October offers a bevy of food and drink events as the new season gears up. The Delray Beach GreenMarket is set to open Oct. 25 at Old School Square. Photos provided
By Jan Norris
No fall leaves here, and the thermometer dips only slightly, but South Florida still celebrates with the beginning of a new season in October. Look for pop-up Oktoberfests for all your beer and wurst needs, green markets reopening for everything veg-able, and Halloween parties for spooky hauntings.
For those wursts, hit up Biergarten, 309 Via De Palmas #90 in Boca Raton. Along with 24 draft and craft beers, the menu has several German favorites, including the much-touted giant pretzel with liptauer käse (the buttery Austrian cheese spread that’s pink — thanks to paprika), fried pierogies, onion and cheese spaetzle, and the wurst platter.
The platter will get you brats, franks and kielbasa, served with kraut and potato pancakes. Be authentic and order braised red cabbage as the side.
The American German Club in Lake Worth Beach will present its annual Oktoberfest Oct. 10-12 and Oct. 17-19.
For the big Oktoberfest — one of the largest in Florida — it’s the American German Club, 5111 Lantana Road in Lake Worth Beach. The fest is still cranking for a 51st year.
It is over two weekends, Oct. 10-12 and Oct. 17-19. Members take care of most of the food served here: thousands of franks, bratwursts and currywursts. For authenticity, give the German platter a try, and you can get a brat, a frank and leberkäse — think of it as a pork meatloaf, only a finer grind. Or choose kassler — a smoked pork chop.
The clubhouse menu indoors (we recommend it) features sauerbraten, schnitzel, goulash and roast pork — all made by the members.
German bands and dancers perform, the beer flows — it is a true festival.
For information on parking, tickets, performances and more, go to oktoberfestflorida.com.
The Blue Anchor Pub’s ghost makes for a frightening Halloween.
A good ghost story
Looking for a good haunt for Halloween? Go no farther than the Blue Anchor Pub in Delray Beach.
The 160-year-old pub, built in Victorian London, was dismantled after 100-plus years running, shipped to New York, and finally reconstructed at its present location in 1996 on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Palm Square.
During its heyday on Chancery Street, it saw the likes of Winston Churchill and his peers, who frequented the pub for a pint after court. Journalists from Fleet Street also drank there; that history would repeat in the U.S. when it became the watering hole for the National Enquirer staff of Lantana.
Now the dark side: Two of Jack the Ripper’s victims were seen in the pub on the nights before their slashings; their bodies were found on nearby doorsteps.
And there’s the murder, which brings us to the ghost story.
The young wife of a sea captain was caught in flagrante delicto with her lover by her husband at the pub. He purportedly shot the pair dead on the spot.
The woman, Bertha Starkey, is said to still haunt the pub, roaming about and tripping people, including the co-owner, Peggy Snyder.
“Oh yeah, she’s tripped me, taken things from my hands,” she said. “She’s here.”
Bertha’s famous, sort of. Snyder said mediums come in all the time to check it out, and are able to see or sense her spirit.
At 10 nightly, they ring a ship’s bell — the time Bertha allegedly walks overhead and her footsteps can be heard.
Make time for the market
It’s green market season, and Delray Beach celebrates its 30th year with its market opening Oct. 25.
More than 50 vendors will set up stalls to sell fresh vegetables, eggs, breads and more at the Old School Square green from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays through May.
Vendor spaces are still available, including rotating ones for those who can’t commit to a full or half season.
SNAP benefits are matched at most fresh food stalls.
For more information, including vendor applications, go to downtowndelraybeach.com/green-market.
In addition to Delray Beach, the Lake Worth Beach Oceanside Farmers Market returns Oct. 4, while the Boca Green Market returns Oct. 5.
In brief
Brule Bistro in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove has a new moniker: Brule Gastro-Kitchen, representing an expanded menu and a better description of the new decor and style, said owner Suzanne Perretto. She said the restaurant has moved beyond the bistro, and wanted to avoid any mixed messages for diners.
Motek in Boca Raton’s Restaurant Row east of the mall has become the “it” spot for now. The Miami-based mini-chain (there are seven) opened this spring, bringing modern Mediterranean/Israeli dishes to the area. Indoor-outdoor seating fills quickly, especially for brunch where the mezze platters are everywhere.
Feeding South Florida, the county’s central food bank and distribution program operating out of its kitchens in Boynton Beach, is in need of volunteers. People are needed daily in two shifts to pack food and meals and help cook. Monetary and food donations via food drives are welcomed as well. For more information about how to help, visit feedingsouthflorida.org. Click on the “Ways to Give” tab.
Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com.
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