Hard-to-pronounce, savory food brings in the crowds at Greek Fest

By Janine Anderson

Sunday, July 1, 2007 2:32 AM CDT

Journal Times

MOUNT PLEASANT -

Ask just about anyone why you should bother going to Greek Fest, and the answer's the same: the food.

Like most ethnic festivals, it's a chance for fans to get heaping helpings of whatever they crave - be it grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice or a honey-laden ball of fried dough. If you're on the fence about making the drive to Kimissis Greek Orthodox Church, 1335 S. Green Bay Road, here are five culinary reasons not to stay home.

The rotisserie chicken and lamb

Brothers Stathi and Lee Gianou man the chicken rotisseries, one of the most recognizable symbols of Greek Fest cuisine. The spits of skewered chickens turn for hours, roasting over hot coals, until fully cooked and ready for inclusion in the festival's traditional dinners.

The brothers marinade the chicken in a special blend of spices before slowly cooking them to a fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

On Friday, they ran out of chicken, Stathi Gianou said, and they have been sure to prepare more meat since then.

The lamb is cooked in a similar way, Stathi Gianou said.

The souvlaki

Dean Kokkinakis is one of the masterminds behind the popular shish kebab pork tenderloin served at the festival. The meat is marinated overnight in lemon, oil, salt, pepper, oregano and garlic before it is cooked over hardwood coals. The hardwood is key to getting tender, tasty meat, Kokkinakis said, as it burns cleanly, without leaving the black film that charcoal can.

Once cooked, they load the meat into a pita bread, serve it with tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce made from cucumbers and yogurt.

Each year they sell between 2,500 and 3,000 of the traditional food, Kokkinakis said.

The pastries

Inside the church where the festivities are taking place, a group of women presides over the pastry tables, where custards, cookies, cakes and dough-based treats vie for post-meal attention.

Barbara Loukidis has been in charge of the pastries for years. All are handmade, she said, and many recipes rely on filo dough and a sticky-sweet syrup of honey and sugar.

Galaktoboureko, a custard-based dessert, is always a favorite, she said, and the baklava is their biggest seller.

It takes about two weeks to prepare the pastries, she said.

The coffee

After a meal and dessert, settling down with a cup of Greek coffee is a special treat. It's not sent through a press or machine of any sort, said Mike Koutelakis, who manned the booth with his wife Patricia on Saturday afternoon.

Instead, the coffee makers add finely ground coffee beans and sugar to water in a "briki," a small pot with a spout. They heat the water, sugar and coffee grounds over an open flame until a frothy foam layer develops. The coffee is then poured out into a small cup, with milk added to taste.

The coffee is strongly flavored, but some devotees claim it is easier to drink than American-style coffee.

If you're in the mood for something cooler, try a frappe, Greek Fest's version of iced coffee. They froth the coffee until it's foamy, pour it over ice cubes and add cream, sugar and water.

For those who don't care for coffee - or who can't have the caffeine - they have a new drink available this year. The "vicinada" is a sort of soda without the fizz, made by mixing sour cherry syrup with water and pouring it over ice. In Greece, they don't drink carbonated beverages, Patricia explained, and this is a refreshing summer drink.

The cooking demonstrations

If you're ready to try tackling the Greek recipes at home, a cookbook (now in its third printing) is available. The book includes recipes for the items on sale at Greek Fest, with detailed directions and illustrations to help out those who might not know their filo from their flan.

For inspiration, catch the cooking demonstration at 3:45 p.m., when Vivian Merlot will show how to make floyers and tiropita. Floyers is a nut-filling wrapped in filo dough. Tiropita is a cheese-filled triangle of filo dough. The daily demonstrations are always popular, she said, with a balance of one sweet and one savory demonstration each time.

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