German on a Whim

Let me just preface this with I understand how spoiled I/Los Angeles sounds when we are whining about how cold it is when it’s 50 degrees outside.

I went on a Match.com coffee date and all the seats were taken outside so we had our coffee at a table outside. At first I was fine thriving off the heat of my big bowl-like cup of hot Joe but in no time it turned into an iced coffee. The guy was really nice and interesting but sadly no chemistry to really keep me warm. After an hour and a half we said our goodbyes and I was freezing! I couldn’t get warm, even in my car with the seat warmers on. I was also starving. When these dates go well typically “coffee” turns into lunch just like “drinks” turns into dinner, but this one stayed true.

Headed home stuck in La Brea traffic I spotted a chalk written sidewalk sign that read “Free Beer.” Ha! I had to see what the name of the establishment was that had a good sense of humor. It was Wirtshaus, a German spot. Ha! I laughed at myself again considering it’s a German restaurant in an Orthodox Jewish part of town… I’ve never been to a German restaurant I’m cold, hungry and beer sounded really, really  good.

First things first, I wanted to go wash my hands in hot water to bring them back to life. Now I don’t make a habit of taking pictures in public bathrooms, in fact I’m a strong believer in the sanctity of the ladies room but I feel like the creative use of old German magazines as wallpaper deserves some recognition. 

I know I’m probably going to like a place when they have a wall dedicated to the list of beers they serve. I ponied myself up to the bar and got cozy. This guy a few seats down had a plate in front of him that looked amazing. It looked hearty and warm, much warmer that the bowl of sour kraut the chick next to him was devouring. Hmm, interesting.

I told the bartender I wanted what he was having. It was the Elk Gulasch with homemade Spatzl. I’ve never had elk before, and I’ve never had spatzle, well and clearly I’ve never had gulasch so this was going to be an adventure. The lucky beer was the dark and lovely Köstritzer Schwarzbier. I love dark beers when it’s cold outside! It’s like coffee, but beer. Mmmm.

I died and went to German heaven (is there such place? I imagine heaven more of a tropical island really) when my gulasch arrived. Oh you beautiful gulasch you! This was the most perfect thing in the world at that very moment… it was warm and hearty and rich. That sauce is divine! So many layers of flavor, the elk so tender, they must braise this stuff for hours upon hours to get that flavor. I feel like they must roast some elk bones and toss them in to simmer along with the braising liquid in order to get that amount of richness and depth. The spatzl was habit forming. It’s toothy feel was so satisfying bite after bite.  I had no idea I would like German food so much, wow.

Wirtshaus is a really cute neighborhoody bar/restaurant with great happy hour deals. If I lived walking distance to it I bet I’d be their German-wannna-be-Norm.