4 Random Creative Croissants

Just because I've been spotting some randomly cool food things around Astoria, I thought I'd round them up here for a little quickie inspiration.  A mixture of food deals, special menu items, contests and more, I hope you enjoy these creative croissants.

So fun! SingleCut Beersmiths is running a caption contest on their site.  You'll notice their mascot, Rulpsen popping up on their homepage, so why not give him something to say?  Submit your caption directly on their site or through Facebook or Twitter and you can win a 64 oz growlrrr filled with your favorite brew.

Have you checked (or downloaded) the awesome Scoutmob app? I've gotten tons of great deals out of it in Astoria, including a discount at Crave Astoria, Winegasm, the Mad Donkey, and now the latest discounts for Saffron Indian Cuisine, Ovelia, Latin Cabana, Astoria Bier & Cheese and more.  Remember that these are 100% free coupons that don't require a pre-payment.  Bottom line - they're awesome!

Did you know that 5 Napkin Burger is featuring a special Oktoberfest inspired burger? I've never had a German-style burger, but this one sounds pretty unique, as it's packed with lots of hearty ingredients such as ground beef infused with Knockwurst spices, munster cheese, smoky bacon, mustard, onions all enveloped in a pretzel roll. Sounds pretty awesome, especially when paired with a fall pumpkin ale.  35-01 36th Street, Astoria.  718.433.2727

Oh and how can I forget that my fellow foodie comrade, Tyson Ho, the hogmaster behind Arrogant Swine is in a great Arby's commercial.  See him giving expertise about the almighty pig, specifically Carolina style BBQ.

Oktoberfest is Here!

There's nothing like celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich, like I did last year, but even here in our neck of the woods, it's still a lot of fun and a big deal.  You can bring your friends and stay out all weekend, enjoying cold ones and eating some hearty, delicious food.  Here are three great places that'll give it to you:

Studio Square Beer Garden - From this Friday to Sunday, enjoy their Oktoberfest celebration, which will feature $12 pitchers of beer, $2 shots of Jager, and the "wurst" special, which lets you take advantage of $5 German sausages.  And even though it may rain this weekend, they have plenty of room in their indoor space so you can't lose here!  35-33 36th Street, Astoria. 718.383.1001

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden - These guys really take Oktoberfest seriously by celebrating the proper way, meaning the entire week from Saturday to the following Sunday, October 7th.  Come for their big pig roast this weekend, beer and liquor specials, live entertainment and tons of fabulous Oktoberfest specialties on the menu.  29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria.  718.274.4925

Zum Stammtisch - Even though this place isn't in Astoria, it's well worth the trip to Glendale, as it's a true German institution.  They'll be ringing in Oktoberfest next week and the week after, so make your reservations now, as they get crowded.  The food is amongst the best of the best as far as German cuisine is involved and for this festive holiday they'll be featuring live music and a special 4-course traditional menu for $55/person.  69-46 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale.  718.386.3014

Celebrating Oktoberfest The German Way

Being so so lucky to be in Munich during Oktoberfest, my co-workers and I of course took advantage of this fortuitous opportunity. Our German colleagues were kind and hospitable to take us out and show us the ropes of this cultural phenomenon from a local perspective. I just loved this, and for us it meant getting into the good German tents, ordering the right beers, singing festive German songs and eating the proper German essen.

Atmosphere:
Situated in Theresienwiese, the central part of Munich, Oktoberfest celebrations go on in a large outdoor open space that looks as if it’s also used for carnivals and other likely outdoor festivities. There are rides, street vendors, music and lots and lots of people walking, dancing around, some of them inadvertently making fools of themselves – but all in great fun.

After you enter this main area, you begin to notice the gargantuan tents set up along the main passageway. As our colleagues Tanja and Kathrein explained, there are many types of tents. You have your German youngsters tent, there’s a family tent, a foreigners tent, an American tent (where apparently naughty things happen) and even a wine tent. I had no idea about this and was impressed by the immense scale of this celebration.

Ending up in one of the German tents, we let the wild and joyous atmosphere envelop us. The first thing you see is loads and loads of people enjoying themselves and looking really festive in traditional Bavarian clothes – the men wearing lederhosen and the women sporting the ever-provocative dirndl. We didn’t have them on and although managed to have an amazing time, next year (and there will be next year), I’m not leaving home without ‘em.

Once situated in the tent, we ended up upstairs, snagging a great table overlooking the whole shin-dig. The festivities were continuous, allowing us to enjoy the live band, sing songs, toast to basically any and every opportunity that presented itself and then of course trying the traditional Bavarian food that let us sustain all that beer.

Food & Drink:
Letting our colleagues take charge of the situation, we ordered a massive amount of food including 3 colossal pretzels, a plate of mixed meats, veggies, bread and butter and also a plate of roasted chicken. Can we say meatfest?!

Pretzel – Once I got sight of these beautiful things, I just had to have one. Literally the size of one’s head (picture above proves it), they were ever-so impressive and slightly daunting. “How are we going to finish these?” I thought. It wasn’t as hard as it looked, as we each kept taking generous tears out of these bready things. I love that they were super crunchy and crackly on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Although I wasn’t crazy about the huge salt grains on top, everything else about this pretzel was divine.

