There are certain foods you probably shouldn’t encounter when you’re hungry enough to make questionable decisions.

A photograph of a perfectly browned bratwurst, perfectly nestled into a nest of sauerkraut and grilled onions is one of them.

Because recently, as I was sitting down to find images for an article on Mount Angel, Oregon, that's exactly what happened. Scrolling through photos of the town and Oktoberfest, and THIS popped up:

FULL STOP.

First thought: "What is this PLATE OF GERMAN FOOD HEAVEN, and where did it come from?"

My great-grandfather Wilhelm immigrated to the US from Germany in the early 1900s from the hamlet of Hohenstein-Ernstthal in Saxony. I'm not sure if that's what contributed to my life-long love of Bavarian food, but I'm sure the Saxon genes don't hurt.

[Side note: I miss Der Rheinlander.]

I ended up tracing the photo to Mt. Angel Sausage Company, a wonderfully unapologetic little slice of Europe tucked into northwestern Oregon.

And while Mount Angel itself already feels a little like somebody accidentally dropped an Alpine village into the middle of the Willamette Valley, this place takes the whole experience several delicious steps further.

Because Mt. Angel Sausage Company isn’t simply serving bratwurst.

They’re making over 30 varieties of sausage in house.

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A Family Owned Sausage Shop That Turned Into A Full-On European Food Destination

It turns out that Mt. Angel Sausage Company combines a restaurant, Smoke Haus, European market, imported bottle shop and seasonal biergarten into one very dangerous destination for anyone who enjoys sausage and German cuisine in general.

And we’re not talking about three varieties sitting behind a deli counter.

The business is family owned and operated by the Hoke's: Ma (Robin) and Pa (Jim), Wurst Meister son James. They're the folks behind this traditional “Old World” sausage company.

The Smoke Haus produces 35 varieties of artisan sausage, along with bacon, jerky, snack sticks, pepperoni, summer sausage and other specialty meats. Many of the sausages served inside the restaurant are also available from the retail section, which means falling in love with something at lunch can very easily end with a cooler full of sausage riding home with you.

This is exactly the sort of place that fits Mount Angel.

If you read our guide to Mount Angel, Oregon, you already know this little Willamette Valley town has deep Swiss-German roots, a Bavarian-inspired downtown, the Mount Angel Abbey, an enormous Glockenspiel and one of Oregon's biggest Oktoberfest celebrations.

Mt. Angel Sausage Company feels less like somebody created a German-themed restaurant here and more like the restaurant naturally belongs to the town around it.

So...Which Sausage Are You Supposed To Order?

Well, there's your first problem.

The fresh sausage menu alone includes traditional bratwurst, beef-and-garlic bockwurst, knockwurst made with pork, bacon ends and garlic, Italian sausage, Basque-style chorizo and a chicken Fricadelwurst seasoned with 13 spices.

Then things start getting interesting.

There's a pepper cheese bratwurst made with Tillamook cheddar and cayenne pepper, currywurst covered in the restaurant's house-made curry sauce, and several smoked varieties including German sausage, Polish kielbasa, Kasekreiner with Emmentaler cheese, Hungarian Lieblinger, Cajun sausage and spicy German sausage.

Personally, this is around the point where choosing one sausage starts feeling unnecessarily restrictive.

Fortunately, they've thought of that.

The European Wurst Tour Is Exactly What It Sounds Like

If you'd rather embrace the situation instead of pretending you're exercising restraint, take a look at the European Wurst Tour.

It's a platter loaded with German bratwurst, Italian sausage, Dutch Fricadelwurst, smoked Oktoberfest sausage and Austrian knockwurst, alongside grilled onions, sauerkraut, German fried potatoes and a Munich pretzel.

Basically, somebody looked at the idea of a sausage sampler and decided subtlety was completely overrated, and that's perfectly fine by me.

There's also the Bavarian Wurst Dinner, where you can pick two handmade sausages and get them with grilled onions, sauerkraut, German fried potatoes and rotkohl. This is the meal in the photo that grabbed my attention in the first place.

But even that isn't the largest commitment available.

They had to one-up themselves in something appropriately called the Chancellor's Plate.

Behold, The Chancellor's Plate

You know a restaurant isn't messing around when one of its menu items sounds like it should arrive accompanied by a brass band.

The Chancellor's Plate begins with pork schnitzel covered in brown sauce. Then you choose three sausages.

Three.

Those arrive on a large platter with grilled onions, sauerkraut, rotkohl, German fried potatoes and a Munich pretzel.

BE STILL, MY HEART.

This is not the meal I'd recommend immediately before attempting anything athletic, or anything that even requires moving, for that matter. (You may even need to line up a designated driver. You've been warned.)

It is, however, exactly the sort of glorious plate of food I hope to find when somebody tells me we're going to a German restaurant.

And Then There's The Schnitzel

Sausage may get top billing around here, but ignoring the rest of the menu would be a mistake.

