Yesterday was the last day of the Greek Food Festival at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. The parking was crazy. But it was a nice day and I could afford a stroll, so I didn’t think much of it. The church grounds were packed with hundreds of people. By the afternoon, it was tough to navigate from one end of the festival to the other without muttering “signomi” a few times.
As little tiny children danced on stage to the Greek band To Kefi (who were fantastic), I waded through my fellow festees to get to all of the good stuff scattered everywhere. Pastries, pasta, lamb, platters, Greek coffee, and shiskabobs coursed through the grounds. Although there were a couple lengthy lines to wait in, I was able to snag a couple bites of Grecian cuisine with enough time to sit and enjoy it.
Here are a few Greek eats I ate.
(I wish I wasn’t so terrible at pronouncing all of these names.)
1. The spanakopita with spinach, dill, and feta cheese wrapped in phyllo bread and baked. It was greasy, flaky, creamy, crunchy, and tasty.
2. The gyro sandwich had spiced lamb and beef, served in a pita, topped with onions, tomatoes and tzatziki, which is a yogurt and cucumber sauce. It was a hefty beast. I wish the tzatziki had been more evenly distributed because it was the best part. But that didn’t stop me from eating the whole dang thing.
3. I had some dessert, too. It was a baklava sundae. Good gravy, was it good! The baklava was warm and gooey with honey on it. Toward the end, the ice cream became a nice vanilla soup in which to soak the last of the pastry. It was a tummy-patter for sure.
The pastitsio, a casserole layered with meat sauce, and the Greek potato fries were also a big hit with the kids.
After Oktoberfest last weekend, the Greek Food Festival was a nice change up in festival fare. All in all, everyone seemed a bit jollier, a little more familial, and just slightly louder. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Whether you’re saying prost or oppa, it’s all food to me.
Jake Austin Medina is a D Magazine intern and a journalism major at the University of North Texas.
