Okay, here it goes, it’s the German word for a sense of togetherness, of social warmth in a relaxing atmosphere, I can do this: gemütlichkeit.
I’m not sure I’m saying that right, but I sure do know how it feels because gemütlichkeit is on abundant display this time of year around New Orleans as people hoist their steins for Oktoberfest celebrations.
The Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus is the nexus, right on
Bayou St. John, just across from City Park where so much of New Orleans comes together. It starts this weekend for the next three weekends.
For many generations, Oktoberfest has been a rite of autumn in New Orleans, with the taste of Bavarian cooking and the happy sounds of an oompah band playing the “chicken dance song” all but signaling the changing seasons, a cause for celebration all on its own around here.
Here’s how to do it: walk into the grounds, show yourself around, but first don’t do it empty handed. First go to one of the beer tents. Try something different. Deutsches Haus brings in a huge variety of some of the most famous German beers, many of them seasonal, some locally only available here. Taste of progression starting with a lighter pilsner, maybe working up to a darker dunkel, with wheaty, hazy straw-colored hefeweizen in between.
Now it’s time to eat. Snack bars around the festival grounds will serve a quick bratwurst sandwich, a doner kebab or flammkuchen, those German pizzas. To really settle in go to the big dining hall-sized food tent, grab a tray, and get in line for the full menu of hearty deeply satisfying German dishes prepared here by the club members themselves, the German meatloaf, and sauerbraten and pork loin.
Now take a stroll, maybe stop at the beer tent again, as the jolly music fills the air and families and young couples and different generations fill the grounds.
What I love about Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus is not how it mimics Bavaria, but just how New Orleans it all feels.
Someone is dressed like a chicken, other people are in costumes. You are outside together, having a good time, embracing the season, with food and drink and tradition and community to set the stage. Gemütlichkeit feels easy here, even if it is a little hard to say.
