We have officially entered my favorite time of the year...Festival Season!!!!! There is nothing better to me i9n terms of food and value then an ethnic or church festival. I will blog about many throughout the summer...but here the first one which is always a great kick off for the Summer.
Greek Fest in Tremont is always one of my favorite ethnic church food festivals. First the food is authentic, delicious, and fresh. Second, the food is cheap! There are two different eating styles for the festival, outside and inside. The outside tent has Greek "fast food": Gyro's, Greek fries, Souvlaki on a stick, calamari. The prices are good and according to one dining companion "that was the best Gyro I have ever had". I chose the indoor dining where you can get a full meal. Myself and another dining companion both went with the Greek meatball dinner. The cost of the dinner was $8 and included a salad, bread, 3 large Greek meatballs, and 2 sides. The choice of sides included rice, lemon garlic potato wedges, orzo pasta, or green beans. I went with the potato wedges which were in a buttery lemon garlic sauce and the orzo pasta with onions. Yes I know...carb overload...but it was so tasty and delicious. The Greek meatballs were amazing. Greek meatballs are different from other meatballs. They are made with beef, bread crumbs, eggs, onions, and Greek spices and are shaped like fat short cigars. The tomato sauce was light and filled with more Greek spices of oregano and garlic. Instead of getting the regular salad with Greek dressing, I chose to pay the $3 for the feta and olive salad. I mean it was feta cheese and olives...well worth the $3 and it could have been split it was so big.
On top of the great food...the drinks were good and cheap. You could get a domestic draft for $2 or a bottled Greek Beer for $4. Greek wines were $5 each for a large glass.
If you are still hungry...there is a multitude of homemade deserts and pastry. These pastry's are light, buttery, and filled with nuts and honey. Any Greek desert cookie you ever had before you can buy here.
So first festival is down...there are many more to come in the future include the following favorites:
June 16th- Slavic Fest in Youngstown (This will be there second year and my first, but I cannot wait to try the homemade Slavic food)
July 11-15- Our Lady of Mount Carmel West. Here you can have the best Italian Meatballs and cavatelli.
And recently...I just learned of a Russian Festival in Parma. Stay tuned and feel free to suggest your favorites to me!
PS...A special shout out to one of the best high school graduation meals I ever had...My cousin Sarah graduated this weekend and had her graduation party at The Embassy in Youngstown. Most graduations have a form of pasta, chicken, roast beef, potatoes, and sausage...not my cousin. She had a feast of Mediterranean foods including hummus, shredded Italian beef, antipasto with olives, excellent caprese salad, sandwiches, and picked baby eggplant stuffed with tabouli (I think). Unique choices for a truly unique and beautiful graduate.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Not so cheap but excellent meal
Last week a couple friends from Youngstown came up and we saw a great movie at Capital Theater and then went to dinner. We decided to go to Ohio. One of my friends suggested the Flying Fig. I am so glad she did...I forgot how amazing the food was at this little Ohio City location. This was not a typical $10 per person meal like many of my suggestions, however, if we were to look at quality and price it was definitely a frugal living meal.
The three of us decided to share our meals so we each ordered 2 appetizers and a salad. Each item was $6-9 each. There were three salads on the menu and we ordered one of each. Each was slightly different, light and fresh. One was an arugala salad with fresh herbs and a lemon, garlic and Olive oil dressing. Another had beautiful young kale and the third had tiny fresh asparagus.
The six small plates we orders were also amazing, well prepared, fresh, and the perfect size. All three of us enjoyed the burratta cheese with a lovely olive tapenade. It was soft and creamy and full of flavor. The waiter had to bring us more crostini as we did not want to waste a single morsel. My friend also ordered the mussels with a chorizo, tomato and saffron broth. Personally, I am not a mussel fan but the smell was amazing and my dinner companions both loved it. The mushroom tacos were not at all what we expected. They were small, almost dollar coin size, tortilla rounds with a mushroom mixture on top that had a slight creaminess to it. Also on the sharing menu was the herbed ricotta gnocchi which my friend ordered specifically because it was served with ramps. The fifth item was the tempura battered green beans. This may have been the best tempura green beans I have ever tried. The batter was so light that it was more green then tempura. The green beans were so fresh and still slightly crisp. There was no grease. The batter was flavorful as were the two sauces served with it. The last dish was the flat bread pizza. It was light and crispy as a flat bread should be. it was topped very simply with mushroom, thin slices of red chilies goat cheese and arugula.
