Valhalla Table

Oh no! Closed!!!
+ Veal Sausage with Belgian Fries $ 10.50: so excellent. Fries were fresh and fried just right. The sausage was tender and flavorful.
Goodbye Valhalla Table. Too bad I only met you once.
We could have been great friends.

***CLOSED*** (as of the end of January 2012)
I stopped by and it was dark. So sad, where am I going to get my Belgian fry fix now?
Here’s a quote from the Daily Pilot article:
«Valhalla Table is closed because the economy wasn’t good for us last year, and our lease is up,» owner Ehrline Karnaga wrote in an email Thursday. «…We hope to be able to do something like Valhalla again in the near future.»

Lunch with the girls…
I came here with 4 other girls for lunch on Martin Luther King Day when all other places were too pack. My sister and I shared a veal and basil parmesan sausage sandwich. All 5 of us also shared fries. My sandwich was mediocre. It was basically included a sausage that tasted nothing like veal, a little bit of parmesan cheese, a strip of bacon, and some caramelized onions in a hot dog bun. It was a little dry. The fries were alright. One of the girls got a banana bread dessert topped with vanilla ice cream. We all shared it and it was pretty good.
For our sandwich and fries, the total was $ 11. We almost did not come in because of the strong smell of food. We did not want to stink. The restaurant is small and you order in front. The menu is small. They have other items, such as burgers and salads.

Duck, bacon, jalapeño — ok, wasn’t spicy enough and wouldn’t know it was duck if it hadn’t been for the name.
Belgian fries were yummy with the curry, mango sauce.
Can’t have dogs n fries without washing them down with beer! I had hef on tap and it was nice and cold.
Forgot which week day I went but it was kind of dead. And I wasn’t sure if it was an order at the counter or get waited on place; order at the counter.
Was expecting a cooler, trendier place for some reason. It was just ok.

Mediocre place with mediocre food.
Sausages had a taste of plastic. Don’t know if that came from the casing or from the packing it came in.
I had to get my nutrition from the beer I ordered.
No reason to try it again. Sorry fellas… I’m not a fan.

+1 star for their AWESOME belgian fries
+1 star for having delirium tremens.
thats about it… ive been eyeing this place ever since it started construction a couple years back and finally had a chance to stop by on my sunday funday.
first and foremost, my friend is VERY allergic to chicken so we opted for the duck tacos and the kbbq sausage with saurkraut. umm… the duck was not duck! my friend was seriously puking his brains out as we were leaving! NOT OK!!!
secondly, i was pretty excited to try the sausage which we were told was a beef sausage. but it seriously had the smell of rancid pig skin (dont ask me how i know. but i just felt like thats what it smelled like). i really tried to enjoy it. but i seriously could only stomach 2 bites and had to give up on it.
with that said, i would stop by for a brew and their awesome belgian fries and their awesome sauces.
but really… i dont want to assume that you are lying on your menu. but i ate the «duck» tacos and was perfectly fine… but obviously it wasnt duck because my friend had a severe allergic reaction to it!

Pros: turkey burger was filling, sufficient beer selection, nice staff (although casual, in a good way), clean restaurant, great aiola (garlic) dipping sauce, clean-​cut décor.
Not so. pros: it was SO hot (temperature-wise).I was sweating my butt off, the Korean beef sausage was bland, and the toppings are limited both in selection and in allotment.
For $ 7, I don’t think their sausages are worth it. I’d rather go to Jerry’s wood-​fired dogs and get all the toppings I can get. At least that would drown out the bland taste.
Their fries are good, but a bit salty.

Haven’t been here since they opened in hopes that they would improve during that period.
The sausages I tried were not dry but they just didn’t taste great.
The duck jalapeño and the spicy chicken one were the favorites. The boar tasted way too gamey, the chimichurri feta actually tasted gross even though it sounded good, and the sweet peppers just tasted off as well.
i just dont care for a lot of the flavor combinations they have.
the fries however, are awesome. sausage chili fries? sign me up.
this place does not even stand in the same atmosphere as Wurstkuche in LA, the restaurant that it was obviously based off of.

