Greek Food Fair

There's a Greek Orthodox Church in our neighborhood in Des Moines, and they host a Greek Food Fair during the first weekend in June every year. My friend, Mary, from my knitting club told me about it last year, but we weren't able to make it. This year, we decided to check it out. We had to get to an ATM first, so we drove. That ended up being a poor decision, as parking wasn't readily available, so next year we'll certainly just walk the mile to the fair.

They had large tents set up, most with tables, so people could eat in the shade. Greek music played, and, apparently, there had been Greek dances before we arrived. We found a kids' tent, which had chalk set out.

The food tents were set up kind of like a farmer's market. One was a grill that sold kabobs, and we got a chicken kabob for the kids to split. Another tent sold Greek salads. They were being preprepared with lots of feta cheese (not my favorite...), and I didn't want to bother them to ask them to make one without. Another tent sold a variety of hot dishes, including a green bean dish and some pastries stuffed with cheeses and spinach. I chose an herbed potato that was fantastic. Ted's Coney Island (a local establishment) was there selling gyros in another tent. There was also a beverage tent that sold water, pop, Greek beer, Greek wine, and Greek coffee.

We bought a ticket punch card for $15. For our $15, we got the chicken kabob for the kids, herbed potatoes for me, a bottle of water, a piece of baklava, and two cookies. The kids actually really liked their kabob, although it took a little coaxing for them to try it. I really enjoyed both the potatoes and the baklava, and the kids devoured their cookies.

It was a really nice fair, a laid back event for a hot, almost-summer weekend. I think the only thing that would have made it better was a cool breeze or some more cloud cover. As you can see from the photo below, the kids got a little cranky near the end. They were hot and said they wanted to go home.