GERMAN COOKING NEVER has enjoyed the status or popularity of French or Italian cuisine. But when it comes to simple, convivial food, it's hard to beat tying into a plate of sausages and potato salad, with some hot mustard and a mug of beer.

The experience gets even more sublime when enjoyed outdoors in a German-style beer garden. And Vreny's Biergarten & German Grille in Duluth is just that kind of destination — with

Kimberly Smith/Staff (ENLARGE)
Roasted pork with whipped potatoes and sauerkraut are served up hot and hearty.
Kimberly Smith/Staff (ENLARGE)
Dinner for two at Vreny's Biergarten offers a sample of a variety of dishes. The Burgermeister platter comes with smoked pork chop, potato salad, spätzle, bratwurst, bauernwurst and sauerkraut.
Kimberly Smith/Staff (ENLARGE)
Owner Kurt Eisele keeps handy 35 brands of bottled beer and seven on tap.
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Find the restaurant
HOURS: Kitchen open 4-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays (bar open late with limited menu). CREDIT CARDS: All major credit cards PRICES: Starters, $3-$10.95; sandwiches, $8.50-$9.50; entrees, $9.95-$17.50 ADDRESS: 4225 River Green Parkway, Duluth. 770-623-9413, www.vrenysbiergarten.com RESERVATIONS: Yes RECOMMENDED DISHES: Swiss salad, sausages, sauerbraten PARKING: Onsite parking WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes SMOKING POLICY: No smoking NOISE LEVEL: Moderate TAKEOUT: Yes VERDICT: Better than a trip to Helen for beer garden dining, with an excellent beer list and a solid menu of traditional German fare.

a bar that opens onto a cozy, umbrella-covered deck, an excellent beer list and a surprisingly solid menu of traditional dishes. On Sept. 30, a monthlong Oktoberfest celebration gets underway at the restaurant, including beer and food specials and a live festival band.

Beer gardens originated in Bavaria in the 19th century, when brewers figured out that planting trees above their underground cellars would help keep their lagers cold during fermentation. Naturally, people gravitated toward the inviting combo of beer drinking and shade.

Not exactly Old World like that, the atmosphere at Vreny's is more Alpine kitsch-meets-suburban watering hole. But coming up the long, winding driveway leading to Vreny's and the adjoining Kurt's restaurant, you can enjoy the illusion that you're arriving at a country inn. A cheery complex of yellow board and batten buildings, surrounded by towering old pecan trees and neatly landscaped gardens, create a buffer that helps erase the memory of the office parks and strip malls a pretzel's throw away.

Vreny's is named for Vreny Eisele, who owns Kurt's with her German husband, of course, named Kurt. Their son, Alexander, runs the kitchen at Vreny's. His homey cooking features a few nods to mom's Swiss heritage, including cheese fondue.

The Swiss salad makes a fresh starter before sampling some of the more substantial German stuff. Tucked under a layer of spring lettuces, the composed plate has three distinct, bright flavors: thinly sliced cucumbers in a light sour cream sauce; sweet-and-sour white cabbage; and grated carrots in a vinaigrette.

Appetizers range from ho-hum American bar food (fried cheese sticks, chicken fingers) to more exotic offerings: steamed mussels "pepper pot" in weiss beer, jacked up with tomatoes, garlic and red chiles, and a selection of sausages, Black Forest ham, smoked salmon and cheeses.

The sausages come from Schaller and Weber, an American company that produces very traditional German products. Weisswurst is mild and creamy, and just the thing with a refreshing Bavarian wheat beer. Bauerwurst has a coarse texture and the spicy flavor of mustard seeds and marjoram. Nurnberger, petite sausages with ground caraway seeds, make a tasty snack.

Entrees cover all the meaty classics: breaded and pan-fried Wiener schnitzel; Bavarian Schweineshaxe braised pork shank; Rinderrouladen braised beef rolled up with onions, bacon and pickles. Sauerbraten, beef roast marinated in vinegar and spices, is particularly succulent. And the thick smoked pork chop has the texture and salty flavor of ham.

Tried-and-true sides include red cabbage, German potato salad, sauerkraut and spätzle — little German noodles that get dressed up like pasta at Vreny's, with combinations of cheese, ham, mushrooms and tomatoes. For dessert, what else but strudel? That means a warm roll of flaky pastry filled with a sweet mélange of apples, currants and nuts, served with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.

The beer selection is nothing short of astounding compared to most restaurant lists. Some 35 bottled beers and seven more are on tap, with most from Germany and Belgium, and all served in the proper glassware. Right now, Spaten Oktoberfest and Optimator are on tap. But the bottled offerings include such food-friendly taste treats as: Aventinus Bavarian strong dark wheat; Duvel Belgian golden ale; Reissdorf traditional German kölsch; Schlenkerla Rauchbier smoked beer; and Saison

Dupont Belgian farmhouse ale.

And, yes, there are plenty of flavored schnapps — those wicked German shooters that will end your evening in the beer garden with a Teutonic bang. Or maybe a shot will spur you to start a round of singing that venerable old drinking song "Enjoy Life."

MORE TASTES OF GERMANY AND OKTOBERFEST FUN

"Beer and wurst is fun, specially when outdoors done," declares the sign at Zum Schneider — a hip "indoor" beer garden in New York's East Village that features faux tree branches hanging from the ceiling and blond Fräulein waitresses slinging steins.

Atlanta doesn't have a place quite that quirky. But we do have gorgeous fall weather. And the arrival of high Oktoberfest season this weekend means it's time to celebrate German food and beer, and the kooky pleasures of oompah music and the chicken dance.

Five Seasons Brewing (5600 Roswell Road, Suite 21, Sandy Springs, 404-255-5911) features German sausages, spätzle and German-style craft beer year-round. And you can dine out in the covered beer garden. Sept. 30 the Five taps into Oktoberfest 2006 with brewmeister Glen Sprouse's Bavarian Ecstasy FestBier, a menu of German specialties and a live fest band. $55.55. Reservations advised. www.5seasonsbrewing.com.

Brick Store Pub (125 E. Court Square, Decatur, 404-687-0990) has all sorts of German beer, jumbo Bavarian pretzels, and bratwurst with spicy mustard and kraut on its regular menu. But on Oct. 7, it's time again for the "official" keg-tapping of Oktoberfest beers, including Five Seasons' FestBier, with special offerings of German fare. And look out for those elbow-bending1-liter mugs and the passing of "the boot" à la the "Beerfest" movie. www.brickstorepub.com.

The Village Corner (6655 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, 770-498-0329). This German restaurant and bakery serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch, with German sausages, Wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten and all sorts of creamy pastries. This year's Oktoberfest party runs October 13-14, with live music, beer and food specials. www.germanrestaurant.com