WastedTimes

[jkf]

Sometimes, people ask me why I have a Greek section in the forum... Well,
I try to tell them that I inherited this curse from my predecessors... LOL

Actually, it goes way beyond that. I have a great fondness of the Greek culture.
I've enjoyed touring the Mediterranean region and have visited Greece and many
of its islands. But lately, the thing that I enjoy the most is the food.

Here in the small state of RI, USA, we have several community groups that
honor the Greek culture, and I make sure to visit as many of their festive
events as I can, to indulge in the cuisine... LOL

Here are some some pic from one that I went to over the weekend...







If you live nearby me, you might be interested in visiting one sometimes.
www.greekfestivalri.com

[peiratns]

Now we only need to find a good Greek girl that can cook well for JK and he will be cooking souvlaki at the next Greek Festival ;)
Seriously now, the festival looks very nice and well organized. And the food... I'm drooling!!! Some Greek food cooked by Greek Americans in USA I found it to be more tasty than back home. Some of the recipes used are authentic and most probably were transferred from generation to generation just as time stood still at the time they left Greece and immigrated to USA. I have been to several food festivals organized by Greek Orthodox churches around USA, while there, and trust me I enjoyed been in all of them.

[jkf]

I used to have a Greek girl friend when I was in
college. Learned to understand quite a lot of Greek
so I can tell if her father was calling me an SOB...

I can eat souvlaki 24/7 and never get tired of it... LOL

[peiratns]

Too bad I'm not in USA anymore JK. We could organize a nice WastedTimes BBQ with lots of souvlaki. Have you ever tried Cypriot "sheftalia"? I don't think they serve that in Greek food festivals unless Cypriots are involved. If you meet a Cypriot in one one of those events ask where you can get sheftalia and try it! I ate good sheftalia at a Greek-Cypriot restaurant in Astoria in 2000 when there. The name was Zenon Taverna ,if I remember well, and the owner is from Larnaca. Let me do a little search and see what I can find for you...

peiratns

[peiratns]

The web is full of links...
Here you are:

Code:

http://www.zenontaverna.com/
http://www.wikipages.com/index.php/Zenon_Taverna
http://www.qgazette.com/common/dining_reviews/1099.html
http://gudstufnyc.blogspot.com/2006/04/dinner-at-zenon-taverna-42206.html.com/common/dining_reviews/1099.html

[jkf]

I haven't had the pleasure of tasting sheftalia.

I'll check our the menu carefully at the local
restaurants to see what other items they serve
besides the things that I normally order.

And next time I travel down to New York,
which has been about once every 3 or 4 years,
I will make it a point to visit the Zenon Taverna.

[peiratns]

And you won't regret it! Tell the owner you have Cypriot friends...

[aiolos]

jkf @ Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:39 am wrote:

I can eat souvlaki 24/7 and never get tired of it... LOL

Oh man, now I know why I liked you... :mrgreen:

[futureproof]

Yeah his greek girlfriend and her father make him Greek...I really enjoy talking you in Greek jkf even with the dictionary..
You cannot imagine what happened here after the match. People left their jobs to go and celebrate.
And you have to wait and see what will happen on Sunday after the match at about 8 o'clock your time.

[peiratns]

Only if I could be in Saitama now...
Spain won't stop us!

[jkf]

Wow... How time flies... It's been over a year since I went to the last Greek Festival
at the Church of Assumption in Pawtuckett, RI. This year, I completely forgot about it
so I had to wait for this one at the Church of Annunciation, in Cranston, RI.
(where do they come up with these long names...)


Pictures of their Chapel, Festival Souvenir Book, and their Dedication Plaque.




Dancers preparing...
It was a hot afternoon and these people were dying out in the sun...





Now for the goodies... Ooops... got caught with my mouth full of souvlaki and rice... :oops:




Not a good day for the lamb... proverbably sitting on a stick and rotating...




The sweet stuff ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... well, maybe these too...v :lol:




Now for the real dancing...





And the stuff you really don't need but want to take home...



Well, that was a nice little festival. I wished I could have gone back for more food... :lol:

[peiratns]

Nice photos JKF! Yes, time really goes fast.
I guess there were no sheftalia at the festival.
Do I see your face next to the menu? The food looks good!
How was the lamb? Makes me drool looking at it!
You seem to enjoyed it! You should try to dance next time!

peiratns

[hbgator]

Looks like you had a very enjoyable weekend. I enjoyed a few Greek celebration, myself down in Fl. The sponge diver were mostly Greek around the Tarpon Spring area and would have a celebration with the blessing of the waters.

[jkf]

Yep, that's me next to the menu, caught stuffing my face... lol

No sheftalia... The selections were rather limited compared to the
other church. I was expecting to eat some mousaka but I could not
find any there either so I settled for taking home the spinach pie...
I bought two to take home... I only had the empty containers by
the time I got home.

I hit the food line right before the dancing started... it wasn't too
long, I got what I wanted and sat down to watch the dancers. Then
after that session was over, I decided to go back for stuff to take
home, by then the line had grown halfway back towards the street
from the food tent to the entrance of the church. I was going to
take home some gyros and a plate of lamb but instead went to the
pastry shop and got some spanakopita since there was no waiting.

I have yet to see what a παπουτσάκι really looks like... :lol:

[mimi_44]

Looks similar to the Oktoberfest with all the German food, which we will be going to in a couple of weeks.

Great photos jkf... :wink: