Annapolis Greek Festival is NOW
May 30th, 2008 by Alex
The Annapolis Greek Festival 2008 is going on this weekend, Saturday 11am-11pm and Sunday 12pm-7pm. Those hours aren’t listed on the web site, but I happened to stop by this evening to grab a bite to eat and check things out. The festival has been hosted by Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church forever, even when they used to be located near the Annapolis capital circle. Now they’re located at 2747 Riva Road in Annapolis, MD. If you’ve never been or have been hankering to try out different kinds of Greek fare, you should definitely check it out. There’s dancing, craft and jewelry vendors, moon bounce for the kids, tours of the church. If nothing else interests you, the food is amazing.
I had to have a gyro ($7). Whether stereotypical Americanized fare or not, it’s my favorite (though I did give serious consideration to the loukaniko and the chicken souvlaki). Pronounced yur-rho, the gyro is spiced lamb and beef sliced thick and laid to rest on pita bread with cukes, tomatoes, onions, parsley, and tsatziki sauce. I didn’t get a lot of onions out of mine, but it was damned tasty all the same. The pita was particularly soft, a trick since they’re thrown over the grill for a few minutes. Right up there with Chris’ Charcoal Pit, but a little smaller.
I didn’t bother trying the dolmades — either the meat ($1) or vegetarian (3/$1) — because they looked small and I seriously doubt that they could compare to the ones my grandparents make. The woman sitting across the table from me agreed, saying she preferred her own Armenian-style recipe.
As I was finishing and getting ready to go, one of the mamas came around with a desert tray. I couldn’t pass up a piece of galaktobouriko ($3), which is buttered filo dough filled with custard. The whole thing gets baked then a generous drizzling of honey on top. Delicious!
So go ahead and pretend that you’re Greek for a day, I won’t tell. Indulge in that extra slice of baklava ($2) or that extra shot of ouzo ($4). You might just enjoy yourself. Opa!
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The Rochester Greek Festival is also going on right now too. Mandy and I have been to it a couple years in a row, trying all sorts of different foods. Unfortunately the food is all not that great, I love Greek food, and wish that ours had tasty food like yours does. Alas it does not, so it just remains as one of the many festivals that we notice but do not attend anymore.
Jordan: Looks like yours is held at a church as well. I wonder why the food isn’t that good. Was it not staffed by members of the congregation?