BierBeisl Austrian Cuisine | Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

BierBeisl isn't a locally minded restaurant.

Whenever possible, chef Bernhard Mairinger turns to the country of his birth, Austria, to stock the kitchen of his new Beverly Hills spot.

Stiegl, the Salzburg brewery that's gloriously inescapable in Austria, dominates the beer list. And there's plenty of Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, too.

The sausages at BierBeisl aren't imported, but the smooth texture of the bratwurst ($9), made by Continental Gourmet Sausage, might convince you otherwise. Mairinger brings a delicate touch to the links here, belying his training at L.A.'s finishing school for chefs, Patina. His sausages aren't strictly about snap and char; some, like weisswurst ($9), are simmered in milk.

That deftness carries over to more definitively Austrian dishes such as schnitzel ($19 to $25). Feel free to choose whichever fried cutlet–turkey, pork or veal–you'd like to eat with lingonberries. But we implore you to pick the potato salad for your side dish.

Despite all the true imports Mairinger brings to BierBeisl, this vinegary salad (click here for the recipe) is the Austrian dish we're most glad to now have available; this is the potato salad we fell for when visiting Vienna–the one we've been chasing ever since.

BierBeisl, 9669 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; 310-271-7274 or bierbeisl-la.com