On September 26th, my mother was so kind as to invite me to accompany her to the 59th Annual Greek Food Festival of Dallas. Located at the intersection of Hillcrest and Alpha, this gathering in honor of Mediterranean cuisine captured the eyes before it got to the taste buds. The golden-brick pillars of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church stood only slightly above the numerous large-scale tents, keeping food vendors safe from the sun. The motifs of blue and white gave evidence of the pride of the people who share this nationality, celebrating their long line of history, literature, and culinary excellence. The burning incense inside the church contrasted sharply with the outdoor fumes being emitted by the smoking meat. The indoor area with people selling things such as jewelry, clothes, paintings, and other such merchandise was impressive, but my hungry stomach forced me to spend most of my time outside buying food. And that is exactly what I will cover in this article.
I was indeed tired when I showed up at the food fair, and so I immediately made my way to the elderly European man with a blue apron and a silver coffee pot. I submitted my two dollars worth of tickets to capture the caffeine buzz I was in need of. When I was handed a small cup of a drink that was more black than brown, I knew that it would be an instant awakener. More than that, however, was a roast of coffee I had never encountered. Although no coffee grows in Greece, Hellenistic coffee refers solely to a roasting style. I am not sure as to how it is done, but in the end the coffee comes out with remnants of crushed beans at the bottom. One sip of the bitter, earthy liquid was enough to restore my energy.
One could say the gyro is a staple food of the Mediterranean, and it would not necessarily be wrong. I have eaten the Middle Eastern take on the delicious pita sandwich, and now it was time for the Greek version. When I first unwrapped the foil of the arguably most popular entrée at the festival, I felt the sandy surface of the simmered bread. Biting into its solid and non-spongy texture, I tasted a myriad of foodstuffs with the essence of being natural and conjured up right on the spot. The tomato-onion vegetable coalition was so good I was almost tempted to become a vegetarian. That is, until I got to the lamb meat. I chewed this tender meat–coated in creamy tzatziki yogurt sauce–with ease, confused on how why this delicious carnage is overlooked by so many in the West. But needless to say, if you attend the festival next year and can only purchase one Greek concoction, go for the gyro.
After I finished eating my gyro at a table in the church courtyard, I walked through the crowd for the purpose of collecting the ultimate dessert prize: The baklava sundae. Baklava–a term that describes the mixing of chopped nuts and grains with honey–finds it roots when the Ottomans were experimenting with food. In the courtyard, I walked through a crowd with many “excuse me’s” to capture the u with food. Likewise, the Greeks adopted it and were so smart as to put it on top of vanilla ice cream. The creamy scoop I received was tattered with little black dots, verifying the authenticity of the vanilla. The sweetness became exponential when the crispy, pastry-derived topping shared a spot on the spoon with the ice cream. The tastes of a fragrant, milk desert meddled in my mouth with a much more refined version of oatmeal, causing me to feel gluttonous with every bite.
To cure the feeling of indulgence, I decided to conclude my eating. That is, with a more healthy adaptation of milk. I thought to myself of how shameful it would be to go to a Greek food event and not taste the wonders of feta cheese. Therefore, I went to the “Feta Bites” booth, and bought five or so balls of the cheese, all covered in a fried crust. The very hospitable woman working the stand offered me three selections of sauce, and I had no second thoughts when I picked the raspberry chipotle. My mother and I sat down inside the main tent, which covered a distance slightly short of a football field, and I gladly dipped the “feta bites” into the peppery sauce. The combination of sour cheese, the luscious fruitiness of the condiment, and the breaded outlier made for an interesting tasting experience. This cheesy snack once again proved the acetous and vinegary taste that is common to Greek cuisine.  And although it many not always be sweet, it is definitely a taste one can have fun with–one that leaves the eater confused about how to describe the palatableness in straightforward terms.
Just as Odysseus made a passion-filled journey through the treacherous waves of the Mediterranean sea, I walked my way from stand to stand, battling the cruel rays of the sun, with the goal of introducing my taste buds fully to the essence of Greek cuisine. The ancient hero’s Odyssey taught him much important wisdom concerning the issues of life, and likewise, I learned that Greek food is much more than your neighborhood Zoe’s Kitchen. Although you, the reader, may be stranded on an island for quite some time, persist with patience and next fall, drive to the Greek Food Festival of Dallas and begin your comestible adventure, just as I did recently.
