Prost! Oktoberfest food, drink and events around Connecticut
By Leeanne Griffin
While traditional rollicking Oktoberfest celebrations are on hold because of COVID-19, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a seasonal beer, bratwurst or soft pretzel this fall. These Connecticut restaurants and breweries offer Oktoberfest brews, food specials and even a few scaledback events, with safety in mind.
Is your restaurant or brewery hosting an Oktoberfest special? Email lgriffin@courant.com.
City Steam, 942 Main St., Hartford, which reopened in mid-September, is offering an Oktoberfest menu through October. A prix-fixe option ($30) includes a bratwurst appetizer with sauteed onions, pork schnitzel with roasted German-style vegetables and an Octoberfest beer taster, and apple and cider fritters with vanilla ice cream. Items are also priced a la carte for $6 to $15. 860-525-1600, citysteambrewery.com.
Coyote Blue, 1960 Saybrook Road, Middletown, offers its annual Oktoberfest menu through Oct. 25. Entrees ($18.95 to $24.95) include rheinischer sauerbraten, smoked pork chops with potato pancakes and sauerkraut, weiner schnitzel, paprika chicken schnitzel and a German sausage platter. Drink specials include German beers and wine. 860-345-2403; coyoteblue.com.
Popover Bistro & Bakery, 928 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, hosts an Oktoberfest event with the Bear’s Smokehouse food truck Oct. 2, with seatings at 5 and 6:30 p.m. The menu includes beer-cheese drizzled popovers stuffed with smoked bratwurst and sauerkraut, loaded potato pancakes with pulled pork and smoked apples, a fall spiced apple salad and”brat attack” with pretzel bites and scoop of mac and cheese topped with sliced bratwurst. Cost is $20. The evening also features live music, Oktoberfest style beers and wines. 860-413-2392, popoversimsbury.com.
Union Kitchen, 35 LaSalle Road, West Hartford, which offers monthly “pop-up” menus, will offer a glimpse of its upcoming new restaurant, Wurst
Haus, with its October offerings. Offerings include a giant pretzel with beer cheese and mustard, fried Camembert, pork schnitzel with red cabbage and spaetzle, Hungarian beef goulash and apple strudel. Items ($7 to $27) will be available Thursday and Saturday starting Oct. 3, from 3 p.m. to close. 860-5988000, unionkitchenct.com/ oktoberfest-popup.
The Corner Pug, 1046 New Britain Ave., West Hartford, offers a special Oktoberfest menu, with starters like seared potato pancakes, Bavarian soft pretzels and Gruyere dip with pretzel bites ($6 to $12) and entrees of rheinischer sauerbraten, Jaeger schnitzel, German-style baked cod with mustard cream sauce, and a Bavarian sampler with grilled bratwurst, steamed knockwurst, braised red cabbage and potato pancakes ($19 to $22.) 860-231-0241, cornerpug.com.
The Hops Company, 77 Sodom Lane, Derby, hosts a scaled-back and socially distant version of its annual Oktoberfest event Oct. 11, starting at noon. Guests will be seated at tables on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event features a live DJ, brunch and giveaways. A $15 entree fee includes a one-liter stein of Hacker-Pschorr Munich Gold Lager, or any drink off the THC menu. 203-734-1616, thehopscompany.com.