Biwa’s Gabe Rosen and Kina Voelz Eat Down Memory Lane at Swiss Hibiscus

Running one restaurant can be a time-suck, but running two? You can pretty much kiss your social life goodbye. But that's not how it works for Gabe Rosen and Kina Voelz, the power couple behind Biwa and the recently opened Noraneko.

Wisely, they make sure they have the same nights off so that they can decompress and not think about work.

Still, a couple's gotta eat, and most of the time Rosen and Voelz try to stay in and cook, especially since they have a summer CSA share with Mudjoy Farms. But when they're not feeling up to that, they head to "mom-and-pop places where there isn't a restaurant-scene vibe," says Rosen. And lately that means standbys like Two Brothers Cafe & Grill, Gino's, Pho An Sandy and, more recently, Swiss Hibiscus.

"Lately we have been to Swiss Hibiscus a few times and are pretty much totally in love. I mean, what could be sweeter than a Swiss-Hawaiian restaurant?" Rosen asks.

"Kina went to school in southwestern Germany, and we go and visit [there] with some regularity, so for us Swiss food — which isn't really so different from Schwäbisch food — is a great treat and very nostalgic. All the people at Swiss Hibiscus seem really nice and the service is professional and warm. They serve delicious goulash, spätzle, schnitzel, rösti, and kartoffelsalat. The deserts are also very good — and not too sweet, which is important to Kina!