It's been a long month - back to school, Washington State Fair zaniness, bears roaming the streets. Too long to make like a rabbit and nibble on some gross, shrivelled salad for dinner. How does, say, schnitzel beef sliders sound? What about some hearty beer braised pork shank, blaukraut and kartoffelpuffer? Dat's goot, goot! As goot as in Munich! That'll pair quite well with an Oktoberfest beer. Throw on some Lederhosen or a Dirndl and head to BITE in the Hotel Murano. Chef Matthew Stickle will present a five-course Bavarian fare dinner paired with Washington beers.

"There was A LOT of beer tasting," says Stickle. "Both of my sous chefs, Ethan and Seth, and I tried both local and German beers to go well with traditional German dishes."

Once the beers were picked, BITE's restaurant manager Richard was off and running, gathering the beers that paired well with the dishes the kitchen chose. "Some of the beers are used in the recipes such as beer braised kurobuta pork shank using an Oregon lager by Ninkasi Brewing that has an earthy, grasp hop flavor, or the wurst and pumpkin spaetzle paired with Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin that helps the spaetzle with its nutmeg and cinnamon flavors and cuts the fattiness of the bratwurst," explains Stickle. "This will be a fun event that has a great price of dinner paired with some really great beers."

Besides the mentions pork shank and wurst pairings, Stickle and crew are sprechen beer and cheese soup and pretzel crouton paired with Pyramid Oktoberfest; schnitzel beef sliders with pickled beets and a brioche bun paired with Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale; and black forest cheesecake with a Red Hook Pumpkin Porter.

OK, it's not held in a rustic, Old World setting ripe with musty smells and beer-stained floors. A modern setting and a $30 price tag is nothing to get your knickers in a twist.

OKTOBERFEST DINNER, 7-10 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26, BITE, Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway, Tacoma, $30, 253.591.4163

LINK: More 2014 Oktoberfest events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area