Toronto Gets An Open-Air Beer Garden

Not ready to give up on patio season? The Drake Hotel will be transforming their Sky Yard patio into an Oktoberfest-inspired open-air  Beer Garden complete with imported German picnic tables. The menu will include Cheese Boutique pepperettes (99 cents) and house-made pretzels with Kozlik’s hot mustard ($4.99).

The shack will feature premium imported bottles such as Germany’s Erdinger Weissbier and local ales such as Ontario’s Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion, as well as a few special beer cocktails like the Iberville Station (Blanche de Chambly, absinthe, lemon juice, grenadine, Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters, $13) and the Michelada (Sol, lemon juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco and Clamato, $11).

The Beer Garden will be open Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m. to close, while the Sky Yard will remain open nightly from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Runs from September 29 – December 3, 2011. For more information visit: http://thedrakehotel.ca/dining


Photo Credit: Connie Tsang

Hip Getaways - Oktoberfest, Munich

Just wanted to post the final photos from The Hip + Urban Girl's adventure at Oktoberfest in Munich.  I can't resist a giant slide, no matter how silly it is.  Here is a view of the fairgrounds.  Read our full story about Oktoberfest in an exclusive post on the vitaminwater Canada blog.  In the meantime, check out our clicks from across the pond...

Beer tents spread throughout the festival

Urban Eats - The Dessert Tent @ Oktoberfest, Munich

Just when you think you can't drink another drop of beer at Oktoberfest, you can seek shelter inside The 'Dessert' Tent and smother your sorrows in a Black Forest Cake (below).  I did exactly that and traded beer for cocktails, coffee and sugar.  Oktoberfest in Munich is not just all about beer.  Inside the Cafe tent we were able to find every sort of cocktail and champagne to keep the party going.  Prices are definitely jacked up at close to 12-14 Euros for a drink and around 9 Euros for a glass of Prosecco.  It being Oktoberfest, you let a lot of things slide.

The dessert tent had a full menu of sweets on offer.  My cake was filled with mousse, cherries, a layer of cake and a biscuit bottom.  Smother that whole thing in cream and you got yourself a sweet dessert.  Everything looked like it was homemade on-site.

The cute gingerbread house design (above).  The dessert tent is called, 'Cafe Kaiserschmarrn' and is dubbed Oktoberfest for pastry-lovers.  Yup, that's me.  A wonderland of cakes and pies?  I could live here.

The band plays on top of the bar in the centre of the tent

Cheers from The Hip Urban Girl in Munich!

Love our coverage of Oktoberfest?  Read more from our trip to Munich.

Everything I Ate @ Oktoberfest in Germany

The Hip Urban Girl is back from Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany with the pictures to prove it!  Here are some snaps of everything we ate while we visited the massive beer and food fest last month.  A funny note, Oktoberfest actually happens in September not October because the weather is too cold.

Spaetzle - I want to say that it reminded me of what I think German Macaroni & Cheese would taste like.  Sprinkled with chives and crispy fried onions on top.  It was pretty gourmet considering I was in a packed beer tent with 10,000 other people.  Who knew that each tent would have such a sophisticated menu with daily specials and gorgeous charcuterie platters?  The egg noodle is soft and a little bit chewy with a very light cheese sauce.  Perfect for anchoring down a lot of beer.

Candied Fruit - What would an outdoor carnival be without a couple candy apples?  Oktoberfest takes it to the next level and candies other types of fruit on these delectable looking skewers.  They even had a huge section dedicated to fruits covered in chocolate.

Urban Eats - Oktoberfest Cookies in Munich

Accessory + Cookie.  We like things that multi-task.  The Hip Urban Girl found these festive heart-shaped gingerbread cookies called lebkuchen all over Oktoberfest in Munich and just had to share.  The cookies come in all different sizes and some of them even have a prize in the middle.  I made sure I didn't chomp down too hard, because I'm pretty sure my dental coverage didn't extend all the way to Germany.  We took a couple of these edible souvenirs home, each one cost around four Euros.

Each cookie is decorated with colourful icing sugar and sweet Bavarian sayings.  It was the ultimate Oktoberfest accessory to match your dirndl or lederhosen.  Plus you get to eat it after :)