Of the many reasons to head to the Glendi food festival in Santa Rosa this weekend, one in particular stands out. There will be baklava. And there will be baklava sundaes.
The global culinary fair features delights from around the world, like Greek gyro and Russian piroshki, but also lesser-known (to us) Balkan sarma or Eritrean tsebhi with inerja. (My spellchecker just had a field day with that sentence). Savory and filling though these may be, the best comes after the main entrées. There’s a whole room at the festival dedicated to desserts perfected over thousands of years, made by people with a lifetime of practice.
This should make for a triumphant return of the festival, which took a hiatus in 2011 after 22 consecutive years due to renovations of the venue. With a new reboot, Glendi has been designed for everyone to have an adventurous food experience—after all, “Glendi” is Greek for “party.”
The Glendi Ethnic Food Fair runs Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15–16, at St. Seraphim Orthodox Church. 90 Mountain View Ave., Santa Rosa. Saturday, 11am–9pm; Sunday, noon–6pm. $5; children under 12 free. 707.584.9491.—Nicolas Grizzle
