Riz was in town tonight on business. Dennis and I met up with him at The Heartland Brewery for comfort food (meatloaf and mashed potatoes) and a few pints of Smiling Pumpkin Ale:

We wanted to keep the night alive so we walked down to Bleecker Street to The Back Fence, but the band wasn't going on for an hour, until 8:30PM, so we used the bathroom and found our way over to Off The Wagon on MacDougal Street for some beers. Where to next? How about Zum Schneider's on 7th and Avenue C said Dennis. Great idea! And it's Octoberfest to boot! I paid for the cab and we arrived at the crowded bar with the Oompah band playing at full tilt at around 9PM. And yes, the table servers were all decked out in St. Pauli girl garb, as well as many of the patrons. The Bavarian indoor biergarten was crowded and festive. Octoberfest celebrations run through this Sunday. We eventually grabbed one of the outside tables and watched as those inside stood on the benches and danced to the music of the band. We ordered some raddi, which came with cheese and pickles and salt, along with a couple rounds of 8oz Octoberfest beers - it was a worknight and all and we had quite a few beers in us already. We felt German. And our attractive Austrian* waitress had us spending lots of Deutschmarks (Euros). Get yourself into New York to this Bavarian oasis in an unexplored part of the city; you won't be disappointed. Wonderbar!

*Her nationality revealed as follows:
Riz: "Where are you from?"
Her: "Austria."
Riz: "Oh, I guess you must like shrimp on the barbie then."
Her: "What?!"
Riz: "I thought everybody from down under liked their shrimp cooked over a barbecue grill."
Her: "I'm from Austria, not Australia!"
Riz: "Ohhh."
(To know the Riz is to totally understand this conversation.)
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Let's take a closer look: