Porst!

For the amount of drinking that I do, it's pretty amazing that I can't recall the last time I had such an abhorrently painful hangover, as I do now. Or, perhaps I can't remember the last time this happened because of the amount of drinking that I do. In any event, the reason my noggin feels like it's prepetually being split open with an axe is because last night marked the return of the single best thing about the Rio Grando Vally: Oktoberfest.

Now, meeting the high-rung standard of last year's festival, (which was also sponsered by the McAllen South Rotary Club), would an incredibly difficult task, and this year's fest was pretty impressive in its own right. The most notable change from last year was how the McAllen Civic Center was decorated with trees and hanging Christmas lights. Such decorations, while usually insignificant, created an ambiance that lended itself to a traditional Oktoberfest scene. As for changes that matter, there were plenty, some good some bad.

The organizers of this year's festival decided to forgo the usual buffet line, and instead set up a number of food tables, each serving a different item. Like last year, there was turkey legs, sausage, cheeses, fruit and saurkrawt. In addition to all that, brawtwersts were available. And anyone who reads this blog probably has a good idea about how well that food goes with beer.

As for the beer, there was a plenty. Domestics were on tap, but the coup de grace was the table offering German and specialty Oktoberfest beers. While adding to the overall scene, I would have appretiated a return trip by the Sam Adams Winter Mix Pack, but they did have SA Oktoberfest, so I was happy about that. (Even though it is my least favorite SA.)

Finally, there were to giant televisions set up outside on the patio. This insured that my night of drinking and eating could be accompanied by frantic pacing and nervous jibberish whilt I watched the Red Sox win game one of the World Series.