This place was great, I love hot dogs and sausages, heck I have a photo album on my facebook titled I like hot dogs with over 30 pictures in it with me and friends eating hot dogs from different places.
It was a bit pricey but worth the try, I knew it would be considering the Unilocal information indicated $$ which means 11 – 30 moderate, they have a variety of sausages like duck, lamb, ect.
I got the Burner — 10 Bucks even
Cajun sausage, chili, chedder cheese and pickled serranos according to the cashier this was the spiciest, I love a spicy dog, it was really tasty but didn’t even manage to tingle my tounge
My friend got a bratwurst with carmalized onions and french fries, the fries where soooo good
I would definatly come back to try another one of their sausages

Gah. Hipsterville.
$ 7 for a sausage? That better be one huge sausage. (It isn’t.)
What we ordered:
— Duck, Bacon, and Jalapeño with sambal balado: the flavor was okay. It really wasn’t anything special, as I could barely taste a hint of bacon. The sambal balado was fresh and tasty, though. It really livened up the sausage and took it to that next level.
— Chimichurri Lamb and Feta with caramelized onions: do NOT get this. It’s one of those things that you put in your mouth that initially taste «okay,» but the more you chew, the sicker you feel. I definitely couldn’t finish this, but fortunately for me my partner could swallow it down.
— Belgian Fries: a must if you intend on getting full at this joint. Thick-​cut, hot, and fresh. Not the best fries, but they’re extremely filling. Plus, the dipping sauces were surprisingly delicious (pesto mayo and mango curry mayo).
— Currywurst: flavor was right, but the entire dish looked wrong wrong wrong. First off, currywurst is not supposed to be made with bratwurst (at least, none of the currywurst I had in Berlin was made with bratwurst). Secondly, the consistency of the tomato/​curry sauce was way off. It’s not supposed to be thick and chunky; it’s supposed to smooth, red, and topped with a dusting of curry powder.
Definitely not authentic German cuisine, but I didn’t expect a place like this to be authentic. Plus, this joint is way overpriced for what it is. Sure, we got full (again, mostly because of the thick Belgian fries), but $ 27 for two people at a seat-​yourself sausage place just doesn’t sound right to me.

I was hungry, so checked my bookmarks in Costa Mesa. Try Valhalla Table? Why not…
Reminds me a little of Wurstzkuche in LA, though smaller and more open. Reasonable selection (not large, but select) of draft beers. They have somewhere between 40 to 50 (didn’t count) bottle beers available, of which I have either never heard of or never tried 19 (did count…)
Started with a Green Flash West Coast IPA and asked for their homemade pretzel. They were out of the regular pretzel, but did have the mini for 2 dollar. Done. Gotta watch the carbs *grin*.
Pretzel was served with honey mustard, which is a little too sweet for my taste, so grabbed the whole grain. They have squeeze bottles about, so no problem. Next was the bratwurst. Got a choice between the house made kraut (which turned out to be made from purple cabbage and was too sweet for my taste) and the bought kraut (which was crisp and classic, which I like). Ordered the house kraut, but they swapped it out when I realized the error in my ways…
Sat at bar and it was quiet, but it WAS early (alas). Only 4:30. Started getting busy as I was wrapping. Was getting hungry again. Sausage smelled great.
I have to expand on the sausage menu. Took a picture because they sounded great. Maybe the wild boar balinese or the korean bbq beef sausage next? Even their toppings are ususual. May have to try the sambai balado on top of a green chiles and cilantro chicken sausage.
Want another…

More like a 3.5 than a 3.
A couple of buddies and I came here after dinner to chill with some beers, fries and for me, a bratwurst since I wasn’t exactly full yet.
The fries from what I remembered weren’t too greasy and I couldn’t stop eating them. I believe I tried a mango jalapeño sauce and some other dipping sauce that really elevated these fries from your run of the mill fries. My bratwurst was described as having x, y, z but upon eating it, I felt like I kinda tasted z and that was about it. Furthermore, the bun got quite soggy faster than I expected.
This place is really chill which is why I liked it. They have plenty of seating (Wed at like 8pm) and we were able to play a card game or two in the middle of the place, albeit getting a few nerd-​strom stares. But eh, who cares, we had fun that night at this venue and that’s all that matters!

