STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Tendrils of smoke wafted through Bulls Head on Sunday with perfume of garlic and char-broiled meats. The sources of the succulent scents were grills and rotisseries cranking out meals at the Greek Festival hosted by Holy Trinity–St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
The final night of the festival is Sunday, Sept. 24. It wraps up at 10 p.m.
Volunteers dished up treats like souvlaki, kebabs and mousaka, all roasted and prepped on the premises. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela SilvestrI)
After a four-year hiatus, the cultural event returned to Staten Island, bringing with it food, primarily. In the past, dancing, live music and rides brought thousands to the church for its largest fundraiser of the year. But the rain prompted an executive decision among cooks to focus on packing sweet and savory treats to go.
The kitchen crew indoors chopped lettuce and helped box up meals for guests to take home. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela SilvestrI)
From tented stations, volunteers served souvlaki (skewered meat), gyros and barbecued chicken roasted on a spit. Popular dishes included bechamel-coated, ground beef-packed pastitsio and mousaka, a baked eggplant casserole with ground beef and potato.
Spanakopita fresh from the oven. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela SilvestrI)
Spanakopita spinach and feta patries came fresh from the oven. And fried dough balls doused in cinnamon and honey — loukoumathes — were turned out hot and fresh from an automated frialator.
Rev. Protopresbyter Nicholas P. Petropoulakos Proistamenos, left, and church volunteer Tom Vlastakis (Staten Island Advance/Pamela SilvestrI)
Rev. Protopresbyter Nicholas P. Petropoulakos Proistamenos aka Fr. Nick oversaw the barbecue station. From this covered spot, parishioners manning grills roasted hundreds of chicken skewers and pita.
Working the grills in the rain (Staten Island Advance/Pamela SilvestrI)
For four decades, the church hosted three weekends worth of festivities. Now with a new school in a…
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