By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN

If we were in the Bavarian Alps and dropped into the oom-pah-pah ambience of Checkers Old München on the Boulevard, it would be nothing particularly special. Just another German Ale House with hearty food and steins of lager. But put the same place in Fort Lauderdale—or more specifically, Pompano Beach—and you’ve got an incredibly entertaining and enjoyable restaurant with its own unique twist on a night-on-the town.

The place isn’t large. Some neatly arranged tables in front of a nine-seat bar backed with a kaleidoscope of beers and assorted imported German brews that are served in bottles or enormous 20-ounce glasses the size of a flower vase. It’s your first clue that everything about this restaurant, owned by Mathew Moore and his chef André, is about large portions. Or perhaps things just look large because the place is intimate and petite.

In either case, the one thing that is not in doubt is the authenticity of the food.  Order Kohlroulade an Tomatensosse ($15.95) and savor a taste delight straight from Munich. This wonderful cabbage roll is stuffed with a seasoned beef/rice mixture that hints of clove and is topped with a tomato sauce that makes magic by the time it reaches the back of your throat.

Any German chef knows how to make a great Weinerschnitzel, but here at Checkers, it becomes something more than the typical heavy slab of pounded veal, pork or chicken. Thin as sliced turkey off of a carving station, this Weinerschnitzel ($17.95 or $15.95 depending on the meat) is tenderly dusted with an ultra-light breading that dissolves into flavor that is complemented by a homemade brown gravy with cracked pepper.

Take a quick tour of Germany with the Bavarian Platter ($16.95) that combines freshly made Bratwurst (large sausages from Franconia), Knackwurst (small sausages from Holstein), Weinerschnitzel and your choice of either Sauerbraten (beef roast) or Schweinebraten (pork roast). Like all entrées at Checkers, this large dinner is accompanied by your choice of two side dishes (Spaetzel Noodles, Red Cabbage, Sauerkraut, Potato Dumpling, Boiled Potato, Mashed Potatoes, Warm German Potato Salad, Steak Fries or the Vegetable of the Day).

For the truly  hearty eater, or those with eyes as large as your stomachs, we dare you to attempt to finish the Schweinhaxen ($19.00), a wonderfully seasoned pork shank, fully two pounds in weight, that has been boiled and slow roasted to fall-off-the-bone tender for six hours. While the skin is crackling crisp, the meat is juicy and flavorful. This feast is served on a platter so large that just getting it to the table requires a certain amount of muscle. Consuming it requires far less effort, guaranteed.

And whatever else happens during the night, do not forget to ask for at least one order of Kartoffelpuffer ($8.95), homemade fried potato pancakes that are served with applesauce and sour cream. Think hash browns, only better. And no dinner would be complete without tasting this restaurant’s legendary soup ($3.95 a cup; $4.95 a bowl) that combines German onions and apples with a butter-toasted crouton topped with cheese. The concoction is so-oo good that, in 2008, Florida’s Sun Sentinel newspaper printed the recipe with a color photo by special request and increased their circulation for the day!

Once a month Checkers simplifies the entire selection process with its Beer Tasting Night. For $18.95, those that can squeeze into the place (yes, it’s that packed!) get to taste an assortment of eight German beers plus sample the buffet that includes bratwurst, sausage, sauerkraut, liverwurst, sautéed spaetzle and onions. Finish the entire tour and get your name added to the plaque above the bar.

The next Beer Tasting Night is February 19th and starts at 9:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended.

Can’t wait that long? Then reserve a table for Valentine’s Day where dinner for two is going for $65 a couple. The prix-fixe menu includes an order of potato pancakes, two servings of onion-apple soup, any two entrées from the menu, your choice of dessert (apple strudel or Black Forest cake) plus a bottle of ChocoVine dessert wine, which artfully combines chocolate and raspberry in a elixir that will celebrate any kind of romance you might have in mind for later in the evening.

The music is campy, the atmosphere of weathered-wood beams and walls lined with beer ads kitschy, and servers Sonya, Saski, Marina, and Natalie attentive. Go early, stay late, and you might even learn a few words in German! And remember to tell them that FLORIDA AGENDA sent you in for good grub.