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Ah, the old Alpine Village Inn. We remember it fondly and well.
A restaurant of the same name began serving German food to Las Vegans downtown in 1952, then moved four times before settling, in 1970, into its long-time location at 3003 Paradise Rd., directly across from the Las Vegas Hilton. The main dining room was intensely decorated like a Bavarian village square, with Swiss clocks, wrought-iron grillwork, sloping roofs, a staff wearing Sound of Music uniforms, a train set complete with miniature village, and a truly festive atmosphere. The Rathskeller downstairs was a bar and sandwich shop with peanuts and popcorn on the tables and oompah piano playing.
The Inn’s best-loved dishes included a cottage-cheese dip and homemade creamed chicken soup served in pewter bowls.
Up until the mid-‘90s, Alpine Village was one of the three or four oldest restaurants in Las Vegas. Alas, it closed in 1997 and was subsequently demolished to make way for a parking lot.
Today, the best German restaurant in Las Vegas is Cafe Heidelberg, located at 610 E Sahara Ave., 702/731-5310, as it has been for 40 years or so.
After the Inn closed, the owners shared their popular chicken-soup recipe with the Las Vegas Review Journal. Here it is.
Ingredients 2 quarts water 2 teaspoons celery salt 2 teaspoons Accent 1 pound ground chicken, cooked 1 medium onion, ground 2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon 2 carrots, ground up Roux 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup all-purpose flour
To prepare the soup, boil all ingredients together for about 30 minutes.
To prepare the roux, heat the vegetable oil until smoking. Add the flour and stir with a wire whisk. The oil and flour roux should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Ladle the mixture into a blender, about two to three cups at a time, and blend until almost smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into a large pot, add the cooked roux, and continue to cook until the soup thickens.