In the May/June issue of The Roanoker, I wrote about the Lebanese Festival (and a recipe for potato salad, plus an online recipe for tabouli and shish ka bob), held at St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church this past weekend. I intended to attend the festival to experience more than just the food of the Lebanese culture, but I ended up with a full schedule of family activities instead.
But what’s great about the event is the available to-go menu…and you can bet I took advantage of that! On Friday, I faxed in an order of delicious-sounding Lebanese items and picked the dishes up later that afternoon. Based on the aromas filling my car, I knew dinner was going to be a winner.
It was so good, in fact, and I was so excited to dig in that I forgot to take any pictures. Oops! We feasted on lamb kabobs, grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat, spinach and feta roll-ups and baklava, among several other items. It’s too hard to pick a favorite; each one was great in its own way.
I got a chance to speak with Carol Abbott, a member of the church who helps host the festival, to find out how the rest of the weekend played out. From the food (the potato salad was a featured menu item on Friday) and silent auction to the dancers and music, she says the entire event was a huge success.
“We had a huge turn out (and we) are already looking forward to next year’s event; the planning begins now,” she says.
