Oktoberfest Fun

Oktoberfest Already?

It seems like the state’s most historic town is in a bit of a time warp, and we couldn’t be happier. This year’s Fun Friday event in Lewes on Sept. 21 is Oktoberfest—a little early—which means Market Street between Second and Front will be closed to cars from 3 p.m. till 8 p.m. so you can dance in the street.  Better yet, downtown restaurants will offer special Bavarian meals. Starting at lunch, The Buttery will serve grilled weisswurst with braised red cabbage on crusty bread with Oktoberfest mustard and German potato salad. Jerry’s Seafood Restaurant will offer two lunch specials—cabbage and kielbasa or knockwurst and sauerkraut with potato salad—then, for dinner, sauerbraten vom rind with potato dumplings and wiener schnitzel with spaetzle dumplings. Enjoy delicious apfelkuchen (apple cake) after either meal. Buy a commemorative beer stein, then take it to any participating restaurant for a discount on draught beer, including Dogfish Head’s new My Antonia Bavarian-style pilsner. Mustard aficionados can sample various styles at Louise Gourmet. Beer lovers will enjoy the tasting at R&L Liquors. Dance off all the calories to the sounds of an oompah band at Mary Vessels Park. You won’t want to miss the fun and fine food. Lederhosen and drindls optional. Learn more at leweschamber.com.

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Celebrating the Brew

If you have a taste for regional beers, hit Dover Downs Hotel & Casino on Sept. 15 for its second annual brew festival. Sample creations from Mid-Atlantic microbreweries such as Dogfish Head, Stoudts Brewing Company, Fordham Brewery and Old Dominion Brewing Co., as well as lots of great food. Ashley Mitchell Band provides the music. Your $25 ticket buys you 10 drink tickets and a limited-edition souvenir glass. (Tickets are $30 on the day of the event.) The $40 VIP ticket gets you special dining. Sounds great to us. 800-711-5882, doverdowns.com

While in Dover…

While we’re on the subject of beer (a favorite topic around here), don’t miss the Craft Beer Dinner at venerable Roma in Dover on Sept. 26. You know the drill: several great plates paired with their own complementary microbrew. Hosted by Marc Steiman, Roma’s dinner features an amuse bouche of “deconstructed” corn chowder (grilled corn purée with crispy bacon lardons and a fried oyster) with RJ Rockers Pumpkin Ale followed by a ravioli of kale and farmer’s cheese in rosemary-brown butter sauce teamed with Lacu Biere D’Abbaye, then pork rillettes with Chardonnay mustard and grilled crostini paired with Laughing Dog Rocket Dog Rye IPA. There’s plenty more food and including bacon ice cream—and beer, and it’s a real bargain at $50. Act now. Call 678-1041.

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Wild Times—Again

You can hit Wine Down Wednesdays from 5 p.m. till 7 p.m. at the Hotel du Pont lobby lounge on Sept. 12, 19 or 26 for smooth live music, plenty of the chef’s complimentary hors d’oeuvres, an a la carte menu, wine by glass and bottles of wine discounted 20 percent. But what we’re looking forward to most is the wild game dinner on Sept. 21. The hotel promises food from Africa to the Outback: elk sausage, frog legs, lemon-myrtle rubbed gator, caribou stew, medallions of python, pepperberry-crusted kangaroo and more. The price? A mere $125, which includes wine pairings and hors d’oeuvres. Nibblies (as they say in Oz) begin at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. dinner. For more info, hit hoteldupont.com/news-and-events-en.html

Farm-to-Table Fun

Check out Dinner in the Orchard on Sept. 13. Visit T.S. Smith and Sons Farm in Bridgeville at 5:30 p.m. to see what local chefs and students from the Culinary School at the Food Bank of Delaware create with the farm’s produce—nothing less than the most delicious sweet corn, apples, peaches and other fruits on Delmarva. There will be live entertainment, wine and beer with your meal, all for a mere $50. Dinner in the Orchard benefits the food bank. Call 292-1305 or click fbd.org. To buy tickets, call 444-8074 or write to kkostes@fbd.org.

See another beautiful farm when Good Earth Market & Organic Farm hosts the third annual Farm to Table Dinner to benefit Matt Haley’s Global Delaware Fund on Sept. 18. The meal, prepared by Haley’s Plate Catering, includes a cocktail hour with passed appetizers, a main course with salads served family-style, and a dessert course using produce and herbs grown on-site. Wines from Southern Wine & Spirits will be paired with each serving. Good Earth Market & Organic Farm in Clarksville offers natural product and fresh produce, much of it grown on the farm situated on the property. The Global Delaware Fund provides goods and services to at-risk children around the world.
For reservations ($95 a ticket), call 537-7100. 644-1200, plate-catering.com

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Mark your calendar now for The Farmer and the Chef at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington Sept. 20. The name says it all. You’ll enjoy delicious creations prepared by Delebrity chefs with the produce of local farms. (It’s simple: fresh food tastes best.) The fifth annual event is brought to you by the Department of Agriculture and the March of Dimes to promote healthful eating, which fits in with the MOD’s mission to encourage healthy moms and healthy pregnancies. Check in at thefarmerandthechef.com for the latest, or take an occasional peek at facebook.com/TheFarmerandTheChefDE.

Crabby is Good

Did someone say crabs? We’re in. Hit the UD Crab feast at Courtyard Newark at the University of Delaware on Sept. 14 for barbecued chicken, steamed shrimp, burgers and dogs, corn on the cob, steamed crabs—of course—and more, all for $45, with special drink prices. The feast runs 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Mikey Junior and Stone Cold Blue play the music. You just crack your crabs and enjoy. 737-0900, udel.edu/hotel

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