Oktoberfest has arrived this week in food

Everyone is German at the Black Forest Inn

​Fans of all things German and sausagey will be pleased with this week's offerings, which skew heavily toward a meat-and-beer theme thanks to Oktoberfest activities.

9/25
If you made it through the weekend without attending the Black Forest Inn's Oktoberfest activities, you're in luck: It runs all week. So start the week out right with tonight's theme of Vier Factor, a brat bar with four sausages to choose from (handmade bratwurst, handmade chicken curry sausage, weisswurst, Polish sausage) and all the fixings you could ever want: celery relish, fried peppers, fried onions, sauerkraut, homemade Bavarian sweet mustard, maple mustard, horseradish sauerkraut sauce, curry ketchup, rye bread, potato salad, red cabbage, and pickles. You know what that will set you back? Just $15. And a bonus: Buy any Grain Belt and get a logo pint glass free (while supplies last). Bringing in your tuba will net you a free beer too.

9/29
Tria invites diners to "answer the call of the lederhosen" by kicking off Oktoberfest on Thursday with a feast of German cuisine. Executive chef Brian Bossert will prepare a whole roasted hog, braised red cabbage, hot German potato salad, bratwurst with all the fixings, Reuben balls and apple strudel a la mode, all accompanied by Oktoberfest beers. A polka band will be playing all night, so buckle up. The meal begins at 6 p.m. and costs $35. To reserve your place call 651.426.9222.

If you like your dinners to have a charitable element, check out Sanctuary's PINK Six-Course Tasting Menu for Breast Cancer. Naturally, all six courses are pink in hue, from the smoked salmon and pink peppercorn cream cheese with pink grapefruit caviar that kicks things off to the pink cherry ice cream with pink chocolate sauce at the end. Each course has the option for a pairing of a pink drink (think watermelon margaritas and Cosmos), and $5 from every meal sold goes to the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. The dinner costs $45, with an additional $15 for the pairings. For reservations call 612.339.5058.

9/30
Good news for those who missed the first edition of the North Coast Nosh--round two takes place tonight. This locavore sip-and-sample event has more than 18 vendors offering samples of their locally produced foods, plus a street food court featuring a half-dozen trucks and carts is new this time around. The event runs 5:30-9 p.m. at Peace Coffee's cafe, and tickets are $16 in advance and $20 at the door. Vendors include Common Roots, Green Ox Meat, Sweets Bakeshop, and many more.

Mill City lives up to its name at the Bread Festival

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10/1
Mill City Farmers Market, Mill City Museum, and Gold Medal Flour team up to host the first annual Bread Festival to celebrate bread baking in America. What can you expect at this new event? Outdoor baking demonstrations, bread baking competitions (judged by bread experts), educational events, and much more. We expect one of the highlights will be the baking demonstrations hosted by local celebrity bakers Michelle Gayer and Zoe Francois at 9:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. The festival will run simultaneously with the market, so you can get your shopping done, too. For more information visit the market's website.