Are you game for trying something new on your plate?
How about the rich, deep flavor of wild boar? Or the distinct, savory flavor of venison sourced from deer? Not to mention fried alligator — a Louisiana favorite — and even camel.
Adventurous diners will find those delicacies and much more at special game nights in February and beyond at the annual Hunter’s Harvest at the Munich Haus in Chicopee and at Springfield’s Student Prince and The Fort where they will be serving a Hunter’s Dinner.
“Wild game is an acquired taste, but everything is worth a try at least once,” said Jill Wilkins, bar manager, at the Munich Haus, who noted the unique event has been held for nearly two decades.
“We have been offering game nights for as long as 50 years and I think two things attract people to them. One is the variety, they are coming to the restaurant and getting something different that is not typically on the menu every day. For some it is the different flavor profiles and proteins that are cool. The other is that is has become a tradition passed down in families,” said Tim Saxer, executive chef at The Student Prince
Tickets are selling out fast for the wild game dinners at Student Prince and The Fort, where this Thursday’s dinner and that on Feb. 12 have sold out with only a few seats left for Feb. 19 and 26.
The Munich Haus Hunter’s Harvest will be held on Feb 21, March 21, and April 18 at 6 p.m.
“Our Hunter’s Harvest is so popular that each year we have added more dates after beginning with just two months. Now we hold them in November, January, February, March and April,” Wilkins said.
“We have four dinners every Thursday and we have been adding more over the years because of their popularity,” Saxer added.
Hunter’s Harvests are served buffet-style.
“We have a carving station with fresh meats carved right in front of you including bison, kangaroo, venison and elk, meats you don’t see very often,” Wilkins said.
There will also be turkey schnitzel, marinated squid, shrimp, roasted wild boar, game kabobs, game stew, game sausages, alligator sausages, venison sausages, fried alligator and rabbit stew — all served with an assortment of cheeses, salads, chips and dip, oven-roasted potatoes, red cabbage, sauerkraut and a dessert station.
The cost for the Hunter’s Harvest — which is held in the restaurant’s banquet hall separate from the dining room — is $70 with tickets available online at munichhaus.com. Diners can order from the bar and Wilkins said a variety of German-style dunkel lagers — dunkel means dark in German — go good with game.
At The Student Prince and Fort, they shut down normal dinner service in the dining room and serve a prix fixe menu for only those with tickets to the Hunter’s Dinner.
“We try our best to source a variety of different proteins every year. In past years we have offered mako shark and kangaroo, but we try our hardest to keep the menu fresh every year so diners have something different to come back to,” said Nathan Yee, hospitality director for the Bean Restaurant Group which operates The Student Prince and The Fort.
The six-course menu ending in dessert with a black forest brownie includes a sausage plate, venison and elk meatball, camel sloppy joes, crocodile and elk jager schnitzel. Drinks from the bar can be purchased separately during the nearly three-hour meal.
The cost for the Hunter’s Dinner is $89 and includes tax and gratuity. Tickets can be purchased online at studentprince.com, pending availability.
Additionally, The Student Prince has several Game Month specials on their daily menu including Nashville Hot Alligator Bites, Venison Sausage Plate, Spatchcock Cornish Game Hen, and Elk Roulade. And The Munich House is currently offering Fried Alligator as an appetizer on their regular menu.