DTLA: Sausages and More at BierBeisl Imbiss

 

Located in the Spring Arcade Building, the new BierBeisl Imbiss in Downtown Los Angeles is a bakery and currently the only Austrian street food restaurant in LA. Chef Bernard Mairinger closed his Beverly Hills BierBeisl and opened the more casual Imbiss location a couple of months ago. He says though don’t count out another BierBeisl. And he says the Imbiss concept can translate easily anywhere so look for more soon. In the meantime, the more casual eatery feels welcoming with high ceilings and a busy dinner rush. Everyone loves sausage and beer!

 

With this heat, it was nice to get a chilled glass of white wine and a cooling watermelon soup. We also had a stellar bread basket and dove into a couple of salads including the must-order BierBeisl house salad with crispy pork belly.

 

It’s really a salad with wonderful bacon. Or if you want to be truly vegetarian, there’s the mixed greens or beet salads. I am charmed by the idea of getting all three salads as a combo which comes with bread.

 

I’m a pretty big fan of schnitzel. At BierBeisl Imbiss, you can have either pork or turkey. I enjoyed the lingonberry spread which added a piquant counterpoint.

 

But I know what sandwich I want to get next time. I had a bite of the Bratl, a pork belly sandwich on pretzel bread. If I didn’t already love the pork belly from the salad, I would have been surprised by the pork belly in this sandwich. It’s crispy but the fat has also been properly rendered. And the meat isn’t tough! A feat!

 

 

You can’t leave BierBeisl and not get the sausages. We tried the sampler and my favorite was the Hungarian Andouille which was slightly spicy. The cheese-infused Kasekrainer sounded like a winner as well. All the sausages were juicy. I loved trying all the different mustards but in the end, I’m a simple brown mustard fan. But do try sprinkling some fresh horseradish on. It gives each bite a zingy kick.

We also had the warm sauerkraut and speck coleslaw. Two different ways of serving cabbage and both were winners. I have to get the edge to the coleslaw though. It was so great to have more vinegary slaw rather than the stuff I grew up with (heavy on the mayo, especially at summer picnics).

 

As mentioned, this location has a full bakery. It’d be a shame not to try any of the Austrian pastries and cakes.

Bierbeisl Imbiss at the Spring Arcade Building

541 S Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013  —  (213) 935-8035

© The Minty  2015