Guten Tag From Mattern’s Sausage and Deli

 Mattern's Sausage and Deli

4327 East Chapman Ave. 

Orange, CA 92869

German restaurants are disappearing from OC at an alarming rate. Last year, we lost one of my favorites, Jagerhaus, and I have been hearing rumblings that the Phoenix Club and Old World in Huntington Beach could close soon as well. It's probably due to my heritage, but I enjoy German food. It's not like we had it a lot while I was growing up, but my numerous trips to Oktoberfest venues for various sausages, schnitzel, stuffed cabbage, pork chops, and, of course, beer lend to the positive feelings I have towards the comforting food of my forefathers. 

It happened that it was dentist time again, which meant I would be in North OC around lunchtime, which does not happen too often. When these two things occur, I find a lunch spot not usually open later in the day when I'm around these parts on my way to a Ducks game, on a dinner date with my parents, or out with friends. It suddenly came to me that Mattern's Sausage and Deli would fill the bill on this fine afternoon. 

I've been meaning to swing by Mattern's for quite some time. They were named one of the top 100 restaurants on Yelp back in 2014, and the OC Register Restaurant Critic Brad A. Johnson called their sausage one of the best things he ate back in 2017. Over the years, they have supplied the Orange International Street Fair with well over 600,000 bratwursts, a few of which I have eaten. 

Mattern's has been around since 1983 and was owned and operated by Willie and Ann Mattern. In 1997, they realized a dream by opening a factory where they could make their own meats. Five years ago, they sold their beloved deli to Uwe Saler and his daughter Emily, who have kept things relatively the same since they took ownership. The Matterns still operate the factory, churning out award-winning meats.   

Located next door to a Weinerschnitzel, Mattern's still brings locals through their doors with sandwiches made while you wait, sausages, and a couple of sides. They also have a good selection of German groceries and stuff from Europe. Ordering is done at the counter to your right as you enter, and then you pay at the register deeper into the store. There are some tables here, but I took my food to go. Let's see how it all turned out for me this afternoon. 

I started things out with this Pastrami Rueben ($11.99). It was excellent from start to finish. Plenty of very solid pastrami that was accompanied wonderfully by sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and a touch of mustard. The sauerkraut was not too overpowering like some tend to be, which made this sandwich more enjoyable to me. I'm always partial to Russian dressing on my Reubens, but the mustard was a nice change of pace. The biggest surprise with this sandwich for me was the rye bread. It was lightly toasted and was unlike any rye I have ever experienced on a Reuben. It had a garlic tinge and reminded me of the cheese bread from Northwood's Inn. This sandwich is definitely something that you won't want to miss when visiting Mattern's. 

I asked the girl behind the counter which bratwurst she preferred, and she steered me towards the Smoked Bratwurst ($9.99). This was a good choice. The bratwurst had a subtle smokiness to it, which paired nicely with the mild, but still tangy sauerkraut. A little mustard and a sturdy French roll made this sandwich pleasurable. This might have been my first time having authentic German potato salad. It's served warm; there's no mayo, but it's studded with pieces of bacon and onion, and a tart dressing is used in it. I'm still a fan of the American version I grew up with, but this version was nice for a change. 

I rather enjoyed my first visit to Mattern's. Both sandwiches I ate this afternoon were solid, but the Reuben was the better of the two. It's definitely in the running for one of the better Reubens I have had in OC and might be one of the most reasonably priced. The service was nice and friendly, and even though I was here during the lunch rush, my sandwiches did not take too long to make, and I was on my way home rather quickly. With the scarcity of German restaurants around here, I will definitely visit Mattern's again soon. 

Out of five airplanes (because the most famous Mattern I could find was Jimmie Mattern, an American aviator who unsuccessfully tried to fly around the world twice, both times resulting in a crash landing), five being best to zero being worst, Mattern's Sausage and Deli gets 3.5 airplanes. 

Mattern's Sausage and Deli does not have a website, but you can click here to visit their Yelp page for more information: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mattern-sausage-and-deli-orange-7