JS and I spent this past Saturday and Sunday enjoying the foods and views of a couple of church communities in the city of Allentown.
Saturday:
The pork and kraut supper offered at St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church was excellent, including all those lovely home made desserts! An extra special treat for me was seeing the beautiful pysanky created by hands much more talented than mine. I forgot to take my camera, so had to take some photos of the inside of the church with my phone. What a lovely community of people, fabulous food, and beautiful iconic artwork. If you want to know more about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, click here, and please enjoy the photos. Sunday photos follow Saturday photos.
Sunday:
On Sunday we journeyed to the very same neighborhood in Allentown to visit St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church. If you read my blog about restaurant Damascus, you know we love Middle Eastern food. The annual bazaar held by St. George's parish offered fantastic fare. We indulged in malfoof (cabbage rolls), tabouli salad, shawarma, and stuffed grape leaves, went to look at the church, camera in hand, and left with a box full of lovely desserts and some lunch for JD, who stayed home to nurse a respiratory condition. If you'd like to read about St. George Orthodox Church, click here, and do enjoy the photos! (I really do wish I could give you some of that wonderful food here to taste, you'll just have to visit these welcoming folks next year!)
So.....can you tell which church is which by looking at their different interiors?
We like food. We like GOOD food. We feel very fortunate to have discovered in Allentown, PA, a Syrian presence along with ethnic Syrian restaurants rife with absolutely out of this world offerings for the most discerning palate. Take a look at the Damascus Restaurant web site for a sample of what is available, here. If you've never eaten Middle Eastern food, this restaurant is the place to start, it's ALL good! I've taken the liberty of snapping some shots of our latest dining experience at Damascus, and I hope if/when you are ever in the area, you are able to stop in to enjoy same.
Babaghannouj
Smoked eggplant dip blended with lemon juice, garlic & sesame paste. (rear plate)
Labnie
Yogurt spread. This is home made yogurt, best I've ever tasted. (plate in foreground) I meant to get a shot of the appetizers before we started, forgot, and almost missed even getting these!!!! It is THAT good!!!
Lovely olives
Stuffed grape leaves
Tabouli
Chopped parsley, onions and tomatoes mixed with bulgar wheat, oil, lemon juice and spices
Lovely fresh garden salad with each entre
Know why this is their slogan? Because it's true!
Lamb Supreme
Cubes of lamb, mushrooms, green peppers, onions cooked with our special spices.
Moussaka
Spears of eggplant topped with chick peas and onions, baked in tomato sauce.
Kafta Kabob
2 skewers of ground beef mixed with parsley & onions and topped with fresh tomatoes and tahini sauce.
Falafel
Ground chick peas, combined with fresh damascus spices, deep fried & topped with tahini sauce, tomatoes, parsley and lettuce.
