Oktoberfest in America is an homage to the 16-18 day event in Germany that starts in late September and goes into the first few weeks of October. Beer flows, music rolls, and hearty and flavorful comfort foods are featured at its core.
This year, to celebrate the autumn season, we traveled to West Redding CT to visit the Redding Roadhouse on Redding Road. (That's alot of Redding!). We were so excited to be invited to this great promotion! What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to take a drive through Fairfield county and view the beautiful fall foliage in this picturesque area of Connecticut.
Now, let me start by saying, I'm a big fan of any restaurant that calls themselves a roadhouse.
The name itself conjures up images of great little "local taverns" alongside winding country roads, that feature hearty food, good drinks, and great music. A place where you can get a good meal and have some fun, all in a comfortable setting. And that's just what the Redding Roadhouse is!
The restaurant is owned and operated by Ted Stonbely,Wirt Cook and Karen Cook. Wirt also doubles as the Executive Chef and brings a comfort menu packed with classic favorites and a laid-back approach of New England cooking to the Roadhouse.
I knew I was in for a great time the minute I walked in and was greeted by a lovely Fraulein offering me a pint of Half Full Brewery Pumpkin Ale with a cinnamon sugar frosted rim! And it just kept getting better from there!
We met up with our group in the bar, chatted for a few minutes, and then were greeted by owner and the night's host, Ted, who escorted us to our tables in the main dining room to start sampling some of the Oktoberfest menu items.
We began our meal with a cured meat and cheese board called the Charcuterie Plate that consisted of pastrami, head cheese, tongue, cornichon pickles and wurst pate, and browsed the special Oktoberfest sampling menu we'd be enjoying for the evening.
And then Chef Karen brought out some lovely made on premise bacon. To say that it was fabulous would be doing it a disservice. It was wonderful. Amazing. Delicious. We could have eaten this all night and been happy.
But then came the potato pancakes. Again, a German classic and these did not disappoint! These were just as good as my friend Oma used to make.
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| L-R Clockwise Karen explains the process for the made on premise bacon, potato pancakes with applesauce and sour cream, and my appetizer plate. |
We also sampled a few more beers, Octoberfest by Hooker Beer and the Okto Festival Ale by Widmer Brothers Brewing. Each of the evening's beer samples embodied the flavors of autumn.
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| Burgoo Stew (German immigrant stew) |
And then came our entrees and sides! A sausage sampler plate of smoked bratwurst, weisswurst and bauernwurst, all steamed in beer, and served with sauerkraut and steamed red cabbage. A big bowl of the German egg noodle spaetzle, and a side of homemade spicy mustard, that I could eat out of the glass with a spoon. (And did!)
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| L-R Clockwise smoked bratwurst, weisswurst and bauernwurst, with steamed red cabbage and sauerkraut, spaetzle and homemade mustard |
But, no, wait... there's even more!
A deliciously tender Weiner Schnitzel, and, then, hands down my personal favorite of the night, Saurbraten, a Bavarian style pot roast, served with sweet and sour gravy thickened with gingersnaps.
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| Top L-R Clockwise Saurbraten, my wonderful dinner plate, wiener schnitzel |
And, for the finishing touch of the meal, dessert was served, a wonderfully flaky, buttery, apple streudel aka strudel, with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream.
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| Apple Streudel |
Oktoberfest is running September 29th through October 27th - but visit the restaurant any time!
We sang - we danced - we had a great time! You will too, at the...
406 Redding Road
West Redding, CT 06896
203.938.3388
on the web: http://reddingroadhouse.com/
like them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reddingroadhouse
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Have you been to an Oktoberfest this year?
What are your favorite German foods?
I'd love to hear about them in the comments below!
Auf Wiedersehen - Good Bye!
Auf Wiedersehen - Good Bye!
Disclaimer: I was invited to a promotional Oktoberfest sampling at the Redding Roadhouse, however, the views and opinions expressed herein are my own.
I had to look at a map to see where Redding was. It is in the boonies! Looks like a fun time. And the food looks fab!
ReplyDeleteIf you go make sure you try those potato pancakes. Oh. So. Good!
DeleteI am not much of a beer drinker, but the food really looks great!!!!! Yeah, those potato pancakes look delish. I can almost taste them through the photo!
ReplyDeleteOh, they WERE good! What a great place!
DeleteI want to try that bacon! And maybe the schnitzel. And everything else.
ReplyDeleteJess, it was ALL good! You picked two good ones though!
DeleteAgain, either revisit restaurants, perhaps within a year, or remove the reviews from your blog. So many are outdated. I wanted to love Redding Road House, and at one point I did - it was sad to see it closed for so long. Reopened and visited this summer 2018. Its a tragedy. The best location - remodeled very nicely. Beginning with drinks, which featured FLAT seltzer, and 1 ice cube which was returned - TWICE. In-edible food, limited selection. Absolutely terrible experience. Its a shame - it will never be what it once was.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear this. You're right, such a great location. Are they going by the same name?
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