A taste of Bavaria
For eight nights a year, Germany comes to Redlefsen's

By MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal Arts Writer

BRISTOL -- On Oct. 17, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Maria-Theresia of Sachaen-Hindenburghausen. To celebrate, the prince's father, King Maximilian, set aside two weeks for the festivities to which all his subjects were invited.

The world has been celebrating ever since.

These days, Munich -- the mother of all the worldwide Oktoberfests -- celebrates with beer tents, a brass band and a carnival in late September, when the weather is more suitable for outdoor events in Germany. But most places in the United States stick to the October dates.

That's why, for the past several years, we've trekked to Redlefsen's on a Wednesday or Thursday night in October, when the restaurant holds its annual Oktoberfest celebration.

It may not be as grand as Munich. There are no tents, no brass band, no carnival. But Redlefsen's does Maximilian proud with a dozen imported beers on tap, two of them special brews from Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest, plus a menu devoted to German specialties. Dancers from the Alpenblumen troupe, dressed in lederhosen or dirndl skirts, hop around the restaurant in classic German dance steps to the toe-tapping music of an accordionist.

With strings of white lights dangling from the plank-board ceiling, lace curtains at the windows, a big cuckoo clock on its pale yellow walls and Christine Depoto's huge new mural, which incorporates some of the Alpenblumen dancers into traditional scenes of Bavaria, Redlefsen's looks ready to celebrate Oktoberfest.

Small-town, European ambience

Redlefsen's always features some German dishes among its international fare (our chipper waitress, Claire, told us the Wiener Schnitzel is a regular menu item). But it's only eight nights in October when you'll find Jaeger Schnitzel, with its hearty brown mushroom sauce, or Sauerbraten, in a rich red wine sauce, served with red cabbage and a choice of spatzle or potato pancakes.

Walter Guertler, who has owned Redlefsen's with wife, Sally, for 11 years, said in a follow-up interview that they had wanted to create the ambience of the small-town restaurants found all over Europe.

Happily, they've succeeded admirably in their aim for "eclectic bistro fare:" The regular menu includes everything from spring rolls and New England clam chowder to Chicken Provence, Scallops and Portobello Tortelloni or filet mignon.

Redlefsen's -- a name made up by the former owner, Guertler reported -- is an airy, friendly place with a knowledgeable and helpful staff.

It has the clean lines of a European restaurant, too, with flair. "Tablecloths" are white butcher paper with the Redlefsen's logo stamped in red in the middle. There's a big fireplace, huge wreaths of dried grasses and flowers on the walls, and a white tile wall in front of the open kitchen at one end of the room. Little Dutch-style houses are painted on some of the walls, along with grape vines, which are repeated in bold relief in the stained-glass panels on a Jacuzzi-size skylight above the dining room and on a window panel in the huge barroom.

Separated from the dining room, the bar is outfitted with enormous white handles to pull the draft beer. For autumn, there are pumpkins, a small scarecrow and a little canoe atop a partition that separates the entrance hall from the restaurant. Despite all this, it doesn't look kitschy. It's an expansive place, and you won't feel as if you've just stepped inside a cuckoo clock.

On the other hand, what with the male Alpenblumen dancers slapping their thighs and stamping their feet in a traditional German dance, or singing along to the accordion rendition of "In Heaven There Is No Beer" while hoisting steins of Oktoberfest brew, it's hard not to be transported to Bavaria. Even Guertler looks the part of the Happy Wanderer, schmoozing with customers in his lederhosen and jaunty hat with jauntier feather.

Germany's version of antipasto

Fortunately, the food lives up to the buildup of the Oktoberfest theme.

We started, as we always do, with bowls of Butternut Squash & Apple Soup ($4), a pumpkin-colored blend of pureed squash and sweet apples, touched with cinnamon and nutmeg. My dining companion, who makes a darned good home version, swears by it, declaring that it would be all right if nothing else were delivered to our table this night except more bowls and bowls and bowls of the soup.

We were tempted by the Ludwig's Temptation appetizer ($11), even though it sounded like a lot of food. This is Germany's version of an antipasto -- thin slices of grainy pumpernickel (unlike the more familiar kinds of pumpernickel and marble rye already on the table in the bread basket), slices of Switzerland's Emmentaler Kase, which tastes like a very robust Swiss cheese; Thuringerwurst, Germany's answer to salami; thin slices of Westphalian ham (the pigs are raised on acorns, Claire confided), and two pickle spears, which looked like dill but were quite sweet, plus sour cream and sweet mustard.

