I can tell you that after only one meal, Café Rustica is destined to become a weekly habit for me.

Since Europe is one of my areas of expertise as a travel writer, I was really looking forward to checking out Café Rustica. Having just moved to Richmond recently, the city is like a foreign country to me, full of culinary adventures to explore, and I had also heard a lot about Chef/Owner Andy Howell.

Earning local respect and kudos from diners and critics alike with the Zeus Gallery Café and Avenue 805, Howell has been a Richmond fixture on the dining scene for more than two decades.

The bijoux café, full of repurposed old wood and warm colors, delivers on its promise of European comfort food, and I couldn't resist comparing one of my favorite dishes, Schwieneschnitzel, to its German parent. The pork schnitzel was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and served with a whole lemon and a mountain of capers.

The red cabbage salad was a sweet and tangy complement, but the spaetzle didn't fare so well, compared to its freshly made counterpart across the ocean. To give Howell a break, it would be difficult in this "everything-cooked-fresh-to-order" bistro to make these Swabian egg noodles from scratch for every customer.

Overall, I was impressed by the authenticity of the schnitzel, which was as good as any I've had in Munich or Stuttgart. The only thing I missed was a good glass of German or Austrian Reisling to go with it. While there is currently a nice bottle of Rudi Weist Riesling on the menu for a reasonable $23, it's not available by the glass, but my server told me that a by-the-glass choice in that category is on the "to-do" list.

Next time I'll try the Sauerbraten, a German marinated and braised beef, especially since I found out that Howell picked up his knowledge of this type of food first-hand during a three-year stint in Heidelberg.

My dinner companion ordered the Pollo Asado, which is half of a whole roasted chicken served sizzling on a cast iron skillet with crispy oven-roasted potatoes and beautifully green al dente asparagus spears. It was as rustic as the café's name, and a perfect example of the simply cooked and delicious country food that you can find in any part of the Mediterranean. Seasoned with rosemary, the chicken tasted as good as it looked, with wonderful pan juices begging to be mopped up with the fresh-from-the-oven bread. 

There's a "whole fish" special nightly (tilapia when I was there), but it was sold out by the time we sat down for a continentally late supper at 8:30, so it's obvious the word is out with downtown professionals who are stopping by after work. There's also a homemade soup each day and I loved the mushroom marsala-laced cup full of earthy flavors and served piping hot that I started with. Soups are something that European chefs do very well and Howell was a good student. He loves regional and seasonal food, so you can count on this choice to be a winner consistently.

My only regret was that I didn't bring six friends to dine with me, as I wanted to try everything on the menu.

The Mediterranean Short Stack -- a trio of shrimp, scallops and crab meat loosely bound and served over mesclun greens with a lemon-dill dressing -- is offered as both a starter and an entrée and sounded incredible. The Paella, which is served for two only, also made my mouth water, and at $29 it was a great deal.