Similar to Wurstkuche in LA.
If Wurstkuche is an A+ student, or even the valedictorian, Valhalla Table is an A– student.
If Wurstkuche feels like a European countryside, Valhalla Table feels like what I imagine a Chipotle chain in a European setting to be like.
If Wurstkuch is AleSmith’s Horny Devil (11.0%) Belgian-​style ale, Valhalla Table seems like AleSmith’s Lil Devil (5.5%) Belgian-​style ale — essentially a toned down Horny Devil.
It appears Valhalla Table tried to emulate the extremely successful Wurstkuche. However, I still greatly enjoyed my recent visits there, despite it being an imitator rather than an innovator.
First and foremost, VT is much closer to San Diego without the massive traffic jams between OC and LA.
Secondly, the food and craft beer is amazing as well.
Belgian fries are delicious and are of nearly the same/​similar taste as Wurstkuche.
However, in terms of aesthetics, Wurstkuche’s Belgian style fries lead if only because they are wrapped in a red and white wax paper cone, like in Belgium. Even highly acclaimed Pommes Frites in East Village, NYC made sure to get this right. Instead VT serves their Belgian fries on a rectangular metal plate.
In terms of sauces for Belgian fries, I’d give Wurstkuche a tiny lead. Both there and at Pommes Frites, I had curry ketchup, which I loved. Instead, VT offers sambal ketchup, which is somewhat like an Indonesian equivalent of curry ketchup. Spicy, delicious, and close enough to actual curry ketchup.
Currywurst (Berlin street food) — Valhalla Table is definitely the winner in this category as this dish is unavailable Wurstkuche. This is the only restaurant where I’ve ever had this amazing appetizer. The tomato paste based curry with grilled onions covering pieces of sausage was outstanding.
Was extremely pleased to be able to try currywurst after reading about how it is a staple food in Berlin.
Sausages:
Both Wurstkuche and VT have a duck, bacon, and jalapeño sausage. Only tried it at VT though. It was quite appetizing and somewhat lean for a sausage. Greatly appreciated that is was less greasy than an average sausage.
Korean BBQ beef sausage was interesting. Unfortunately, however, I had somewhat higher expectations for it. For some reason, I expected/​assumed it would be Korean BBQ beef rib meat pulled off the bone and stuffed into a sausage casing. It tasted more like a regular beef sausage with Korean BBQ marinade in the casing. Was also somewhat greasier than I would have preferred.
In terms of toppings for the sausage: VT is my preferred for the sole reason that in addition to sauerkraut, peppers, caramelized onions (like Wurstkuche offers), two salsas are also available. I had both my sausages with a side of sambal balado (spicy Indonesian style salsa) and it made the sausages all the more enjoyable.
Craft beer:
Wurstkuche is far more superior in this category.
Tap and bottle selection at Wurstkuche is more robust with a much more Belgian centric offering than at VT, which I prefer. Although Wurstkuche offers a larger number of beers, VT does appears to have more American craft brews, which some may find more enjoyable than the Belgian/​German beers that dominate Wurstkuche’s beer menu.
Simply having La Chouffe on tap allows me to rate Wurstkuche’s beer selection as much more impressive.
At least VT has bottled Duvel, which I was able to enjoy with my Belgian fries and currywust.
Overall:
Despite somewhat lacking behind Wurstkuche, Valhalla Table is still an excellent place with wonderful food and a great selection of craft beer.

