Dining Out

Mary Furr

Fall heralds the first of the holidays with Oktoberfest. It’s in full

swing at the Einbecker Inn at the west end of Old World Village.

It’s the traditional German celebration of the harvest, and the

16-year-old Einbecker owned by Werner and Magda Stenzel is a family

affair with Werber as host, Magda as server and son Peter in the kitchen

cooking up some of the most authentic German food around.

Wafts of spicy vinegary aroma greet you as you step into the small

cafe with its divided dining room -- the first one with nine tables has a

train and trestle created by Werner set in the wall above the

double-clothed tables. In the second dining area is a carousel horse also

done by Werner when he was a designer at Knott’s Berry Farm.

Magda presents a menu and you are off to wonderful home-style German

food -- most entrees include hot potato salad and sauerkraut, which Peter

makes. He ferments the thin strands of cabbage with various spices,

including bay leaves, for the smooth, slightly sharp flavor quite unlike

the conventional variety and perfect with the fat sausages.

The Einbecker Plate ($5.95) is a choice of sausages all plump and

tightly wrapped in a light thin skin. Bratwurst is filled with ground

veal and pork, knackwurst with beef and pork and smooth-skinned Polish

with a mix of all three. It’s rather like a hot dog and spicier than the

other two, Magda says. However, none are too spicy -- more like a grace

note to the meats.

But Einbecker is not all wursts -- there’s a slice of Wiener Schnitzel

($9.25) that covers half the plate -- a quarter-inch veal cutlet with a

crackly crisp coat over tender meat served with a scoop of hot potato

salad. Peter follows his mother’s recipes and the sliced potatoes are

dressed with vinegar, bacon fat and bits of bacon like scalloped potatoes

with a distinctive flavor jolt.

Entrees come with a choice of soup or salad but recommended is the

homemade white bean soup filled with tiny navy beans, a few potato cubes

and bits of carrot and onion -- it’s thick and hearty -- a warming fall

dish.

Desserts, offered on a tray by Magda, are from Herb’s Black Forest

Baker. They are beautiful -- a rich spice cake, a Florentine roll of

crisp nuts filled with a smooth creamy chocolate. The Sacher Torte, named

for the hotel in Vienna where it was created, is the best -- dark and

delicious chocolate cake with a creamy icing is dipped in a shell of hard

chocolate -- a potent taste of heaven.

Einbecker Inn, named for the small west German town from which the

Stenzels came, is a relaxed but efficient cafe loaded with German

artifacts -- pewter steins, souvenir plates and family photos -- the

small sidewalk patio is a perfect spot to unwind for a sunny lunch or

warm evening dinner to celebrate Oktoberfest in Old World Village.

FYI

Einbecker Inn

Where: 7561 Center Ave.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 10

p.m. Friday and Saturday

Phone: (714) 892-9997

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail o7 hbindy@latimes.com.f7