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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 !

Food Adventures gets Shish-Faced + ** $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEAWAY**

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Click to Enlarge: The Mother of all Shish Wraps

You ain’t gonna believe this shish.  WANT A $20 GIFT CARD TO SHISH WRAPS??  THEN COMMENT BELOW ON THIS STORY.  A WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM !

When you think of Brown Street, you often think of people who are sh%# faced.   But alas, we aren’t talking about those people.  We are talking about people who are literally Shish Faced.  These people are stuffing wraps in their mouths and can’t get enough of the great flavor.  Want to get Shish Faced too?  Then head to 1200 Brown Street, the home of a locally owned eatery called Shish Wraps.   This family owned business has capitalized on the assembly line technique.  Think of it as a Mediterranean version of Chipotle, and better too !   What you can expect is affordable, savory food, with a Lebanese influence.

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— Opened 8 months ago by first generation Lebanese-American brothers Simon and Tony Abboud who are both University of Dayton Graduates and Centerville grads.

— The focus is a healthy, fresh, tasty twist on Lebanese and Mediterranean food.  Their motto is: “Live Long. Eat Healthy. Eat Shish.”

All meat is cooked over a rotisserie flame: You think you’re Hot Shish ?

— Menu items come from family recipes, a love of cooking, and results of experiments over the years.

— The main attraction are burrito like wraps featuring one of 3 meats: Chicken, Beef or Kafta (beef links blended with onions and spices)

— The meat is cooked over fire, on rotating kabob skewers for a char-grilled taste.  No buttery, oily soaked meat on a flat grilling surface means HEALTHIER for you !

— Vegetarian? No problem.  The falafel (fried chickpea fritters) and vegetable wraps are great meatless alternatives.

 

Big Ragu loves Shish Wraps, so this isn’t his first rodeo.   He told Chef House and Huongry Jax about it and now they are Shish heads too !   Now we’re gonna tell you some shish …

 

MUST EATS:

— CHIPS & HUMMUS :  The creamy, garlic goodness of this hummus is amazing.  This is seriously one of the most flavorful hummus plates in town, and it is homemade on site!

— SHISH FRIES:  The Big Ragu will go on record as saying these are the best fries he has ever eaten.  The fries are dusted with garlic, olive oil and a generous heap of feta cheese.

Kafta Bowl

Kafta Bowl – spicy beef links over hummus, lettuce, pickles and tomatoes. MUST EAT !

— SHISH BOWL: You can choose chicken, or falafel but Jax says GET THE KAFTA BOWL !  Kafta is ground beef mixed with parsley and spices and it is some good shish.  Served with hummus, Mediterranean pickles, tomatoes and lettuce, this is a healthy dish that tastes damn good.  Be warned, you will be craving future visits for this stuff.

— SHISH WRAP:    We love these.  The menu says build your own, but may Big Ragu suggest the Chicken Shish Wrap?  It comes with an incredible cabbage mix and load it up with your favorite veggies! Get Shish sauce or Tzatziki sauce on it which are must eats in themselves.  An added bonus is that the pitas are lower calorie than other wrap places.  You can choose your own meat, sauces and veggies so style it your way.

Honorable Mention: The Tabouli – a healthy choice that is freshly chopped in-house.  It is seasoned with the perfect amount of lemon juice and served with pita slices.

Make sure you check out our gallery below with some incredible photos from our many visits to SHISH WRAPS… Our fans know we never post a story on a one time visit, this is not a “drive by.”  You deserve better.

Now is a perfect time to get some of this good food as the UD Basketball season gets into swing.  If you are downtown or near the U.D. campus, visit SHISH WRAPS, for a quick bite. This place is definitely “the shish.”

We realize everyone needs to get a little Shish faced now and then.  For more info on menu and hours, visit the Shish website HERE.   Visit 3 Shish Heads, Food Adventures, on Facebook and like them HERE !

HOLY SHISH !  We got a $20 GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY TO SHISH WRAPS !   Comment below on this article, tell us why you deserve the Shish, and fill out the entry form and  we will choose someone at random ![form 55 “DMM Contest Entry – Generic”]

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What About Kabab?