Mixed Meat Plate – This was a beauty, I tell ya, filled with a plethora of meat delicacies including roasted duck, chicken patee, ground pork patties, sausage and more. The pork patties reminded me of my mom’s fasirky (a Slovak mini-burger of sorts) except that they were served chilled. I didn’t mind but think they would’ve been divine piping hot. The chicken patee was wonderful and perfectly spreadable on the hearty and somewhat tough German bread. I liked it, as you needed something robust to stand up to all that meat.

Additionally to the testosterone on this plate, there were also veggies such as two types of radishes, onions and pickles that added freshness. I loved chewing on the radishes especially, which helped to cleanse the palate.

Roasted Chicken – Although not necessary, in hindsight I’m glad we got it, as it was the only hot dish of the night. Juicy, flavorful and decked with a beautifully golden skin, the chicken represented a more delicate gastronomic aspect of this evening, when comparing it to the primal dish I just described.

Beer – Of course we can’t forget about the #1 reason people flock to Oktoberfest, which is the generous amount of good quality beer. Even though each tent has a different beer variety (the American tent apparently having an inferior type), the quantity you receive is quite astounding. The steins are a full liter and the beer is three times as strong as what you get in the States, therefore very well explaining why the food offering is so substantial. I enjoyed the beer at our tent, which was lighter in color, hoppy in flavor and heavy on substance.

Spiced Nuts – As is tradition, Tanja and Kathrein explained, that men are supposed to fetch the women something sweet after the beer mania concludes. But seeing as we were four females, we did what all empowered women would do and got our own dessert, the sweetly spiced nuts they sell outside the tents. Tantalized by in their smell, we just couldn’t refuse and got ourselves a bag full of candied almonds. Loving their cinnamon coating and the crunchy candy shell, they were the perfect end to a very successful evening. Mission accomplished.

Service and Cost:
For such a crowded event, visited by people from all over the world, I was surprised by just how organized it was. The waiters and waitresses at the tents were quick to approach us and it never took long to get anything, including the check. I think it helped that we were with our German friends, but still, the whole operation seemed orderly.

Since this is a “$2 million dollar businesses,” as my co-worker Christian mentioned, prices are expensive, ranging at about 10 Euro for each beer and about 30 Euro for the food. I didn’t regret it for a second. Just next year, in dirndl!

3 Mmmms

More Oktoberfest Fun at Studio Square

As I told you my friends, Oktoberfest is in full swing - not only overseas (my Oktoberfest Munich experience to come soon), but also in our neck of the woods too.  I mentioned the rich goings-on at the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, but wanted to give you a heads-up that Studio Square has some tricks up their sleeve as well.

Here's what you can expect this weekend:
Saturday, October 1st - Sunday, October 2nd from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Have all the beer tastings you fancy and a pretty delicious-sounding menu of Bavarian specialties such as:

Hachen-Schnitzel – Bier-battered and fried thin breast of chicken
Kolbase – Grilled spiced sausage
Wursts – braised and grilled
Bauernwurst, bratwurst, knackwurst, weisswurst
Smoked pork loin
Black forest ham, rindfleisch cervelat
Bavarian Pretzels, baurenbrot
Farmer’s Bread
Kaiser Rolls

Apfelstrudel – Apple
Kirschstrudel – Cherry
Marillenstrudel - Apricot

Tickets are $65/person and you can get them here.  From what I can tell and also from experiencing the real thing, this sounds like a pretty authentic offering.  And like they do in Germany...don't forget to wear your lederhosen and/or dirndel.

Studio Square - 35-33 36th Street, Astoria NY 11106
718.383.1001
N/Q Train to 36th Avenue or M/R Train to Steinway Street
www.studiosquarenyc.com

Oktoberfest is Here!

Given that I just came from Munich for a very appropriately timed business trip, I was also able to experience the annual Oktoberfest celebration they hold.  I wish I had one word to describe the whole experience, which was so graciously shared with us by our German colleagues, Tanja and Kathrein. Not only did these ladies show us the ropes, but they partied with us like there was no tomorrow.  Danke schon!

While I'll give you more color around my Munich Oktoberfest experience later, I first want to tell you about the celebration that's happening locally in Astoria.  Taking place as it does each year at the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, it'll be a two week celebration with beer, food, music and the most important thing that makes this event so wonderful - the crowd.  Here are more details around this event - so start gathering up the troops and don't be afraid to wear your dirndl.

Oktoberfest at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden
Saturday October 1st - Saturday, October 9th, 2011
12:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Enjoy a live band, free beer tastings at great prices, a pig roast and amazing activities each day of the week. 

Saturday, October 1st
German-American Dance Band from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Becks promo from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. - free beer tasting & $13 pitchers
Becherovka promo from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. (this is a typical Czech liquor and I highly suggest you try it!)

Sunday, October 2nd
Feverschlucker brass band from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Bernard promo from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Monday, October 3rd
Becks promo from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. - free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Tuesday, October 4th
Staropramen & Blue Point promo from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. - free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Wednesday, October 5thRadeberger promo from free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Thursday, October 6th
Pilsner Urquell promo from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. - free beer tasting & $13 pitchers
Sausage samples

Friday, October 7th
Samuel Adams Oktoberfest & Spaten Oktoberfest promo from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. - free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Saturday, October 8th
Live music by Ovocnickovia from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Becherovka promo from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Staropramen & Blue Point promo from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. - free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Sunday, October 9th
Feverschlucker brass band from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Captain Lawrence promo from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. free beer tasting & $13 pitchers

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden - 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria NY 11102
718.274.4925
N/Q Train to Astoria Blvd
http://www.bohemianhall.com/