— Locale destination —
In «the camp», Costa Mesa. Cool and simple contemporary design. Foods seem to be straightforward like the design.
— Gluttony expedition —
Duck Tacos: It wasn’t bad but not so impressive.
Grilled Sausage Sandwich — Spicy Cajun Andouille: It’s a hot dog. Good quality bun. Sausage was a bit spicy and very juicy. It was good unexpectedly.
Belgian style potato fries: Thick and cooked well — crunchy outside and moist inside. I’m very picky about French fries, and like this ;) Garlic aioli sauce was pretty good, too.
Strawberry lemonade: A bit too sweet for me.
Blueberry lemonade: Not too sweet. Interesting.
— Conqueror’s deduction —
3.5 stars. I think «Jerry’s wood-​fired dogs» is still slightly better than this but this isn’t bad. Overall, they offer good quality foods. I wanna try more dogs here ;)

I’m not the biggest fan of the ol’ hot dog and bun but I decided, with an open mind, that I’d check out Valhalla Table. First off, I thought it was pretty cool that they had little quotes painted in each of the parking spots. Our parking spot said to «eat our vegetables.» Well, I guess the tomatoes and onions in my sausage sandwich would suffice for tonight! The interior décor was very simple but chic at the same time. They had a nice display of their beers on the back wall and a nice-​sized open kitchen to the left. They have tables outlining the restaurant and a long communal table in the middle. Make sure you place your order at the front because there is NO waiter service.
Between my friend and I, we got the Belgian fries with the mango curry mayo dipping sauce, the wild boar balinese with the sambal balado topping, and the turkey with sundried tomato and romano cheese topped with the carmelized onions. The fries were very tasty and the mango curry dipping sauce was sweet. It reminded me of the dipping sauces at Pommes Frites in NY. Both the wild boar and turkey sausages were too dry for my liking. I didn’t like the turkey so much because there wasn’t much flavor to it but the wild boar had this interesting aroma to it. The sambal balado really does have a spicy kick to it. For those that are sensitive, make sure you’re careful when eating this! The outside of my lip was burning after I ate it. I loved it. It gave the sausage some nice flavor. It also had some of the juices from the salsa which kind of dampened the toasted bun.
All in all, this place was just A-​OK. Now that I’ve gotten this place out of my system I don’t see a need to come back. Service is A+ and the restaurant is clean. The prices are also great! This place is located inside The Camp. Down some beers at Valhalla, get a tattoo at Outer Limits, and then finish it off with some organic tea at Milk + Honey!

They have some of the best people workign here. the place it self is between casual and trendy, without an intimidating factor. Which is a goood thing.
the sausage to go comes in a nic elittle box. GOod Saurkraut too.
Its 6dollar for a sausage, but that includes tax. it could be pricy but for a nice place like this, and a good quality food, its not that bad.
Each square inch of hte menu has something unique and distint to try out, so makes it all worth to come back over and over.
mango curry sauce, cilantro/​chile sausage. Give them a try, you will like it.

3.5 Stars for a good first visit!
I was visiting the Orange County Register’s food blog, «The Fast Food Maven,» when I came across the listing for Valhalla Table. It has only been open for about a month or so and boasted «Chef influenced street food.» One glance at the menu and I was hooked: homemade in-​house sausage and Belgian style fries with dipping sauce? Count me IN.
I convinced my brother to go along with me to the tiny place located in The Camp in Costa Mesa. We arrived and there were only a few patrons dining inside. We ordered at the counter and found a comfortable seat at the far end of the restaurant.
My brother ordered the Korean BBQ beef sausage sandwich, and a side of Belgian fries with the mango curry dipping sauce. I ordered the Spicy Cajun Andouille sausage, and my Belgian fries came with the garlic aioli dipping sauce. We both got our sandwiches topped with caramelized onions. I really liked the taste of my sandwich and the fries were crispy — they had a nice balance to them with the garlic aioli too — but I’m not quite sure the price range is up to par (it was on the more expensive side). Then again, I’m the type of person who is appeased simply by getting the $ 2 Polska Kielbasa at Costco.
Next time, perhaps I’ll try one of their brews with my bratwurst!

