Garden City: A refined Oktoberfest

Let other establishments ply their customers with the promise of cheap beer and pretzels; Rein, at the Garden City Hotel, has other plans for Oktoberfest.

In honor of the Bavarian festival’s 200th anniversary (the first one was thrown in Munich in October 1810 to commemorate the marriage between Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen), Rein plans 16 days of festivities, with special German dishes and beers gracing the restaurant’s menu.

On Friday Oct. 1, from 6 to 10 p.m., executive chef Steven De Bruyn and chef de cuisine Kevin Buckenberger will serve a lavish, beer-friendly buffet. (De Bruyn is from Belgium, so he knows a thing or two about beer.) During the cocktail hour, the hotel’s English garden will be transformed into a traditional biergarten. Draft Paulaner Oktoberfest and Franziskaner Dunkle Weisse will be served, along with grilled bratwurst, beer-braised sauerkraut and passed (by lederhosen-clad servers) hors d’oeuvres.

Then it’s on to the main event, in the Grand Salon, where guests can groove to the stylings of Bernie’s Oktoberfest Orchestra complete with Alpine horn.

The buffet menu will include

• Sauerbraten short ribs, wine gingersnap sauce, bread dumplings
• Horseradish-crusted salmon, Savoy cabbage with caraway seed
• Chicken breast, paprika-crème fraîche sauce and grilled asparagus
• Jaeger-schnitzel with mushroom sauce
• Trout filet with lemon and pink peppercorns, glazed carrots
• Herbed spaetzle
• Red cabbage with apples
• Black Forest charcuterie board with smoked and cured meats and condiments
• Black Forest cake, bienenstich (“bee-sting cake”) and apple strudel

Tickets for the open-seated dinner event are available by pre-booking by  Sept. 30 for $47 per person (plus tax and 15-percent tip) or, on the evening of the event, for $55 per person. For more information or to reserve a seat, call Rein at 516-877-9385.

Rein is in the Garden City Hotel is at 45 Seventh St., Garden City.

Oktoberfest, not at Rein