It was such a lovely meal. Not only was the food delectable but the company was great. The atmosphere just lends itself to a long Sunday dinner with friends.
The three of us decided to share our meals so we each ordered 2 appetizers and a salad. Each item was $6-9 each. There were three salads on the menu and we ordered one of each. Each was slightly different, light and fresh. One was an arugala salad with fresh herbs and a lemon, garlic and Olive oil dressing. Another had beautiful young kale and the third had tiny fresh asparagus.
The six small plates we orders were also amazing, well prepared, fresh, and the perfect size. All three of us enjoyed the burratta cheese with a lovely olive tapenade. It was soft and creamy and full of flavor. The waiter had to bring us more crostini as we did not want to waste a single morsel. My friend also ordered the mussels with a chorizo, tomato and saffron broth. Personally, I am not a mussel fan but the smell was amazing and my dinner companions both loved it. The mushroom tacos were not at all what we expected. They were small, almost dollar coin size, tortilla rounds with a mushroom mixture on top that had a slight creaminess to it. Also on the sharing menu was the herbed ricotta gnocchi which my friend ordered specifically because it was served with ramps. The fifth item was the tempura battered green beans. This may have been the best tempura green beans I have ever tried. The batter was so light that it was more green then tempura. The green beans were so fresh and still slightly crisp. There was no grease. The batter was flavorful as were the two sauces served with it. The last dish was the flat bread pizza. It was light and crispy as a flat bread should be. it was topped very simply with mushroom, thin slices of red chilies goat cheese and arugula.
It was such a lovely meal. Not only was the food delectable but the company was great. The atmosphere just lends itself to a long Sunday dinner with friends.
Cheap Cuban Food!
The other day I finally had a chance to stop at a little place on Madison Rd in Lakewood, Barroco Grill. The inside is small and festive with handwritten graffiti on the walls. The menu is traditional with a twist. While they serve Arepas and Cuban sandwiches, they also have hot dogs and hamburgers. Most of the items are under $9 each, but they do have some items under the Gourmet section that are $11-17. While the more expensive items sound amazing...I am sticking with the cheap items for the blog.
My experience was the Cuban sandwich for $9. It was a great sandwich and a perfect balance of bread and filling. For me the sandwich was big enough to have half for lunch and half for dinner. Although I am sure others could eat the entire thing in one sitting. The traditional Cuban has sliced pork, ham, mozzarella cheese, garlic sauce, lettuce, tomato and I also had a side of the green sauce to dip it in. This sandwich did not come with fries, but it did not need them.
They also serve arepas, they looked and smelled amazing! All of the arepas are serves with fries and wasabi coleslaw. There are 6 different ones, including a vegetarian option. The most traditional arepa has your choice of chicken, steak, pork or chorizo with onion, peppers, and mushrooms. In addition to the six various options, you can also get a burger on an arepa. There are also around $9 each.
Another great deal on the menu is the Cheesy Corn! The Cheesy Corn is corn gratin with chicken, bacon, mozzarella and arepa fries. It just sounds amazing, although I have not yet tried it. Maybe on my next trip out there.
If you want to eat there, it is a great fun atmosphere and the day I stopped by had a lot of families. I would recommend this for any weekend when you are looking for a yummy quick lunch!
My experience was the Cuban sandwich for $9. It was a great sandwich and a perfect balance of bread and filling. For me the sandwich was big enough to have half for lunch and half for dinner. Although I am sure others could eat the entire thing in one sitting. The traditional Cuban has sliced pork, ham, mozzarella cheese, garlic sauce, lettuce, tomato and I also had a side of the green sauce to dip it in. This sandwich did not come with fries, but it did not need them.
They also serve arepas, they looked and smelled amazing! All of the arepas are serves with fries and wasabi coleslaw. There are 6 different ones, including a vegetarian option. The most traditional arepa has your choice of chicken, steak, pork or chorizo with onion, peppers, and mushrooms. In addition to the six various options, you can also get a burger on an arepa. There are also around $9 each.
Another great deal on the menu is the Cheesy Corn! The Cheesy Corn is corn gratin with chicken, bacon, mozzarella and arepa fries. It just sounds amazing, although I have not yet tried it. Maybe on my next trip out there.
If you want to eat there, it is a great fun atmosphere and the day I stopped by had a lot of families. I would recommend this for any weekend when you are looking for a yummy quick lunch!
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