• The Milpitas area has several German restaurants.Kartoffelsuppe image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
  
  Milpitas is in Santa Clara County, California, within the Silicon Valley and houses the corporate headquarters of Maxtor, Solectron, Adaptec, Cisco Systems, and SanDisk, among others. The town is also home to the largest shopping mall in the San Francisco Bay Area, an extensive sports center, and two major golf courses. The sprawling Ed R. Levin County Park is also nearby and offers two lakes, as well as hang gliding and paragliding facilities. While there are no German restaurants in Milpitas itself, your German-food cravings can be satisfied in the nearby towns of San Jose, Alameda and Ben Lomond.
  
  

Teske's Germania

• Teske's Germania restaurant and beer garden is in San Jose, about nine miles south of Milpitas, and run by Hans and Catherine Baumann. The restaurant provides indoor seating and an outdoor area in the style of a typical German beer garden. Lunch menus are extensive with several meat-and-potato specialties as well as a featured "sandwich of the week". Dinner menus include an enormous choice of appetizers, vegetarian dishes, and speciaities with beef, pork, veal, chicken, or fish. You can accompany your meal with a choice from the long list of German beers or schnapps, as well as German and California wines.
  
  Teske's Germania
  
  255 N. First St.
  
  San Jose, CA 95113
  
  408-292-0291
  
  teskes-germania.com
  
  

Speisekammer Restaurant

• Almost 30 miles north of Milpitas in Alameda, the Speisekammer Restaurant is open for lunch, Happy Hour, and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant, run by Peter Kahl (who is also the executive chef) and his wife Cindy, currently features a "recession menu" which allows guests to order half-sized plates of some of its most popular dishes. Appetizers, European salads, entrees, and vegetarian entrees make up the menu. Live entertainment is provided every weekend in the restaurant's outdoor beer garden, and an extensive beer, wine, and cocktail list is available, as well as a kid's menu. The Speisekammer also specializes in private event catering.
  
  Speisekammer Restaurant
  
  2424 Lincoln Ave.
  
  Alameda, CA 94501
  
  510-522-1300
  
  speisekammer.com
  
  

Tyrolean Inn Restaurant

• Opened in 1970, the Tyrolean Inn Restaurant is less than 30 miles southwest of Milpitas, in Ben Lomond, and offers authentic Bavarian and German cuisine, beers and fine wines. Dishes feature a wide variety of sausages, meats, poultry, and fish with fresh and pickled vegetables, typical sauces, and traditional deserts. Just a couple of specialties are the homemade spätzle (like mini-dumplings) with cheese and roasted onions, and Bavarian toast with roasted pork, mushrooms, bacon, and onions. Every first Thursday of the month, the Tyrolean Inn features a "buffet night" taste tour for the whole family. Special family and business events can also be arrange at the restaurant, and an extensive German beer list and kids menu are also available.
  
  Tyrolean Inn Restaurant
  
  9600 Highway 9
  
  Ben Lomond, CA 95005
  
  831-336-5188
  
  tyroleaninn.com