Wirtshaus Restaurant Part 2- Food

It's the last Friday of Oktoberfest, and we hope you are having a festive and fun evening! 

If you've been following our shenanigans, you are probably already aware that we went to this festive and fun German restaurant to get a taste of what LA has to offer to fellow German food and drink enthusiasts, as well as to learn a bit more about said food and drinks. 

We are aware the food is rather homely - i.e. difficult to do justice in a photograph. But it is so tasty, satisfying, comforting and, dare we say, underrated that there is little out there on the WWW (world-wide web, anyone?) to guide those who have experienced it and want to recreate its deliciousness.  

Ms. Schnitzel to the rescue!

However, in order to know whether the recipes we are sharing are true to others' standards of German cuisine, it is imperative and FUN to check out the local offerings. So even if you're not from LA, we hope these field trips help bring some clarity and maybe inspire you to check out the scene in your own town. We'd love to hear about it if you do!

Speaking of imperatives, it felt necessary on this trip to order up some schnitzel... We have yet to share a schnitzel recipe with you despite our name, soooo yeah. It was real good. Especially with sauce. 

There were six of us, so rather than boring you with descriptions of every little thing we tried, let's keep it brief and say there was nary a complaint. Everything was delicious.

Now let's talk favorites. 

Hailing from the south, Virginia to be exact, GK was astounded at the similarities between his meal and the cooking he loves from back home. The green beans and mashed potatoes were the ideal pairing to his chicken schnitzel, all done to perfection, and he left a happy (if a bit nostalgiac) man.

Tara absolutely loved the Jäger (hunter) sauce which she remembered fondly from the small town she visited in the Bavarian Alps (Ausgang? No, that means exit. Remind her to tell you the story sometime). She mixed it with spätzle. Actually, frankly, she mixed it with everything. But with tons of fresh mushrooms and tender homemade spätzle, the Jäger-spätzle combo was her favorite. Well, also the potato pancakes with caramelized onions and mascarpone cheese sauce (pictured at the top). She and Jen began dreaming up their potato pancake post and all of the delicious toppings they could create!

Janet's favorite was the Gulasch, with tender and juicy beef in a hearty and flavorful sauce, served over the spätzle, which we might add was an all around favorite. Perfectly al dente with just a hint of garlic flavor... If you've never tried spätzle, it's time that you do!

Jen is torn between her entrée, with delicious bites that combined the chicken schnitzel, Jäger sauce, and sauerkraut (also a winner all around - very sour and very tasty), whose flavors all worked so well together, and the Nutella Pudding!

Adrienne was smitten with both the sauerkraut and the mashed potatoes. Those taters - creamy, rich, and full of flavorful potato goodness - were a total hit with those who tried them! We might have to convince Adrienne to come and experiment with us to replicate the magic...

Bob, the chocoholic, loved the Nutella Pudding as well and could not stop talking about it afterwards! Seriously. Did not stop talking about it. Yum!

Whew, so that's a lot! Right? We didn't even talk about everything, after two full posts! What a treat. So let's finish the last Friday of Oktoberfest 2014, though there's a whole weekend to come mind you, with this little guy below. 

Jen's tummy was feeling a bit unsettled going in to this experience, but we do what we have to do. It's for the greater good, right? At the end of the meal, it was decided a little digestif action might help.

It was like Jäger on crack, the liquor not the sauce mind you (is that hilarious to anyone else?). It settled Jen's tummy nicely and she was alright with the flavor. Tara HATED it. If you like Jägermeister, you very well might love this. Try at your own risk.

Brats Brothers Field Trip

 

"We're so glad we were brat together, it brat the wurst out of us!" Yes, this phrase was actually uttered by the charming Mr. Rob Coonrod on the Uber ride home from Brats Brothers, our first Oktoberfest excursion. Perhaps the puns began when Jen said she was "in the 3rd drei-mester with a German food baby", and once you start it's hard to stop.  Needless to say, we had a super fun time at this cute, festive little Bavarian restaurant in Sherman Oaks.

We made a reservation in time to take advantage of their awesome happy hour specials: $5 half-liters, half off appetizers, and four of their most popular brats for $4.95. They had a stellar German draught beer selection, which made choosing a bit difficult. Rob picked the house Orange Blossom Lager, which he described as an "aromatic amber lager, a delicious sweet beer". Tara chose the Paulaner Weiss-bier after enjoying the Paulaner Oktoberfest so much at the previous tasting, and though it was not her favorite of the German wheat beers it did not disappoint. Jen had the Warsteiner Oktoberfest, which everyone agreed was fantastic. GK ordered the Warsteiner Premium Verum, which he described as "light and smooth, like Stella but better". Other beers sampled included the Franziskaner Dunkel-Weiss (always amazing) and the Spaten Optimator (very high alcohol, drink with caution, but really good, smooth flavor with hints of fennel and anise).

We went a bit overboard with the food, Jen & Rob both ordering the hot Hungarian brat (it really was quite hot) while GK & Tara opted for the Black Forest. Jen & Tara added Grandma's Sauerkraut and each couple got a side of cheese spaetzle, as well as the Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes and sour cream) for the table. Our server Chelsea, who was absolutely delightful, also brought over a surprise Giant Pretzel "in honor of Oktoberfest"! It was just what a pretzel should be.

In fact, everything was delicious! According to the clip on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Oh, did we forget to mention Brats Brothers was featured on that show? We were actually not aware of this until after we made reservations and were doing research on the place...), the sausages are all made locally by European butchers. According to us they're juicy and full of flavor, served on buns that are "stamped" (hot iron?) with Brats Brothers. Nice touch. There were 4 kinds of ketchup and 6 kinds of mustard, with the wasabi honey mustard getting all kinds of love (Rob's favorite, described by Jen as "a delightful juxtaposition of flavors"). The smoked ketchup, horseradish, and beer mustards were pretty killer too and all received honorable mentions. Jen and Tara both loved the sauerkraut, which Jen felt had "deep, dark, and mysterious" qualities. 

Now, did we mention the decor?! Weiner chandelier. Enough said?

Not quite. There was also a cool stein collection as well as baby lederhosen and pretzels hanging from the ceiling everywhere! The sinks and (according to the boys) the urinal are made out of kegs, and there was boisterous German beer hall music playing, including a fun German version of Edith Piaf's "Milord".

Oh, and did we mention mini kegs? Yes, if your table can all agree on the same beer you can have a 3L wooden keg sit right on your table to pour at will.

 

As if we weren't impressed enough, the owner came over and introduced himself as Vadim - he looked like a swarthier version of Robin Williams, no joke, with a kind smile and a twinkle in his eyes - and then offered us this brilliant, awesome, amazing and HUGE dessert on the house! Yum.

So, needless to say,  by the time we left we were all impressed... and a bit buzzed... and incredibly full. All of which contributed to some pretty impressive pun dropping. 

We all agreed we will be going back to this gem.

Oh, and if you miss happy hour they have an Oktoberfest special where you can buy a brat and a half liter for $11.95, which is basically like getting your beer for half off.

Prost!