A taste of Serbia and magical dinners
It’s fall, officially, and the food events calendar continues to be packed.
Serbian food
One of Pittsburgh’s favorite Eastern European food festivals makes a repeat performance this weekend, when A Taste of Serbia kicks off at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in McKeesport.
Held in the church’s social hall at 901 Hartman St., the fest on Friday and Saturday will feature a wide variety of homemade Serbian foods, including a boneless lamb sandwich, grilled skinless sausages (cevaps), meatand cheese pie in phyllo (burek) and Serbian- style stuffed cabbage rolls ( sarma). The church’s famed hand-breaded, fried haddock sandwiches and potato-and-cheese pierogies will be available on Friday only. Sandwiches cost $10, with sides priced at $3.
The burek was such a hit last year, says organizer Dorothy Ikach, that the “kitchen gramma” who makes it quadrupled the amount this year. “In fact, the amounts of slow roasted lamb, cevaps, stuffed cabbage and palacinke have all been substantially increased this year,” she says.
Because no dinner is complete without dessert, there also will be a selection of traditional sweet treats, such as apple strudel, crepes filled with sweet cheese (palacinke), doughnuts (krofne), yeast cookies (kifle) and cinnamon rolls known as Serbian love knots.
This year, for the first time, guests will also be able to partake of a kafana bar offering a selection of beer, wine, fruit brandy (slivo) and nonalcoholic beverages. There also will be festival-sized tent covering the entire church courtyard to allow for rain or shine dining.
A complete menu can be found on the church’s website. Both cash and credit cards accepted; parking is free.
The fest runs from 3-7 p.m. Friday and noon-7 p.m. Saturday. More info: stssavapa.org/tasteofserbia.
Magical dinner series
Scratch & Co. is partnering with nationally known magician Jon Tai for an interactive dinner series that will pair a seven-course meal with magic.
Held over select weekends in October and November, the event will feature a family-style dinner prepared in collaboration with Isaac Deboer ( formerly
of Portland, Ore.based Pok Pok and Morcilla). Each course will be grouped within three magical “chapters” of Tai’s performance that together will tell the story of how the Troy Hill restaurant has evolved and adapted since opening seven years ago.
Menu items will include both inventive dishes such as Fried Egg Salad and Tomato Tartare and throwback faves such as Duck Rillette and Flounder Meuniere. The $125 ticket price includes a welcome cocktail/mocktail, and there’s also a drink-pairing package for an additional $25.
Only 26 tickets will be sold for each dinner, and they must be purchased in advance. Dinner dates are: Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 3-5, 10-12 and 17-19. They can be purchased at https://linktr.ee/ startingfromscratchwithjontai.