alpine village: german acrobats and chocolate

a little road trip to the queen mary today ended up with an accidental diversion to alpine village in torrance. it is definitely an "only in LA" wonder: there is an old fashioned meat counter where you can buy homemade sausage; their sunday german champagne brunch buffet is straight from the 60s; the ratio of socks in birkenstocks to vans is unusually high south of berkeley; entertainment is provided by cherub cheeked german octogenarians doing acrobats with flowers in their hair;

photo credit: james paris
and, you can find an amazing selection of chocolates at unusually low prices - - - heilemann chocolates are just 1.25!!!!!!!!

alpine village may not still look like the pictured vintage postcard but you must make the trip if you are a fan of camp and excellent prices on chocolate.

note: don't forget to put on your lederhosen... this years oktoberfest will be held September 12th, 2009 thru October 25th, 2009. www.alpinevillage.net