Tall glasses of dusky Warsteiner Oktoberfest ($5.25) and Lowenbrau Oktoberfest ($6) beers proved to be the perfect accompaniment to this wonderful blend of flavors and textures. I made luscious little open-faced sandwiches out of some of the ingredients. Still, some of them wound up coming home because we weren't sure there'd be room for dinner AND dessert.

And yet we couldn't resist an old Oktoberfest favorite here -- the Vegetable Salad ($4), which is not what you may at first think. Simple, but with a heavenly crunchiness, it's a combination of mostly julienned celery root and carrots, mixed with slices of celery stalk and tomato in a creamy cole slaw-like mayonnaise-based sauce, all sitting on a Romaine lettuce leaf. Two small, tender pickled beets accompanied on the side.

Tender schnitzel in hearty sauce

My friend's Jaeger Schnitzel ($21) was classically prepared: a huge veal cutlet had been pounded into plate size, breaded and lightly sauteed, then smothered under a hearty brown Hunter sauce and fresh mushrooms. A few snitched tastes of the tender veal and its rich sauce got the German half of my blood oom-pah-pahing.

Served with sweet red cabbage, made even sweeter by tender chunks of apple, and lightly fried silver-dollar-size potato pancakes, it was delicious and filling. In fact, my dining companion took a slice of veal and a couple of pancakes home, to leave room for dessert.

I was tempted by the Wiener Schnitzel ($20), but didn't want to go overboard with another breaded veal cutlet entree, although the Wiener Schnitzel is quite different from the Jaeger Schnitzel. It's served with a sauce of lemon, capers and anchovy. Besides, it's on the menu at Redlefsen's all year long and could be sampled another day.

Instead, I ordered the Kassler Rippchen ($17), which isn't as intimidating as it sounds when you realize that it's a grilled smoked porkchop.

Well, that sounds a little too ordinary . . . and this dish certainly wasn't. It was an extraordinarily tender and juicy chop, more like ham in its consistency and saltiness, with a woodsy flavor from the smoking and grilling.

It sat atop a large mound of sauerkraut, with more red cabbage and crisp potato pancakes on the side. (Spatzle is also available, but that dish of tiny noodles didn't seem nearly as appealing.)

A perfect apple strudel

The only house-made dessert of the several on a yummy-looking dessert tray was the Apple Strudel ($6), served with two small scoops of ice cream. My companion ordered it, but it looked so good I snatched one of the two slices. A thin, flaky crust chock full of apples that were tender but not at all mushy, raisins, slivered almonds and spices, it was perfect.

I went with the German chocolate cake ($6), a fudgy slice rich with chocolate frosting and a sweet coconut-based swatch between the layers. It made a fine end to a delicious meal.

No wonder we keep coming back year after year and why Guertler said that, although there are five more Oktoberfest nights to go, including tonight's, he is 90-percent booked.

But then you could visit Redlefsen's some other night. There won't be German dancing or accordion music, but there will be the Wiener Schnitzel and the Bratwurst (along with other temptations) to sample.

*****

Details, details . . .

Redlefsen's, 444 Thames St., Bristol, (401) 254-1188. Smart casual. Reservations accepted. No smoking during Oktoberfest, but smoking at the bar on other nights. Wheelchair accessible. Highchairs available. Open 5 p.m. to closing (usually 9 p.m. weekdays; 10 p.m. weekends) Tues.-Sun. On Wednesdays and Thursdays in October, Oktoberfest has seatings at 6 p.m. or before and 8 p.m. or after. V, MC, AE, DIS. On-street parking.

Appetizers cost $4 to $13. Entrees are $14 to $28. The wine list is $5 to $9.50 by the glass; $18 to $150 for a bottle. Imported beers on tap are $5.25 to $6 for a glass.

*****

If you like Cocke 'n Kettle or Benjamin's, you'll like Redlefsen's.

*****

Bill of fare

Dinner for two at Redlefsen's during Oktoberfest might look something like this:

Warsteiner Oktoberfest beer . $5.25

Lowenbrau Oktoberfest beer . . $6.00

Two Butternut Squash soups . . $8.00

Ludwig's Temptation . . . . . $11.00

Two vegetable salads . . . . . $8.00

Jaeger Schnitzel . . . . . . $21.00

Kassler Rippchen chop . . . . $17.00

German chocolate cake . . . . $6.00

Apple strudel . . . . . . . $6.00

Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.06

Tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17.00

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . $112.31

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Redlefsen's