Every year, Guinness sponsors an Oyster Festival in the Irish city of Galway that is attended by tens of thousands of people. Inspired by this great event, The Wheeltapper Pub (141 East 44th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, in the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel – 212-351-6800) hosts its own annual OysterFest and this year’s edition will be held on the Wheeltapper Patio this week, October 10-14.

Oysters are at their sweetest in the fall and OysterFest gives you ample opportunity to taste as many oysters and oyster dishes as you like!  Menu specials for OysterFest this year include Oysters on the Half Shell (shucked right there!), Chicken and Oyster Gumbo, Fried Oyster Po’ Boys, and Canadian Oyster Soup. In addition, every evening at 6 pm there will be special sessions with the chefs where they will provide cooking tips and information on how best to enjoy an oyster. These sessions include:

Monday, October 10: Preparing New Orleans Oyster Fritters
Tuesday, October 11: Preparing Deep Fried Oysters
Wednesday, October 12: Pour the Perfect Pint of Guiness
Thursday, October 13: Preparing Oysters Rockefeller
Friday, October 14: Shucking Oysters

For even more reasons and places to enjoy a cold beer, click here for the Grand Central Partnership’s run-down of area Oktoberfest events.

For more oyster-related news, click here for information on the Oyster of the Month at the Grand Central Oyster Bar.