German comfort at Continental Deli, La Habra

Continental Deli is a little German deli located in a shopping mall off Imperial Highway and Beach Boulevard, next door to Michaels Arts and Craft store in the city of La Habra. The store is divided into 2 sections: the dine-in cafe, and a market/ deli section.

The store is not very large, and they don’t have the largest selection of German goods, compared to say Alpine Village, Old World, or even Mattern’s Deli in Orange. In fact, they get some of their deli meats from Mattern’s, which is why I really like getting my deli meats from here. The bonus of this location is unlike Mattern’s, this place is opened every day, even on Sundays. The staff told me that if Michael’s is opened, they shall be opened, too. (May I say: Thank you, Michael’s!)

The cafe offers a variety of German sandwiches, as well as traditional German hot plates, like schnitzel, curry wurst, and of course, sausages, with affordable prices between $7.25-$8.75.

I have tried the schnitzel, which is a pork loin, pounded thin, coated, and deep fried, served with red cabbage and potatoes. Stephen had the curry wurst, which is a knockwurst or bockwurst covered in a curry ketchup and served with fried potatoes. This dish is very popular in Berlin. Both were excellent and reminded us of our time back in Germany.

More recently, I had a German bologna sandwich on rye, which simply melted in my mouth. Unlike American bologna (like Oscar Mayer), the German version is very silky and buttery, not course or heavy. It’s a bit difficult to explain how it tastes like, but if you enjoy European cold cuts, you will most likely enjoy a German bologna sandwich.

Their sandwiches comes with a pickle and potato salad, which I substituted for a German potato salad, which is made of vinegar and bacon, not with mayonnaise.

Its a great little hidden gem, and if you want some inexpensive German food, stop here. They are opened every day from 9:00-6:00, except on Sunday, when they close at 5:00.