I came for Hazel’s event… a sausagefest she promised. And a sausagefest it was, and when I say sausage I mean encased meats. The place was packed by the time I got there, and I had to wait in line, which was actually nice because I got to meet some new Unilocalers.
I ordered the duck, bacon and jalapeño sausage with an indo salsa topping. The sausage itself was just okay, I was hoping it would be like Hot Doug’s in Chicago. But it doesn’t even come close to what I had at Hot Doug’s!
But I will give them the credit for that indo salsa! It was damn good and pretty spicy… but a good spice. I also tried some of Glen’s fries, and they were yummy as well. I also had some cookies. The macadamian white chocolate was a bit too dry… the peanut butter one was a bit better. I like my cookies a bit more moist… I was told by a regular customer behind us that they also own a bakery called Layers. I’ll have to check that out sometime.
But for now… it’s just A-​OK for me … Note to self, remember to come early to these events to get first dibs at freebies! Thanks Hazel for putting on a sausagefest of encased meats!

Came back again for the sausagefest and this time some interesting things happened. Firstly, I tried the bratwurst and it was actually cooked to perfection! I myself ordered the spicy andouille because I had tried someone else’s before and it was excellent, but this time it was dry. I also sampled someone’s wild boar which was really coarse in texture and extremely dry.
The consistency is very hit and miss. While I enjoyed the brat and the currywurst (off the appetizer section), the andouille and wild boar was a little lacking,
They also introduced a new item — shoyu chicken — which when I tried the free sample was excellent, but when I ordered them, first time around they weren’t cooked through and the 2^nd time — they were really nice to replace them — was way too salty. Luckily I had the dark beer on tap ready to wash them down with. If you eat them with beer it’s a great combination, otherwise, your tongue will go nuts from the sodium overdose.
The staff are super nice and will make sure your experience is a great one. If you’re unsatisfied with something, let them know, they’ll make it right.
My 3 stars remain.

He set the sausage on our table, stood up straight and proudly said, «There you are!»
We looked at the mouth-​watering creation, smothered in a savory sambal balado, then looked back up at our server. «Which one is this?» we inquired.
«Um … um … «he stuttered. «Hmm … um … you know, I’m not sure. Let me go check.»
And there you have it, folks — Vahalla Table in a nutshell.
On the night that we visited, it was clearly amateur night at Valhalla Table. But for some reason, I get the impression that every night is amateur night at Valhalla Table. For in spite of the terrific concept and creative menu, the actual food and its execution leave something to be desired. And while the service was certainly friendly, it kind of felt like the owners just got a bunch of their friends to help out.
There were 5 of us present, so we decided to do a sampling of several different items.
Belgian-​style Potato Fries: Not your wimpy shoestring potatoes, these fries are substantial with a deep flavor — just the kind of thing to have with a malty Belgian ale. The garlic aioli dipping sauce was creamy and pungent, but the mango curry mayo was just too idiosyncratic to be truly enjoyable.
Spicy Cajun Andouille: Topped with sambal balado (an Indonesian-​style salsa), this was my favorite sausage. It was spicy and savory and juicy, just what you might expect from a smoked pork sausage.
Loukanika Lamb Sausage: You kind of had to think about this one while eating it to really notice the lamb. A bit on the dry side, the caramelized onions did help to make the sausage more moist, but it also ended up masking some of the gaminess of the meat. Michelle T. is right in suggesting mint or cucumber or Tzatziki for this.
Duck, Bacon & Jalapeño: The description sounds great, but this was probably one of my least favorite sausages. Totally overcooked and dried out. The duck flavor was also non-​existent and the topping turned the sausage into a veritable mystery meat.
Buffalo & Chipotle: Spelled as «Buffallo» on the menu. Regardless, like the duck it could have been anything. Overcooked and lacking fat, the toppings also masked the flavor of the buffalo … or buffallo (whatever it was).
Wild Boar Balinese: I don’t think I’ve ever had wild boar before, but if it always tastes like this, then I think I’ll be ordering it more often. Good texture and spice. Fortunately, this one was not overcooked and dry.
But in the end, many of the shortcomings of this place were overcome by the simple fact that they had Green Flash West Coast IPA on tap. Every time each sampling disappointed or the three confused headless chickens-​cum-​servers kept inquiring about our orders, I just took another gulp of its hoppy goodness and all my irritation washed right away.