Event - Irvine Greek Fest

It's not too late! You can still hit up the 34th Annual Greek Fest going on this weekend until Sunday night at 9pm (June 24). This "Taste of Greece" festival is being held at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, and you can read more information about the event here. I had the pleasure of going there last night for a media tasting hosted by the lovely Mona (thanks for the invite!). We got to try an assortment of their food available during their dinner service and enjoy the company of others (saw Austin, Suki, and AnneMarie there!).


So let's see, what delicious wares were brought out? Oh just about everything. We had the keftethes, giant Greek-style meatballs with mint smothered in a slightly tangy tomato sauce. They were so hefty and satisfying. Next was the pastitchio, a Greek-style "lasagna" with bechamel sauce. I'm guessing that it was easier just to call it a lasagna for the crowd eh? I think the burnt cheese parts were the best. Of course who can forget have dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves) at a Greek fest? They made me want to make my version again which are a bit more petite and (excuse me) flavorful - theirs had beef and avgolemono sauce (lemon & egg). You can't forget the "pies" as they are called to the common public. There were the tyropites (cheese pie) and spanakopita (spinach pie). I remember loving these when I was at school and had them at a small eatery on campus. I'd say that these were one of my favorites from the meal because hey, who can deny cheese stacked in flaky dough?


That was just the first round! Mona really took care of us and had us try just about everything on the menu. We were then pampered with grilled lamb chops that were deliciously tender and flavorful, pork souvlaki (kabob) that was substantial but a tad dry, and Greek style french fries which had some kind of sweet spice to offset the fried goodness. I liked those a lot.


Dinner service left us then with some Greek pastries from inside the church itself were a bunch were being sold. I'm not sure what it was but it was rather sweet. Then again, aren't all Greek desserts? I feel like they're always soaked in honey, haha. Anyhow, I had a fantastic time and think that y'all should just go check out the fest yourselves! There was a live band playing with plenty of people dancing, a whole building full of pastries, food food food, and unique vendors selling things from honey to jewelry to clothing. For only $3, why not?

Photography by Minerva Thai. More pictures available on Facebook.