Butcher Chef, according to MapQuest. DoorDash also lists the restaurant’s pickup hours and menu online for ordering. Because service runs like a cafeteria, staff plate dishes for you at the line, and the restaurant charges only for the items you take when you check out at the register.
Sokolowski’s legacy
Das Smorgasbord is clearly trading on a Cleveland comfort-food template made famous by Sokolowski’s University Inn, the Tremont cafeteria known for pierogies, stuffed cabbage and chicken paprikash since the 1920s. Sokolowski’s official site describes that family history and the cafeteria-style service that has defined the institution for generations. The Austinburg plate line shows how that home-cooking tradition still resonates outside the city limits.
For up-to-date hours, menu items and ordering, DoorDash lists the shop’s pickup windows and offerings. Expect steady portions and a rotating list of additions from Lange, who plans to expand the menu with goulash, braised red cabbage and a seasonal seafood smorgasbord featuring crab legs.
