Dining
BY DACIA GARCIA
Since opening Dale’s Essenhaus in 1997, Dale Cockerell has fostered a space for the Walburg community to join together through homemade comfort food and weekly live entertainment. The background Cockerell bought the property after Joe’s Bar went up for sale. Cockerell said he changed the bar into a restaurant with a focus on burgers to pay tribute to Walburg’s German history. “It went from a place where guys hang out to a place where families hang out with kids,” Cockerell said. Cockerell said the dining room’s rustic fur- niture and pictures of the Old West give the restaurant a historic atmosphere. “It’s like stepping back in history. When you come in here, you see Texas,” he said. “People bring people from out of state here all the time just to give them a taste of Texas.” A family a air All dishes at Dale’s Essenhaus are made from scratch. Cockerell said he learned how to cook at 10 years old when his grandmother began teach- ing him. Most of the recipes at the restaurant are inspired by her. Cockerell said despite the restaurant’s start with burgers, customers have taken a liking to the fried catsh plate. Some other popular dishes include chicken-fried steak and schnitzels. Additionally, the restaurant has daily specials and hosts live music events, karaoke and enter- tainment throughout the week. What’s special about it? The restaurant highlights pieces of history outside of its dining room as well. It features a biergarten that can host about 700 people with a 100-year-old handmade stage and a dance hall where all of Cockerell’s daughters held their weddings. Cockerell’s daughter Kim Andersen, who is a manager and event coordinator at the restaurant, said the sta all feel like family. She said the restaurant has no turnover. What else? Andersen said everyone in Walburg knows Cockerell, and his popularity has become a Dale’s Essenhaus blends comfort meals with community atmosphere
Sta said the restaurant’s most popular dish is the fried catsh dinner ($16.99).
COURTESY DALE’S ESSENHAUS
The restaurant hosts live music throughout the week, including some performances on its handmade stage.
Dale Cockerell opened Dale’s Essenhaus after purchasing the establishment, which was previously called Joe’s Bar.
COURTESY DALE’S ESSENHAUS
DACIA GARCIA COMMUNITY IMPACT
running joke at the restaurant. Andersen made shirts with Cockerell’s face on them for customers interested in the fun. “Every time I would go to the grocery store, someone would say, ‘Oh, I know Dale!’ and it would become a constant thing that everyone knew him, so I decided to put it on a shirt,” Andersen said.
1105
972
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1105
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3900 FM 972, Georgetown www.dales-essenhaus-walburg.com
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GEORGETOWN EDITION
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