BEST OF THE BEST

Seared ahi brioche from chef Chris Kajioka’s soon-to-open parnership, Bar Maze, is one of the dishes to be featured at the Best of Hawaii’s Best Kitchens, 7 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa.

Tickets to sample dishes from a dozen select restaurants are $60; VIP tickets $100 and $150. Go to universe.com (search for “Hawaii’s Best”).

OKTOBERFEST PARTIES BEGIN

So what if it’s still September, Oktoberfest is here. Celebrate on Saturday at Salt at Our Kakaako.

Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room is expanding outward, setting up a beer garden in the Salt “barn” and pouring 20 German and German-style beers. Butcher & Bird will serve up a beer bratwurst and cider-braised pork shank. Find more Oktoberfest specials — warm soft pretzels, for example — and offerings from The Boiling Crab, Hank’s Haute Dogs and Pitch Sports Bar.

Also: Music by the Zicke Zackes Trio and Spooky Couch, a stein-hoisting competition and prize giveaways.

Admission is free, with a beer stein going to the first 400 guests; pay as you go for food and drink. The festival runs from 5 to 11 p.m. Salt is at 691 Auahi St.

If you’d rather celebrate indoors, sitting down, try an some Oktoberfest restaurant event:

>> PAI Honolulu: A classic German meal is served family-style on Tuesday. Chef Kevin Lee’s menu includes warm potato and bierwurst salad, pork cutlets in a mushroom-bacon sauce and a whole wheat and rye version of spaetzle. Cost is $95 with wine and beer, or $65 without. Go to paihonolulu.com or call 744-2531.

>> 12th Ave Grill: Seasonal brews from Aloha Beer Co., Waikiki Brewing Co. and Paradise Ciders will be paired to a three-course dinner, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26. Main course is jagerschnitzel (pork cutlets) with tarragon spaetzle and geraucherte wurst (smoked sausage) with sauerkraut. Cost is $75. Call 732-9469.

>> Beachhouse at the Moana: A four-course beer-pairing menu by chef Colin Sato, Oct. 4, centers on an entree of porchetta with onion jam and braised red cabbage, served family-style and carved tableside. It will be paired with Big Island Brewhaus Oktoberfiesta Bier and the Ayinger Oktober Fest Marzen from Germany. Cost is $120 (15% kamaaina discount). Call 921-4600.

A NUTTY BIRTHDAY

Menehune Mac celebrates its 80th birthday with a party Saturday at its Kalihi factory, 707 Waiakamilo Road.

The company, launched in 1939 with just one candy — milk chocolate-covered macadamia nuts — now has more than 12 flavors, plus cookies and other snacks. The candies are still hand-dipped, though, and the nuts are 100% from Hawaii (the chocolate is made by Guittard Chocolate Co. in San Francisco).

A birthday bash runs from 10 a.m. to noon, including door prizes, games, chocolate dunking and cake.

Admission is free but RSVPs are suggested; call 841-3344 or email susan@menehunemac.com by Friday.

Craft items will be sold to benefit the Evan M. Naka­shige Foundation and its goal of increasing access to behavioral health services for young adults.

INVASIVE FOODS ON MENU

Invasive species are bad for the environment, but they can taste good, thus the Eat the Invasives dinner, a benefit Sept. 28 for the Waipa Foundation on Kauai.

Chefs will team up with hunters, fishermen and farmers to use invasive species — among them wild pig, apple snails, strawberry guava and Samoan crab — and other ingredients sourced from Kauai farms.

The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on the Waipa Foundation Grand Lawn in Hanalei. Cost is $80; $135 VIP admission, which includes a farm tour. Tickets: eventbrite.com (search for “Makana Waipa”). Call (808) 639-1815 or email waipaonline@gmail.com.

The Waipa Foundation is a nonprofit managing the 1,600-acre Waipa ahupuaa as a living learning center.

PICK UP NEW COOKING SKILLS

>> Kailua Public Library: Chef Dan Swift, workforce coordinator at Windward Community College, teaches how to make chocolate ganache, truffles and other candies, 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Free tasting. Call 266-9911.

>> Adventist Health Castle: Sheila Wrede, a holistic health coach, leads this month’s vegan cooking demonstration, 6 to 7:15 p.m. Sept. 26 in the Castle auditorium. Her dishes will include carrot-ginger soup, roasted veggies and a salad. Cost is $12, which includes samples and recipes. Reservations and payment are required at least a week in advance. Call 263-5050.

Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.