Oktoberfest and The East Side
Who knew that the cool place to be on yet another Saturday evening was the Central Terminal on the city’s East Side? Oh yes, it was Oktoberfest in all its glory! For a mere five-dollar admission price, my friend Lou and I entered into a world filled with lederhosen, bratwurst and sauerkraut. As the German band, the Frankfurters, led the crowd with boisterous drinking songs, we sat down at one of the long tables set upon the floor of the terminal. It was a re-creation of an authentic beer garden and glasses filled with Flying Bison and Spaten were lifted in the air in many drinking salutes, while still more enjoyed the zesty flavors of different types of Riesling.
As we waited (for beer and bratwurst supplies to be replenished) we chatted with some Lovejoy residents who referred to the Terminal as an East Side jewel… and on a night like Saturday I can honestly say that it truly is. We were so impressed with the size of the crowd and happy that the Central Terminal Restoration pulled off another wonderful (and well organized) event.
As the festivities began to dwindle down around midnight, Lou and I decided that the next logical move was to head over to the Adam Mickiewicz Library for some post party cocktails. I happen to be a proud card carrying member of this Polish club located at 612 Fillmore Avenue, and have even made the cool retro wallpaper in the bar area the wallpaper on my cell phone.
Once at the club we ordered big bottles of Polish beer and took a look around at the crowd. The group was made up of a combination of Pink Flamingo types with a spattering of old time regulars. Very cool! Another friend of mine referred to the younger crowd present as the "East Side Hipsters"; a group of artist types who call the East Side home. An older gentleman sitting next to me, who had overheard our comments, exclaimed with a smile, "Well you know that you are in the SoBo district… meaning south of Broadway." This place was all right and we realized that it shouldn’t take an event like Oktoberfest to partake in such a wonderful establishment. So we ended our eventful evening by promising the bartender that we'd be back real soon, and I have no doubt that it’ll be on my mind until then.
wow! Total babes...
Thanks for the great post, Frenchy! It was a total team effort by all to pull this event off! At an estimated crowd of 1,500 (as compared to last year's 1,000), we were very pleased with the turnout and the friendly crowd. We were amazed that the 6 kegs we had on had didn't stretch (we only used 4 last year!). We ended up getting 9 more. Ein Prosit!
In your list of cooll, east side hangouts, don't forget Arty's on Peckham and Memorial. Neighborhood atmosphere and some of the friendliest peopl around (plus, cheap drinks!)!
My son and nephew were awestruck with the terminal.
I'll bet they'll be joining us for the next cleanup...
Great night,Terrific Event...The Crown Jewel was shining bright yet again! Hats off to the CTRC :)
It was a great function - the beer ran out, but I didn't really mind b/c I knew that meant the organizers of the function hadn't expected the number of people that showed up, or for people to spend as much $$ on beer as they did. Either way, a great day for the terminal, and yet another baby step towards bringing the old beauty back. It's good see things are in good hands.
I went to Oktoberfest last year and this year, and immediately noticed how much bigger the crowd was this time around. It was a great event.
It was a great time, nice to see people enjoying the building.
Nothing like Flying Bison opening up the brewery to supply us with more beer!
See you all next years Oktoberfest (and the many other events at the Terminal).