.jpg)
Saturday afternoon, thanks to the Bridgeville Community Day event blocking access to La Bella Bean and forcing us to go closer to Mt. Lebanon - well, wasn't that convenient? We opted to have lunch at a restaurant because we feared long lines at the Greek Food Festival (the whole needing food sooner rather than later because we're so hungry we're about to pass out or kill each other thing, so as little waiting as possible but no fast food!). After we ate our quesadillas at Mad Mex, we decided that we should head over to the church and check things out, maybe get some food for dinner.
When we arrived, it was around 1:30 pm, and the line was not too long, but there was a yellow cord to mark off entrance and exit lanes so I guess it can get really crowded! We got our food to go and later that evening, we re-heated it for dinner.
The one item we bought and did not re-heat for dinner: Dolmathes (lemon flavored grape leaves stuffed with a rice/herb mixture).
I got some Moussaka (layers of baked eggplant & seasoned ground beef topped with a cream sauce):


Of course I had to have some Spanakopita! There's no way I can be at a place serving Greek food and not have this amazing filo pastry filled with spinach, feta, and herb/egg mixture.

We also shared a Lamb Shank (lamb braised with Greek herbs in a tomato/wine sauce):Oh my gosh. This was so good. The lamb fell off the bone. It was moist. Tender. Flavorful. Huge. So good - and only $9. I've had braised lamb shanks in restaurants and those shanks have been as big (and as tasty) as this one but cost $30+. This alone was worth the trip. Look at that clean bone!
And of course we checked out the desserts! While we were there, we tasted samples of Koulourakia (a twisted butter cookie) and Paximathia (a buttery biscotti-like cookie) but we brought home other treats for dessert. A piece of Baklava (layers of buttery phyllo with walnuts, cinnamon, and honey syrup):
And a piece of Galatobouriko (filo pastry filled with custard and dusted with powdered sugar):
We shared both and enjoyed both. Very good.
Thanks to Megan for reminding us of this festival! I knew about it (we saw the signs when we were at the Galleria last weekend) but had forgotten about it and I am really, really happy we went because these were excellent dishes. On a quick side note, all the above food cost us just $25 and I think that's a great deal for how much tasty food we got. We were stuffed after dinner. I will definitely be looking for the next food festival at Holy Cross - and looking for the next Greek food festival in Pittsburgh!
I'm glad you got there and enjoyed it! I'm with your SP on the grape leaves; they're my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI am now done researching the next Greek Food Fest thanks to you, Greg, and Megan and her hubby! Need Greek food, like now!
ReplyDelete