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Tabbouleh at House of Kabab

Looking for a unique bite out?  Tired of the same old, same old?  The House of Kabab may be just be the solution!   It is a casual, local eatery that is a change of pace from the norm, and a true Food Adventure.  This mom and pop establishment is owned by a Lebanese family who has brought their menu of Mediterranean food to the Miami Valley.  Located at 298 N. Main St. in Centerville, this restaurant has a menu with some personality.  Also a great place to eat healthy, House of Kabab even has a decent selection of vegetarian options.  There are many exotic choices, but don’t fear! The staff is very accommodating when explaining the menu and house specialties.  Their recommendations are very helpful.

Lamb Shwarma, like a Lebanese Burrito

Through our various visits to House of Kabab, we have some “must eats” of our own.  We have always enjoyed the Hoummos (as they spell it on the menu).  Many of your are familiar with this popular appetizer paste made from chickpeas, lemon juice, herbs and olive oil.  Served with pita triangles, it is the perfect taste bud awakening for the fresh meal to come.  House of Kabab also serves Baba-Ghanoush, which is more than the nickname used in the movie “Wedding Crashers.”  Baba-Ganoush is a puree of eggplant, garlic, and lemon  juice and we would say an acquired taste.  It is topped with olive oil and fresh herbs.  Served cold, the flavor is bold with a slightly bitter finish.  Try this if you are a true Food Adventurer.

Two more items that are fantastic choices at House of Kabab are the Lamb Shwarma and Chicken Shwarma.  These are pita roll sandwiches stuffed with grilled meats.  Think of them as Lebanese burritos.   These tasty treats are also filled with lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, onion and creamy sauces.  The Big Ragu will go on record saying the Chicken Shwarma is his favorite menu item at House of Kabab.

One of the healthy, fresh and terrific side dishes at House of Kabab is the Tabbouleh.  This salad is made with finely chopped parsley, onions, and tomatoes.  The mixture is combined with olive oil and mint.  It is an explosion of flavor in your mouth and each bite releases a hint of lemon juice.   Hungry Jax would recommend this as her favorite menu item.  We really enjoyed this choice.

The Falafel Dinner

Looking for a vegetarian meal?  Food Adventures would recommend the Falafel, served as a sandwich or a dinner.  As some foodies know, falafel is a hush puppy like ball made from a mixture of chick peas and fava beans.   Whether you order it as a sandwich, or as a dinner, the falafel is topped with an amazing creamy, garlic sauce.

One of the hidden gems on the menu is the Tilapia Dinner.   This was a “special of the day” on a couple of our visits, so we took advantage.   This dinner features filets of baked tilapia in creamy garlic sauce and each morsel is absolutely delicious.  This dish is served with white, long grain rice sprinkled with aromatic Lebanese spices.  Is your mouth watering yet?  Do not forget about three dishes that are name sakes of the house.  They are the Shisk Taouk, Lamb Meshwie and Beef Kafta.   These dinners are served as skewers of meat and vegetables, or as we in Ohio call them, shish kabobs.   The slightly differently named Shisk Taouk is the chicken skewer and the Lamb Meshwie is, of course, the lamb option.   The skewered tubes of beef are called Kafta.  You know you can’t go wrong eating skewers of meat and vegetable in a place called House of Kabab.  Another menu highlight is the “Tastes of the Mediterranean Dinner for Two.”  This meal is under $22 and features a tour of the menu, including shwarma, lamb meshwie, taouk, makanek (sausages), sojouk (spicy sausage), and kafta.

Tilapia Dinner served with hoummos, rice and salad

The restaurant also offers a dessert menu with some traditional American cake, mousse and cheesecake choices.  The friendly server will present a dessert tray after your meal, so you can see the desserts up close.  Looking for something a little different for dessert?  Try the Black Forest Gateau.  It is a chocolate cake filled with pineapple mousse.  When is the last time you had some pineapple mousse?  Topped with chocolate whip cream, the Black Forest Gateau tastes great, and is good for sharing.

As Food Adventurers, our niche has always been checking out those unique, family owned places.  House of Kabab is another perfect fit.  It is affordable, fresh and not your everyday, run of the mill menu.  Give this quaint Centerville restaurant a try when you are in the mood for something new or different.  Ask yourself, “What about Kabab?”  Explore what the Mediterranean and Lebanese menu has to offer.  It is more than just a cultural experience, it is simply good food !

Hey Foodie !  Do us a favor and “like” Food Adventures on Facebook for more photos of Dayton’s best.

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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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