My favorite holiday of the year is Oktoberfest.  Mostly because I can eat & drink for nearly a month and I won’t be accused of being a pig.  This is legitimate reason enough, I feel.

However, I only really do one event: Oktoberfest at Humpy’s.  For two Sundays, the Alaska Blaskapelles toot their horns while you wend your way through a 5-course meal. With each course paired with a beer, and interspersed with hollering, hooting, and a symphony of other loud revelry.

This year’s event marks our 5th in a row, I believe.

Humpy's Oktoberfest menu, 2009 - for the second weekend (click image for legible view).

Now, assuming you want an overview of the food (and if not, tough noogies – you’re gettin’ it!), here it is:

Appetizer: this isn’t really a cream spread – we think it’s their cheese/mustard sauce (from previous years – some day I’ll write about that!). With mushrooms.  It’s unholy delicious, and worth the price of admission alone.

Soup: in years past it’s been a tomato soup, an onion soup, and a potato leek soup.  The potato/leek soup was fantastic.  This one had good flavor, but was too thick and the beans were falling apart.  Its beer pairing was pretty good, though.  I’ve never had a smoky beer go well with smoky food, but this did.

First Entree: Brats & knockwurst, how can you go wrong?  Except they did in one critical way: not enough of either.  I mean, part of the joy is seeing the heaping serving of the wursts.  Here: three-to-five brats and maybe two knocks.  The sauerkraut it was served on was excellent – better than years past, I think.  Overall: good, but too little.  This should be the signature, traditional course.

Second Entree: Chuck steak on goulash.  The flavor was outstanding: the sauce had delicate subcurrents of flavor, and the meat had good flavor.  It could have been better, though: there was too much salt, and the steak needed to be worked over longer to break down the toughness.

Dessert: bread pudding, and possibly the best bread pudding ever.  The bread was firm and gelatinous, the sauce divine!

OK, so that’s the review.  Overall?  Again, well worth the cash.  Go if you can next year!