HANS RÖCKENWAGNER

3 Square Café + Bakery and Röckenwagner Bakery are the latest ventures of longtime Los Angeles chef/restaurateur Hans Röckenwagner.  Hans’ background spans thirty years of cooking in kitchens in Germany, Switzerland, Chicago and Los Angeles, and includes operating his own fine dining restaurant, running a full-scale retail and wholesale bakery, consulting to major hospitality-related businesses, and penning a cookbook.  Known for his individuality, Hans’ reputation was built around his springtime white asparagus menus, innovative dishes like crab soufflé with lobster-butter sauce and the popular pretzel burger, and his craftsmanship in designing and building his restaurants.

Of his many accomplishments, Hans is most proud of his wife and children, Patti (ageless), Gina (19), Roxy (17) and Hansi (15), his top-spin forehand and the many projects he has completed as a hobby woodworker.

WOLFGANG GUSSMACK

Wolfgang joined Hans in 2002 as chef de cuisine at Röckenwagner Restaurant in Santa Monica.  A native of Graz, Austria, Wolfgang started his culinary career cooking spätzle for his family’s restaurant and Gasthaus.  This experience earned him a spot in Austria’s only two-star Michelin restaurant and subsequently, led him to renowned kitchens in Italy and France before coming to Los Angeles.

A rabid gourmand, Wolfgang is a walking food guide (ask him where to eat in any city), a wine connoisseur and the holder of THE perfect Kaiserschmarren recipe.

3 SQUARE CAFÉ + BAKERY

The café is a casual, contemporary eatery serving “3 square” meals:

• Breakfast features a number of fresh-baked breads and sweets as well as pancakes, waffles and organic egg dishes. 
• Lunch caters to the Abbot Kinney shopping and gallery crowd with artisan sandwiches and salads for which Röckenwagner has become known.
• Dinner will offer comfort food with a contemporary twist including a selection of savory and sweet soufflés such as, crab soufflé with lobster-butter sauce and mangoes, and Valrhona chocolate soufflé with chocolate pretzel sticks.

The adjacent bakery is open seven days a week from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.  In addition to offering the entire Röckenwagner Bakery product line, including pretzel rolls, Rudolf Steiner Health Bread, scones, danishes, breads, cheese twists and cookies, it features convenient sandwiches and snacks to go.  Changing German and Austrian pastry specials will be offered, giving Abbot Kinney a new venue for the traditional Coffee Klatch.