A Greek-American Perspective on The Greek Festival

Every Sunday afternoon of my childhood was spent visiting my Yia’Yia (Grandmother) and Papou’ (Grandfather) and extended Greek family. After church, of course, my Papou’ would enter his house and head straight to the record player to turn on the Greek music full blast. My Yia’Yia had spent all morning cooking a huge lunch for everyone to share. We would all gather, talking over one another at decibel levels that would make your ears burn - to eat, dance and eat some more. After lunch, my Papou’ would lead the dances holding a white napkin, cigar in mouth and beer in hand. He would perform the Zembekiko or (sailors dance) over and over again with my uncles. Believe it or not…..those are happy memories for me and traditions that I hold dearly. So every year when The Greek Festival rolls around, I make an effort to take my children to the festival to enjoy the customs, traditions and food of our heritage.

The Greeks are hard-working people and someone in most families has usually owned a restaurant or two. So cooking and eating food is in our blood! All of the dishes are terrific at the festival but some of my favorites I have listed below….try them out!

I love going to the Greek festival not only for the food, but also, to watch and encourage my children to dance. I learned the Zembekiko (sailors dance) from my Papou’ at an early age and still enjoy dancing it with my family. I could go on and on with more memories but choose not to bore you. Get out this weekend and enjoy what the Greek festival has to offer….a gathering of warm people celebrating great food, customs and dance! Can you think of a better way to spend and afternoon or evening?

Dolmades pronounced (dol-ma-this) – stuffed grape leaves with seasoned rice.
Spanikopeta pronounced (span-a-koh-pee-ta) a blend of spinach, cheeses and herbs mixed together and baked in buttered filo dough.
Tiropitas pronounced (tee-roh-pee-ta) a blend of cheeses baked in buttered filo dough.
Loukoumades pronounced (louh-ko-mah-this) fluffy and light pastry puffs served warm with honey syrup and cinnamon.
Galaktoboureko pronounced (gha-lak-toh-boo-ree-ko) flavored custard baked in filo dough.

The Residences at Miller & Rhoads

I recently toured the Residences at Miller & Rhoads and while it may not have met with my preconceived visual expectations - no Tea Room, no grand escalators and no Santa - the concept itself is definitely appealing and the urban views are pretty spectacular. The mixed-use project has transformed a historic landmark into a 250 room hotel - the Hilton Garden Inn, 133 residential condominium units and 21,000 sq. ft of street level commerical space. And no matter if you are visiting or living downtown- you have access to business, dining and entertainment right out your front door.


I found myself reminiscing about my life 15 years ago - pre-kids - and thinking how unfortunate it is that I missed the boat on this "lock and leave" lifestyle. At the time, we owned our first house in the Malvern area of the city and we commuted to work for 10-hour work days, drove to our fitness center and travelled downtown nearly every weekend for Friday Cheers or to explore nightlife in Shockoe Bottom. In contrast, the lucky owners at the new M & R will be able to walk to work, exercise in the fitness center or swim a few laps in their own building and then grab a bite to eat followed by a concert at The National or the future CenterStage, or maybe even a ballgame in an eventual Shockoe Center. Had a tough day at work? Why not pack it in early after picking up dinner from the hotel restaurant. Oh - and they will likely be exploring the riverfront area or heading out of town for the weekend because there won't be any pesky yardwork to keep them at home. Sound enticing? You bet. Call me in 15 years - once the kids are launched - I just might trade in the house and yard for urban living.

Grace Street Home Additions

We had the pleasure of meeting with Scott Ukrop at Grace Street Home Additions this morning in his super-cool office space in Old Manchester. We were familiar with Grace Street but today's meeting not only shed new light on their design process but also dispelled a few preconceived notions of our own. Previously, when we heard the name Grace Street in conversations revolving around remodeling or renovations/additions, phrases such as "high quality", "well-designed" and "innovative approach" came to mind. Admittedly, words such as "high-end" and "expensive" also came to mind because it often seems that quality work comes hand-in-hand with a high price tag.

What we learned today is that Grace Street is developing new ideas about making the home addition process less daunting for homeowners and more importantly, "attainable and affordable". They are committed to delivering a home addition that blends seamlessly with the current architecture of the home but also meets the needs of the homeowner in terms of the desired living space. They pride themselves on simplifying the design and construction process while being mindful of the homeowner's budget, time investment and the surrounding real estate values of the neighborhood. If you are considering an addition to your current home, or thinking about purchasing a house in need of renovation and/or an addition, add Grace Street to your short list of design/build firms. We think you will be just as impressed as we were with their innovative approach.