1143 Central Avenue, Edgewater | 410-798-6807 | oldstein-inn.com
Twenty-six years ago, Mike Selinger came back from college in Florida during summer vacation to help his parents at their restaurant, Old Stein Inn in Edgewater. One thing led to another, and he ended up taking over the restaurant.
“I worked my way through college at different restaurants and with my business background, I thought I’d gathered enough knowledge that I could take it on,” Selinger says.
More than two decades later, he still plans on running Old Stein Inn for years to come.
“I foresee doing this for another 10 or 20 years,” says Selinger. “I have kids in middle school. I want to wait until they get out of college and then figure it out. If any of my three kids want to do the restaurant, that would be fantastic.”
Selinger’s parents emigrated from Germany in the 1950s, and opened the restaurant in 1983. A decade later, they turned it over to Selinger, who was born in Bethesda. “There are not very many German restaurants taken over by the next generation,” Selinger says.
Old Stein is thriving. The outdoor beer garden is a big draw; so is the Oktoberfest menu. The selection of wild game is also popular. And it wouldn’t be the Old Stein Inn without authentic German music. “We have people come from Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, so I guess you can call us a regional destination,” Selinger says.
We recently talked to Selinger about the recognition his restaurant has received, Old Stein’s seasonal menu, and his number one selling item.
Are there many German restaurants around like yours?
There are a handful of German restaurants between Baltimore and D.C. There is a resurgence of beer gardens, though. There are some new places in the Washington area that are capitalizing on the large tables like we do. I always say food styles come and go, but sitting at a long picnic table with family and friends never really goes out of style.
Is the outside beer garden the restaurant’s most popular area?
For sure. People just love the beer garden and they fill it up. It’s a relaxing place, and they feel comfortable there. A lot of folks will come in, belly up to the bar and have a drink and share an appetizer before sitting down at a table. We have a late-night bar menu, so we don’t close until midnight on the weekends. If someone comes in for dinner, they are not rushed. People are still hanging out at the beer bar.
You have about 80 beers. Do you have beers no one else has?
Some breweries and distributors have certain amounts of beers, whether they be seasonal or special release. They can kind of give beers to who they want to. We are on the list of getting the hard-sought-after release beers that a lot of people don’t get.
How do you pick the German and craft beers?
We try a bunch of different beers. We go on the reputation of the brewery and the quality of the other stuff that they may have. We have a lot of sales reps that bring by samples that we painstakingly try with the staff to see what everybody likes. My managers and I have the final call, but we rely on the staff and if they are behind a beer or a wine and like it, they will be selling it and suggesting it to customers.
What is your best-selling food item?
Our definite standout is the Jägerschnitzel. It’s pork or chicken and is breaded. During Oktoberfest, we also do veal. It’s topped with Jäger, which translates to a hunter sauce. It’s a brown sauce with mushrooms and onions.
What else do the customers crave?
Sauerbraten. It’s marinated beef with dumplings. It’s something a lot of German grandmothers make. It’s a very time-consuming dish to make. We do a lot of it. It’s easy for us to do. It’s delicious. It has sour gravy. We do it over braised short ribs, but we use high-quality meat. It makes it more tender.
Can you talk about the fall and winter seasonal menus?
The fall menu will be a lot of traditional Oktoberfest items. We do an Oktoberfest platter, which is on the larger side. We will have a pork shank, a sausage, and usually a schnitzel with it. It’s a robust, full dinner. We also do a lot of German street food. That would be currywurst, Jäger fries, doner kabob, and obatzda. Then, in November, we will do a wild game menu. It will be venison, wild boar, duck, goose, and quail. They are all coming from venders that specialize in game.
Your place was picked as one of the 100 Best Al Fresco Dining Restaurants in America in 2016 among 10,000 restaurants considered. How exciting was that?
That was huge. That was for outdoor tables for dining. We have live German music and a festive beer garden. That was generated by customer reviews. Diners rate restaurants from around the whole country they find on Open Table [online reservation service]. We generated positive reviews from Open Table that put us on that list.
What was it like appearing on The Best Of show on the Food Network?
It was a five-minute segment a couple of years ago. It brought us to the forefront regarding exposure to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. We get a lot of business from people who were stationed in Germany and people in the military who have worked in D.C. or the government.
How do you go about hiring German chefs? Are they hard to find?
In the 36 years, other than my father and myself, we have only had about five chefs. Some work with the staff and come up with creative menu items. But we have our basic, core German menu. They don’t want to fool with that too much because it’s great the way it is. They will work on the beer bar menu.
Lamb Doner Kabob
One 5–6 lb. bone-out lamb leg
1 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons marjoram
3 tablespoons thyme
Salt and pepper
Tomato Cucumber Salad:
3 large tomatoes diced
1 large cucumber, deseeded and diced
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper
Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Other items needed:
Pickled onion
Mixed lettuce
Flour tortilla
Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
Soften butter and mix mustard, tomato paste, marjoram, and thyme in mixing bowl. Pat dry lamb leg and liberally salt and pepper, rub butter all over lamb leg to create a “butter crust.” Place lamb in deep roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Cook until 140°F degrees about 1 1/2 hours.
Remove lamb and let rest for 30 minutes. Save jus from roasting pan for reheating lamb later.
Prepare tomato cucumber salad by mixing all ingredients in separate bowl. Prepare yogurt sauce by mixing all ingredients in separate bowl. In separate pot, bring lamb jus to just under a boil. Place shaved lamb in jus to reheat. Warm tortilla on grill to get a slight char. Build sandwich with sauce, lettuce, tomato cucumber salad, pickled onion, and lamb that has been reheated in jus. Roll up like a burrito and eat.
