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Lebanese Festival Aug. 26-28, Promises Food, Dance & Rides

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Beef and Chicken cooking for Schwarma Wraps

FOODIE ALERT ! The Lebanese Festival, one of Dayton’s most unknown and underrated festivals will take place August 26th through August 28th.  Every year,  our Food Adventures crew loves the various exotic tasty treats that this fest has to offer.  The Festival is located on State Route 741 at a church across the street from Meijer, not far from the Alex Bell intersection.  We are totally hooked from the fantastic aroma always fills the air to the incredible entertainment.   If you have not experienced the Lebanese Festival, you are missing out on one of the Miami Valley’s best parties.  With exotic food and fun to be had by all, the event is full of personality and culture.

Hungry Jax, The Big Ragu and Chef House have all the scoop on this festival for our Food Adventure followers!

Pistachio Cookies for sale

HERE’S THE SKINNY:
—Dayton’s Lebanese Festival will be held on Friday August 26th through Sunday, August 28th

++++ Festival Times:
++++ Friday, Aug 26: 6pm – 11pm
++++ Saturday, Aug 27: 11am – 11pm
++++ Sunday, Aug 28: 11am – 6pm 

— The street address for the festival is:
**** Saint Ignatius Maronite Catholic Church
**** 5915 N. Springboro Pike
**** Dayton, Ohio 45449

Traditional Dance Entertainment

— FREE Admission, FREE Parking

— Attractions include Food Booths, Carnival Rides, Live Traditional Dancing exhibitions, Craft booths, Culture Displays, Pastries

This festival is a great place to browse.  Park your cars in the grass parking area, and make your way towards the large white food tent.  Inside the tent, was a large, easy to read menu at the “food line.” The friendly fest workers will explain that almost all the food is homemade. Your Food Adventure is about to begin.

 

To help you through this unique menu, we now present our patented feature.. our list of MUST EATS !

MUST EATS:

— MOUNTAIN BREAD:  Made in a station with a flatbread machine. The sign says “Mountain Bread.”  With a name like that, you gotta give it  a shot.

Cooking Mountain Bread for the crowd

The Big Ragu loved this grilled flatbread topped with a nice garlic and sesame seed pesto like sauce and folded in half for easy eating.

— BEEF SCHWARMA:  The beef is sliced from a revolving spindle.  It is then stirred into sauteed tomatoes and onions.   It is topped with special cucumber like sauce and served in a thin flatbread which is wrapped like a burrito.  (Don’t like beef?  They have a chicken option as well).

— FRESH, HOMEMADE TABOULI SALAD: Tabouli is typically made with bulgur or couscous. It also includes tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion and garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. It is a fresh, healthy snack.

Tabouli Salad – freshly chopped

— KAFTA KABOBS:  Meat sticks, sometimes grilled and served on a skewer and seasoned to perfection.  This is a rare, hard to find specialty.

— FRESH HUMMUS: Smashed chick peas, made into a dip and served with pita chips.  Flavored with lemon juice, this simple treat is creamy and oh so good.

— SPINACH PIE: A delicately rolled bread with spinach, chives and cheese inside.  Bite into this unique appetizer, and you’ll be hooked.

— FALAFEL:  Tiny “hushpuppies” made with ground chick peas and cooked like a fritter.  Dip ’em in a ranch like sauce to get your kicks.

Lots of Kids rides and Adult rides too !

— THE DESSERT AREA:  Yes there is an entire area for delicate pastries and more. There were lots of baked goods that looked homemade. Most of them we had never seen before. Cookies called Mamool, Burma, Barazik and Ballourie. These traditional treats are great and many feature dates and pistachio as ingredients.

Honorable Mention: Stuffed Grape Leaves – little packages of flavor, that obviously take some time to make.

This festival is a full blown Food Adventure, with many more offerings to try.

Craft Booths, Clothes Booths and Jewelry Booths

CHECK OUT THE LIVE DANCING:
Make sure you sit at one of the tables in the entertainment area tent for a while.  Traditional music will play and some wonderful dancers will entertain the crowd. The performers wear elaborate costumes and sometimes hold fans and fabric which they used to dazzle the festival goers. No better way to enjoy a Food Adventure with authentic Lebanese food than with authentic music and dancing. Learn some great dance moves that you can use at a future date.

 

All in all, the Lebanese Festival is yet another unique eating experience in the Miami Valley. It was

Beef Kafta on the Grill

wonderful to see the cultural displays, listen to traditional music and enjoy some Lebanese food. Make sure you catch this festival.  It is one you do not want to miss !

Have you been to the Lebanese Festival? Please comment below and tell us your favorite things about the event.

Want more scoop on Dayton area restaurants and festivals?  Want a food blog with originality & personality? Then “Like ” Food Adventures on Facebook, by clicking HERE.

 

Baklava

BIG SLIDE

Hungry People

Grab a Schwarma !

Cookies

A look inside a Chicken Schwarma Wrap

Clothes for Sale

Unique Desserts

More Cookies

Humus among us

Veggie Plate

Look at that Beef Schwarma Meat Cooking

Everybody Dance Now …

Spinach Pie

Serving up Mountain Bread

Lebanese Beer !

Falafel

Lots of rides

Grape Leaves –

Ready for the stage

Inside the spinach pie

Pan of simmering meat

Flags, fans …

Bouncy ride

Festival tent

Veggie Plate

Culture for sale

Welcome to the Lebanese Festival of Dayton !

Who’d You Rather.. FRICKERS or ROOSTERS ?? **$20 Gift Certificates**

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Boneless Wings at Fricker’s

Want to win a $20 Gift Certificate for your own Food Adventure to Fricker’s or Rooster’s?  Today these perennial sports bar favorites go beak to beak, feather to feather, cluck to cluck.  Which one do you like better?

You can’t deny local wing kings Fricker’s and Rooster’s have been enjoying success in the Miami Valley for decades.  Rumor has it that the Fricker brothers had a falling out.  As a result, one of the brothers went off on his own and opened Rooster’s restaurant as a result.  The family feud was Dayton’s gain.

So Food Adventure fans – we want to hear from you..  which of these saucy sports dives is your favorite?   Whether you like boneless or bone-in, whether you like breaded or grilled chicken, comment below and let your voice be heard.  Why? Because 2 people will be picked at random to win a $20 gift certificate to Frickers and Roosters respectively!  Oh and we wanna see which place has a more loyal following…

 

The Food Adventures Crew sound off on their favorites:

Wings at Rooster’s

Hungry Jax’s Take:  Rooster’s has a bigger salad selection, which is important to me.  I also like the fact that they have more pizza offerings and more sub options.  My vote is for: ROOSTERS”

The Big Ragu’s Take: ” To me it is all about the traditional wings and the sauces.   In my opinion Fricker’s runs away with it on those categories alone.  They have better burgers and better boneless wings as well.  My vote goes to: FRICKERS”

We know that both spots have their strengths like WINGS , BONELESS WINGS, and a great venue to watch sporting events, but lets recap our take on the differences between these two:

 

The Burgers at Fricker’s are surprisingly good

FRICKER’S STRENGTHS:

— Fricker’s offers Ribs.  And guess what, they aren’t bad for a casual sports bar!

— Fricker’s special’s are superior.  They have 40 cent boneless wing specials on Monday nights and 40 cent traditional wings on Tuesdays.   Fricker’s offers a sirloin steak for only $5 on Wednesday nights and $5 chicken chunks on Thursdays.  Also kids eat free everyday.  Saving money is good.

— The Brew City Fries, onion straws and fried zucchini are 3 decent appetizers only found at Fricker’s

— Cheaper beer prices at Fricker’s.  They feature the $2.42 large domestic drafts.  Nothing like a cold one and big screen football.

— The burgers at Fricker’s are bigger.  Quite frankly we think they are better as well.

 

ROOSTER’S STRENGTHS:

Asian Chicken Salad at Rooster’s

— Rooster’s has “Dumpster Fries” which we think is the best appetizer found on either menu.  Try them for a taste of awesome indulgence.

— Rooster’s has a better selection of Sandwiches.  More choices, more options, especially for those counting calories.

— The salad offerings at Rooster’s are more complete.  For those trying to eat healthy, you will have more options at Rooster’s.

— Rooster’s pizza’s are better.  Again, more options for toppings, etc.  If you haven’t eaten their pizza, you will be pleasantly surprised.

— Rooster’s gets the edge in soups.  Something you may not know is that both places have some incredible chili and pretty good New England Clam Chowder.  We have been eating those as a start to a Food Adventure for years.

 

Food Adventures with The Big Ragu and Crew gave their opinion -now it is YOUR TURN !  Who’d you rather get it on with: Frickers or Roosters?

COMMENT BELOW AND  SETTLE THIS BATTLE OF THE LOCAL WING SPOTS !!!

We will pick one winner from each restaurant for $20 Gift Certificates

Visit the often imitated, never duplicated Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking —> HERE !
We are not food critics, we are just foodies that love to eat !!

Browse our photo gallery below from our many Food Adventures to Rooster’s and Fricker’s !!

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Lebanese Festival: A Unique Food Adventure

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Chicken Schwarma, such a great sandwich wrap

Dayton’s Lebanese Festival was held on August 23rd through the 25th at the Saint Ignatius Maronite Catholic Church on 741 across from Meijer.  The festival featured authentic Lebanese food, carnival rides, traditional dancers, various craft vendors and adult gaming.  Your favorite Dayton foodies, the Food Adventure Crew, set out to try the various tasty treats that this unique fest had to offer.  We parked our cars in the grass of the festival grounds and made our way towards the large white food tent.  A fantastic aroma filled the air as we approached.   Inside the tent, was a large, easy to read menu at the “food line.”   The man at the carving station explained that almost everything is homemade at this festival.  Our Food Adventure was about to begin.

Fresh, Homemade Tabouli Salad

The menu showed the various dinners and sandwiches.   We recognized some of our favorites like Chicken Schwarma & Beef Schwarma.  These Lebanese sandwiches are a little like a gyro or soft taco and are filled with lettuce, meat and a garlic cream sauce.  Also on the menu were some familiar items like spinach pie, hummus and stuffed grape leaves.  The makeshift eatery even offered tabouli salad.  Tabouli is  typically made with bulgur or couscous.  It also includes tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion and garlic,  olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  It is a fresh, healthy snack and one of our favorites.   We noticed another favorite,  falafel which are tiny “hushpuppies” made with ground chick peas.  This was a full blown Food Adventure, so we had to try it all.  We also sampled skewers of grilled beef called kafta kabobs. 

Beautiful Dancers Entertaining the Crowd

We sat at one of the tables in the tent and began eating.  Traditional music played and some wonderful dancers entertained the crowd.  The performers wore wonderful costumes and sometimes held fans and fabric which they used to dazzle the festival goers.  No better way to enjoy a Food Adventure with authentic Lebanese food than with authentic music and dancing.  The Big Ragu learned some great dance moves that they intend to use at a future date.

After one of the dance performances ended, we walked over to a station where they were making flatbread with a machine.  The sign said “Mountain Bread,” so we tried it.  The Big Ragu loved this grilled flatbread topped with a nice garlic and sesame seed  pesto like sauce and folded in half for easy eating.

Finally, The Big Ragu went for the dessert area.  There were lots of baked goods that looked homemade.  Most of them we had never seen before.  Cookies called Mamool, Burma, Barazik and Ballourie.  These traditional treats were great and featured varied items like dates and pistachio as ingredients.

The carving station at the Lebanese Festival

All in all, the Lebanese Festival is yet another unique eating experience in the Miami Valley.  It was wonderful to see the cultural displays, listen to traditional music and enjoy some Lebanese food.  Make sure you catch this festival next year in August, 2013.  It is one you do not want to miss !

Have you been to the Lebanese Festival?  Please comment below on you experience.

The Big Ragu wants you to “like” Food Adventures on FACEBOOK by clicking HERE !

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