Mt. Angel Sausage Company serves its pork schnitzel breaded and fried, topped with brown sauce, grilled onions and sauerkraut, with spaetzle and green beans alongside it.

There's also Jägerschnitzel, where pork loin gets covered with grilled onions, sauerkraut, brown mushroom gravy, bacon and sour cream.

For something different, the menu includes house-made beef stroganoff over spaetzle and Leberkäse, sometimes described as a German-style meatloaf, served here with mashed potatoes, gravy, grilled onions, sauerkraut and green beans. There's even bangers and mash featuring two of the company's handmade British bangers.

In other words, bringing somebody along who says, "I don't really want bratwurst," isn't going to ruin your afternoon.

Although we may need to have a separate conversation about why they don't want bratwurst.

Don't Overlook The Sandwiches

For a more casual lunch, some of the sandwiches might be even more tempting.

The Mount Angel Melt takes bratwurst and adds provolone, grilled onions, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing.

There's a Bavarian burger piled with pastrami, Swiss cheese and sauce on a pretzel bun, a bratwurst burger with grilled onions and kraut, a schnitzel sandwich and a grilled Reuben.

You can also keep things relatively straightforward and order one of the sausage baskets with fries, tots or salad.

"Relatively" is doing some work there.

Yes, There Are Pretzels

Of course there are pretzels.

It would practically constitute an international incident if a place like this didn't have them.

Among the appetizers are pretzel bites with creamy fondue cheese, plus a version that adds mini smoked German sausage links to the equation.

There are also sausage fries or tots topped with smoked pork-and-beef sausage and cheese, which feels suspiciously like the sort of thing we'd order for the table and then quietly stop sharing.

The Sides Deserve Some Attention Too

This isn't one of those restaurants where your only choices are fries or slightly different fries.

Traditional sides include spaetzle, sauerkraut, German potato salad, rotkohl and German fried potatoes, alongside familiar options like fries, tots, sweet potato fries, onion rings, coleslaw and salad.

If you're building a plate specifically because you want the German experience, I'd have a hard time passing up the spaetzle, rotkohl or German potatoes.

Save the regular fries for Tuesday.

You're in Mount Angel.

Naturally, There's German Beer

A plate containing three sausages and schnitzel practically demands something appropriate to wash it down.

Mt. Angel Sausage Company's draft lineup includes imported German-style selections such as lager, doppelbock, hefeweizen, dunkel and Oktoberfest beer, along with German IPA and cider. There's also a full bar, wine and nonalcoholic drinks.

The restaurant also operates an import bottle shop with a broader selection of beers, ciders and wines.

During nice weather, the seasonal biergarten makes the whole thing even more convincing.

For a few minutes, with sausage on the table and a beer in front of you, rural Oregon farmland outside town can feel surprisingly far away.

Before You Leave, Go Shopping

Here's another reason Mt. Angel Sausage Company stands out from a typical restaurant visit.

There's an entire European market attached to the operation.

The shop carries the company's artisan meats along with schnitzels, European-style cold cuts, hams and salamis. You'll also find imported and specialty foods including Munich pretzels, breads, cheeses, sweets, chocolates and other European goods.

And remember all those sausages you just spent lunch debating?

A large selection is available to take home.

This could be either extremely convenient or financially irresponsible depending on how hungry you are when you start shopping.

Make It Part Of A Mount Angel Day Trip

Mt. Angel Sausage Company makes even more sense when you build a day around Mount Angel itself.

Walk through downtown and see the Mt. Angel Glockenspiel, explore the town's Swiss-German heritage, visit the grounds at Mount Angel Abbey, and leave enough time to wander around before dinner.

Our complete Mount Angel, Oregon guide goes deeper into what to see around town, and it's worth checking before you go.

Mount Angel also sits in a fantastic part of the Willamette Valley, making this an easy stop to combine with Silverton, Salem or a trip toward Silver Falls State Park.

And if you're visiting during September, there's the big one.

Oktoberfest Turns The Whole Town Up To Eleven

Mount Angel is home to the annual Mt. Angel Oktoberfest, when downtown fills with music, food, beer gardens, dancing and crowds coming from around Oregon and beyond.

Our Mt. Angel Oktoberfest guide has the current festival details if you're planning a trip during the celebration.

That said, one of the nicest things about Mt. Angel Sausage Company is that you don't have to wait for Oktoberfest.

The sausage is still here in March.

So is the schnitzel.

And honestly, that's comforting information.

One More Reason To Explore Mount Angel

The more we dig into Mount Angel, the more apparent it becomes that this little Oregon town deserves more than a quick drive-through.

There's genuine history here, beautiful architecture, a fascinating cultural identity and some seriously good food.

Mt. Angel Sausage Company manages to bundle a lot of that personality into one stop. It's a restaurant where you can sit down with schnitzel and spaetzle, try sausages made on site, drink German beer, wander through a European market and then leave carrying enough bratwurst to ensure the experience continues at home.

If you've been looking for an excuse to spend a day exploring this little corner of the Willamette Valley, we may have just found it.

Come hungry.

Seriously.

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