A LA CARTE : OKTOBERFEST.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Too much snow in October in Germany over the years caused the Oktoberfest kickoff to eventually be scheduled there in mid-September.

At some point in the future, global warming may change it back, but right now Oktoberfest has begun in some places, will be celebrated later in others.

Whether it's now or later, here are a few restaurants offering Oktoberfest activities worth consideration:

Alpine Village Inn

Address: 833 W. Torrance Blvd., Torrance.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Festivities are already going strong here at the place where the biggest and lengthiest of the local Oktoberfests occurs annually. It's so authentic, attendees sometimes seem to forget that they aren't actually in Germany. The celebration goes on for adults every Friday and Saturday night and for families on Sundays through Oct. 31. Celebrants have fun competing in the stein-holding and the pretzel-eating contests and doing the chicken dance.

Picks: All the popular German dishes are worth trying here, including sauerbraten, wiener schnitzel and hasenpfeffer.

German Place

Address: 23115 Lyons Ave., Newhall.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Oktoberfest peaks here every Saturday night through Oct. 23. Returning performer Herman the German does his one-man-band schticks Oct. 9, 16 and 23. Already these Oktoberfest Saturday nights are mostly sold out, so reservations are mandatory.

Picks: A special Oktoberfest platter heaped with smoked meats, sausages, German-style potato salad and house-produced sauerkraut is again featured along with a hearty pork shank plate.

Knoll's Black Forest Inn

Address: 2454 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Often picked as the best German restaurant in the West, Knoll's, readying for its 40th anniversary, celebrates Oktoberfest for one weekend only as an annual tradition, this year on Oct. 8 (from 5 p.m.) and Oct. 9 (from 3 p.m.). There'll be the usual fun, music, Oktoberfest beers and a special menu each day.

Picks: Look for goulash soup, maultaschen salad, sauerbraten, schweinbraten and the house platter of pork loin and sausages.

?Matterhorn Chef

Address: 13726 Oxnard St., Van Nuys.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: It all started on 9/9/99 and continues through Oct. 31 with dancing and entertainment Thursdays through Sundays featuring lots of ``oom-pah-pah,'' German beer-drinking songs and the requisite Spaten tap beer flowing along with several other Oktoberfest brews.

Picks: For starters, chef-owner Ueli Huegli makes his prized schinken-kase kuchen (ham and cheese tarts) and tosses his hard-to-find entenbrust salat mit ingwer (duckling salad with ginger sauce). He prepares numerous special main courses, among them traditional versions of hasenpfeffer rabbit stew, venison medallions, Bavarian meatloaf with warm potato salad, sausages with sauerkraut, oven-baked ``hendl'' chicken, roasted pork shank with potato dumplings and veal steak with mushrooms. His desserts for this year's Oktoberfest include eisbizet mit kastanien (ice cream meringue with chestnuts) and hebstblatt mit trauben (flaky pastry with grapes and vanilla cream).

Old Vienna

Address: 3845 Telegraph Road, Ventura.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Chef-restaurateur Hans Muelinghaus, who relocated here from Reseda 16 years ago, cooks his special Oktoberfest dishes from Saturday through Oct. 30 while Hacker Pschorr draft beer will fill his restaurant's glasses and steins. Live entertainment is planned for Friday and Saturday nights.

Picks: The chef's famous feast for two includes roast duck, chicken schnitzels, two types of sausage, roast pork shank and smoked pork chop plus traditional potato and vegetable accompaniments.

Schatzi on Main

Address: 3110 Main St., Santa Monica.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Because a busy Arnold Schwarzenegger won't be around here in October, Schatzi plans to hold its annual Oktoberfest in November.

On Nov. 8 the event will feature a top Austrian five-piece band and dancing.

Picks: There'll be Gosser Austrian beer and an Austrian buffet with schnitzels, bread dumplings, spaetzles, red cabbage, bratwurst, sauerkraut, assorted sausages and apple strudel.