Pastitsio is a delicious traditional Greek baked pasta dish
How do you get great, homemade ethnic cuisine without traveling abroad? Attend one of the Sarasota and Her Islands' three ethnic food festivals, held each February, and you'll feel as if you've traveled far from Florida, to a New York deli or street fair. Or even to a Greek marketplace.
Opa!
Over 25 years ago, the Greek Glendi Festival started as a way for parishioners to raise money to build St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church.
"Also, to share with the community the Greek culture and religion," said past festival co-chairman, Bill Kamberis. Since then, the four-day festival, "has gotten bigger and better," Kamberis said.
You can sample Greek wine and beer and authentic Greek delicacies, such as moussaka - eggplant baked with seasoned ground beef and topped with a cream sauce - and pastitsio, which Kamberis calls "Greek lasagna."
From classic appetizers such as salads, stuffed grape leaves and spinach and feta cheese wrapped in flaky pastry, to full dinners including lamb shanks and rice or "Grecian-style" chicken baked with lemon, butter and oregano, the Greek offerings abound.
For dessert, sip a small cup of strong Greek coffee and peruse the selection of sweets, including loukoumathes, deep-fried honey balls sprinkled with cinnamon, or floyeres, layers of buttery pastry, ground walnuts and honey, sprinkled with chocolate.
"We take out the calories," Kamberis chuckles.
After dinner, you can hit the dance floor with the church's Greek folk dancers, and then browse "Yia Yia's Attic," a flea market-type booth. Also, more than 20 vendors sell artwork and jewelry.
The cooks, mostly church volunteers, as well as a few professional Greek chefs and restaurateurs, begin preparing the food in early January for the February festival.
In 2008, nearly 12,000 people attended. Parking is free and admission is only $3 to enter. Children under 12 get in free.
To Life!
While only a day long, the Jewish Center of Venice Food Festival attracted some 2,000 people in 2006.
"It's really caught on," said past event co-chairman Allen Shapiro. "It's gotten bigger every year."
The event is not just a fundraiser for the center, Shapiro said. It's also a way for the Jewish community to share its culture with the greater Sarasota area.
Among the food offerings are potato-filled knishes, cheese blintzes, potato pancakes, chopped liver, stuffed cabbage and kugel, a noodle pudding made with eggs and butter. Breakfast items include bagels and lox (smoked salmon), and for lunch, there are corned beef and pastrami sandwiches.
The festival features all kinds of baked goods, such as apple strudel and rugelach - a pastry with cherry, strawberry or chocolate filling. Harriet Davidson, a center member whom Shapiro described as the "Julia Child of the JCV," leads the cooking effort.
Volunteers handle all the baking and food preparation, and they staff the festival's popular take-out station. The festival is usually held the Sunday before President's Day.
Admission and parking are free.
Mamma Mia!
The Italian Feast and Carnival, sponsored by the Italian-American Club of Venice, is a different kind of festival. The event began 20 years ago as a way to bring to Florida the Italian street fairs that are common in New York and other parts of the Northeast - where many of the club's members are from.
The feast, held at the Venice Airport, isn't only an Italian heritage festival. The event's organizers have combined it with a carnival atmosphere, complete with more than 40 rides, funnel cakes, corn dogs and lemonade, to appeal to everyone.
Over the festival's four days, live bands and Italian singers, as well as Tarantella (Italian folk) dancers, entertain visitors.
The feast's Italian dishes include spaghetti, ravioli, sausage and peppers, meatballs, stromboli - described as an Italian "sandwich" - and the traditional Italian soup, pasta fagioli. There's also pizza, calzone, fried calamari, salad and baked eggplant. For dessert, choose from biscotti, cannoli - a pastry with a sweet cheese filling, or pizza fritta, a fried dough-type delicacy. Don't forget to wash it all down with an espresso, or two.
Typically held the last weekend in February, there's no admission fee for the festival, and the money raised from the $3 parking fee supports Venice High School's band.
If you go:
Greek Glendi Festival: 941-355-2616; www.stbarbara-church.org/glendi.html
Jewish Community Center of Venice Food Festival: 941-484-2022; www.jcvenice.org
The Italian Feast and Carnival: 941-493-6344; www.italianamericanclubofvenice.com
