There are a lot of events going on this weekend in Saint Louis, you have the African Arts Festival out in Forest Park that I visited yesterday, Comic Con is downtown, The Greek Fest going on out in Des Peres, and don't forget The Gypsy Caravan tomorrow in Saint Charles.
I wasn't even aware of the Greek Fest until a friend told me about it yesterday. So this evening I decided to check it out. I decided to bring my camera again and hope to take some great pictures, but what happens within 5 minutes of being at my destination? Rain, good ole rain starts pouring down. I park my car in one of the designated parking lots and wait for a shuttle to come through to pick me up and take me to the church where the event is being held.
Upon disembarking the shuttle van, I make my way to a tent where they have jewelry and paintings. This was the only tent where they were selling goods. I eventually ended up buying a belly dancing belt and an All-Seeing Eye bracelet.
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| Belly dancing belts |
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| The All-Seeing Eye -- a single human eye surrounded by radiating beams of light -- is found in many eras and cultures. It is generally a symbol of the watchful and protective power of the Supreme Being, especially when that entity is considered in a solar or heavenly context. |
After leaving this tent, I went to check out the dancers and music that was in another tent. Everyone was having a great time and the atmosphere was just charged with singing and dancing.
I don't know why the video is sideways but I don't see a way to rotate the video via Youtube so either tilt your head or your screen.
After enjoying a few minutes of the entertainment I made my way to stand in line to check out the food. I will tell you I was NOT disappointed!! I was in line waiting to get inside of the church where the food was being sold. I first saw a room that held nothing but the desserts. I made a note to come back through to make a purchase.
Eventually after a 15 minute wait I was in the cafeteria of the church and saw the main food options.
So I decided on the Half Chicken and Gyro, but I ate the Gyro in the cafeteria with plans on taking the Half Chicken home for my parents to try out. Let me just say the gyro was FANTASTIC! It was seasoned to perfection I just wished there had been some feta cheese as an option to add. They had other toppings but I wasn't interested in them.
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| My plain gyro, bu it was damn good |
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| Half-baked chicken |
After I enjoyed my Gyro I went back in line and decided to also buy a Lamb Shank and a Greek Salad for the parental units as well.
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| Greek Salad |
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| Lamb Shank |
I made sure to make my way back by the desserts and picked up a few items. I noticed that walnuts were the central ingredient in majority of the desserts on display.
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| Baklava- It is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. |
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| Loukoumades - pastries made of deep fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey with cinnamon and sometimes sprinkled with sesame. |
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| Theples - The dough is rolled into long, thin strips, fried and folded in hot oil and then dipped in syrup. Traditionally, warm honey is used in place of syrup, and then they are sprinkled with chopped nuts and cinnamon. |
Overall I had a great time. My mom tried some of the food and she thought they were both great dishes. She really enjoyed the Lamb Shank and the buttered rice that came along with it. If you haven't been to the Greekfest I highly recommend checking them out tomorrow.
More pics that I took via my smartphone.
Saint Louis Greekfest 2015
