Alpine Village: Another Great Local Find

When we moved to Torrance, California, we knew we would have no shortage of Japanese cuisine. Because of the Toyota and Honda manufacturers making a home in our hometown, there are Japanese markets and restaurants everywhere to serve the community of workers who moved here. Japanese-Americans all over LA know that good food can be found here.

What I didn't expect was to find a real authentic German restaurant in the neighborhood. I'd heard of Alpine Village as a place to go for Oktoberfest, but in the 2 years we've been here, we've missed it. So, when Groupon had a deal for this place, I jumped at the opportunity to go and check it out.

Alpine Village is an interesting place. It's got a restaurant and café, and a community center room that can be rented for parties. It even has a little business area with shops, a dentist office, a hair salon, and even a wedding chapel. Fascinating and a little kitschy. Let's just say, it opened in the 1960s and there hasn't been a ton of updatin', if you know what I mean. :)

The timberframe architecture takes you away to a tiny German village. The restaurant is dim and wood paneling covers the walls inside. The beer is ever-flowing, and the potatoes and sausage are
d-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s-l-y scrumptious.

I don't remember what hubby had to drink, but mine was a heifeweizen...I can tell by the orange slice.

Hubby ordered a classic wienerschnitzel, which is served on top of the most amazing potato, bacon, onion, and parsley concoction I've ever had. So good.

I had a Hungarian sausage plate with sauerkraut, the wondrous potatoes, and a duo of mustard. You'll see in the picture, on the bottom left, there's a piece of bread with chicken liver paté. They give you a whole little pot of that with a basket of bread and butter before your meal. It's so yummy. I took the rest home to eat the next day.

After dinner, we checked out the market. Now that was like walking into a supermarket in the middle of Europe. It made this girl so happy. Especially when I wandered into this aisle...

Chocolate! All the chocolate that one can find in Europe. It was glorious. Lindt, Ritter Sport, Milka.

And they also carry a lot of products that can only be found in Germany...like Smurf soup mix. I love how it's translated - schlumpf. Hehe.

Needless to say, this is a fun place for Europhiles like me. I had a great time, and we can't wait to take our German relatives here next time they are in town!