It’s Greek to Me! – Cleveland, OH

Tremont is a very culturally diverse neighborhood located near downtown Cleveland. Tremont has become in recent years a very hip and upcoming area filled with art galleries, restaurants, bars and urban renewal living. It is located between University Road on the north and Quigley Road to the south and squeezed between W. 14th St. and W. 3rd St. (along the Cuyahoga River) and within sight of Cleveland’s skyline. Every Memorial Day weekend since 1970 the Annunciation Greek Orthodox

Church (W. 14th St. and Fairfield Ave) holds a four day church festival celebrating their Greek culture and heritage. My family has had a love affair with Greek food for many years, we never pass up an opportunity to eat it whenever we can. We have visited Greektown in downtown Detroit (love Pegasus!) and when on vacation search out Greek food all over the country. We had heard about the Tremont Greek Fest for many years but never had the opportunity to go to it, Memorial Day weekend has always been filled with family cookouts and local activities around Norwalk, but this year my daughter Sydney insisted we go to Tremont, and we are so happy we did. The festival is located on the church grounds of the Annunciation Church, both inside their social hall and in tents around the grounds. Inside the food is served in a chandeliered dining hall called the Taverna. All the food served during the festival is prepared by parishioners using family handed-down recipes. Cafeteria style serving inside makes it hard to decide just what to get as the offerings are abundant from Moussaka (layers of eggplant, potato and ground beef), Pastitsio (macaroni with ground beef and béchamel sauce), Soutzoukia (minced meat sausages), Fish Plaki, Chicken Oregano, Lamb Shank, Spanakopita (layers of phyllo, spinach, leeks and cheese) with sides of Manestra (orzo in tomato sauce), Greek Green Beans, Dolmathes (meat stuffed grape leaves), Tiropita (pastry with feta), Lemon roasted potatoes, French fries seasoned with Greek spices and rice. However Syd and I are all about the Gyro (yeee-row) not ji-ro!! And these were the best Gyro’s we have ever had. Tender slices of succulent and delicious lamb and beef served in a warm homemade pita and topped with onions, tomatoes and Tzatziki (cucumber and yogurt) sauce…YUM! Gyros, Loukoumathes (fried dough balls swimming in honey syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon and walnuts), French fries and Souvlaki Pita were served outside in a stand dedicated just to those items as they were being made fresh per customer’s order. It was pure Greek heaven! The lines for the outside food were very long, but the parishioners have been doing this for 47 years so the wait went very quickly and was well worth it! No Greek food adventure is complete without the pastries and Annunciation parish knows how to make them. Baklava (triangles and rolls), Galaktoboureko (custard filled phyllo with honey syrup), Kourambiethes (powdered sugar covered butter cookies – think Mexican Wedding Cakes), Melomakarona (cookies dipped in honey syrup and walnuts), Pasta Flora (blueberry, raspberry or apricot pastry cake), Paximadia (Greek biscotti), Tsoureki (sweet Grecian Bread – we took a loaf home for French toast the next day), Diples (fried funnel cake) and of course the best rice pudding, creamy and covered in ground cinnamon. The stalls outside were filled with Greek items, bangles, religious items, lights, lamps, jewelry and plenty of nazar’s which is an eye-shaped amulet believed to protect against the evil eye . A typical nazar is made of handmade glass featuring concentric circles or teardrop shapes in dark blue, white, light blue and black. I was intrigued when I saw the stand selling Greek Frappes and of course had to have one, a very strong Nescafe coffee drink with frothed evaporated milk served over ice. While it looked so good, it was definitely an eye opening experience and an acquired taste, I like strong coffee but this drink was like espresso on steroids! We enjoyed the parish children dance troupe as they danced on stage with a Parthenon backdrop to Greek folk music. We were also treated to a guided tour of this historic church which was built in 1921 to serve the growing Greek Orthodox population of Cleveland and is part of the Pittsburgh Greek Orthodox Diocese. The tour educated us on the Orthodox faith and was filled with symbolic icons, stained glass windows and candles to light in the Narthex. While in the Tremont neighborhood be sure to visit Lemko Hall (W. 11th St.) this historic hall served as a social gathering place for the one-time sizable concentration of immigrants from the Slavic region of Lemkovina who lived in Tremont. It is arguably most famous for being the site of the wedding reception in the 1978 film, The Deer Hunter. St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral (Starkweather Ave.) was also featured in The Deer Hunter, the cathedral was built in 1912, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A Christmas Story House (W. 11th St.) is the site of several exterior scenes in the 1983 holiday film, A Christmas Story, the house was home to protagonist Ralphie Parker and his family. It was purchased on eBay in 2004 and subsequently renovated to replicate the interior and exterior as seen in the film, and is now a museum. Lolita (Literary Road) is Iron Chef Winner, Michael Symon’s bistro and is one of a number of standout neighborhood eateries. Sokolowski’s University Inn (University Rd) is a 94 year old Cleveland landmark restaurant serving Polish and Eastern European comfort food overlooking the skyline and the Cuyahoga River.
Was it worth the trip to Tremont? Oh you bet it was as we not only went on Sunday but turned around on Monday and did it all over again with my sister-in-law’s! The Tremont Greek Fest has now become a new Memorial Day weekend tradition for the Reed’s and we can’t wait till next year to do it all over again. If you’ve never tried true Greek food, give it a try and order Saganaki first (flaming cheese) ….OPA!