Eat Street Markets - A world of food and fun entertainment waiting to be explored

http://www.eatstreetmarkets.com/

Have you ever had the feeling that you didn't realise what you were missing out on until you stumble across something so awesome, that you wonder how you lived without it?  Well, that's the feeling I had when we finally managed to go check out Eat Street Markets.

I'd first heard about the Eat Street Markets last September when I had been invited to a dinner at the Hilton to check out Vintaged (see post here).  I was sitting at a table with a bunch of new friends (read that as people I hadn't met before) and heard one bloke talking about a new concept in dining opening up and that we should all get behind the concept.  He went on to say that shipping containers would be used and at the time I struggled to picture how it would all work in my mind and I promptly forgot about it.

Then late last year I started to hear some stuff about this new market that had opened up at Hamilton and it all came back to me.  The new marked was called Eat Street Markets and it was a place for foodies to check out.  So, as a foodie, I started to plot and plan about getting over to check the place out.

Eat Street Markets is only open on Friday and Saturdays from 4pm until late, so I'd struggled to get over but we finally had a free night to drive over to Hamilton and see what everyone was raving about.  Unfortunately, we picked just about the hottest day on record in Brisbane to drive over and even at 5:30pm, when we pulled into the markets car park, the temperature was still in the high 30's.  Phew!

Cheap Eats - Lefkas Greek Taverna

http://lefkas.com.au/

I love fine dining.  I love great food produced by top quality chefs and amazing restaurants.  It's not all I love about food and eating, I also find nothing better than going to an old favourite and eating simple and tasty food.  What's even better is when it starts to get a little warmer and getting out and feeling the sun on the top of my head.

One of my favourite casual dining spots is Lefkas Greek Taverna over in West End, which recently reopened after extensive renovations.  Lefkas is a spot that I have been going to for a very long time and at times has felt like a home away from home and I was excited to see the extent of the renovations and remodelling.  Lefkas has now taken over the space next door that used to be Cantina and is now a very large and modern looking restaurant.  There are still remnants of the old inside of Lefkas, the traditional blue and white walls that remind of the Greek flag, but most of the space is now open with many more table and seats available in the restaurant.

Lefkas has always been one of the busiest restaurants in the Hardgrave Road strip of restaurants in West End, it's always been crowded and just a little uncomfortable to have a dine in meal.  It's because of this that SC and I almost always get take away, and head down to the Brisbane river to sit and enjoy a simple meal.

Paniyiri - when Athens comes to Brisbane town

http://paniyiri.com/

Well, its that time of the year again when all things Greek come together for the fantastic Paniyiri.  It's amazing how ingrained this wonderful Greek festival has become to Brisbanites.  Paniyiri has been going for as long as I can remember and SC and I have made it a tradition to head over to Musgrave Park each year to celebrate all things Greek, but mostly to enjoy the food!

The festival started in 1976 when a group of passionate Greek Australians decided to share their culture with Brisbane, a journey that the whole city of Brisbane has willingly taken.  Each year the Paniyiri festival has grown stronger and stronger and now you can expect to see over 50,000 willing participants queueing to partake in the rich heritage of this festival and wonderful Country!

Along the way, the Paniyiri festival has transformed into one of the must attend events on the Brisbane calendar and this year saw the biggest carnival atmosphere ever!  Each year there seems to be more and more amazing rides and show events that almost seems to rival the Ekka.  Along with the show-ground rides is the most important part of the festival for me, the more than 30 food stalls that showcase the wonderful Greek food from all over the country.

Casual Dining - LIttle Greek Taverna

http://www.littlegreektaverna.com.au/

I love Greek food and have done so for as long as I can remember.  My first experience with Greek food was when I was a very young boy and my Mum serving me some Yiros (simply marinated lamb cooked over a spit) and then falling in love with the wonderfully flavoured meat.  Growing up in Adelaide I was exposed to a wide range of Greek restaurants due to a large Greek population and remember quite fondly eating many Yiros while there.

That all changed in 1992 when I moved to Brisbane and found that there was a relatively small Greek population in the Sunshine state and this was reflected in the number of Greek takeaway restaurants.  Simply put, I could not find any decent Greek cuisine and in particular I could not find any of the wonderful Yiros meat that I had grown to love.

What I did find was popular in Brisbane was the Turkish equivalent, the Kebab, which for me was the poor man's version of that delicious marinated lamb.  As time went on and I had given up hope of finding decent Yiros in Brisbane, I eventually found a number of establishments around Brisbane that served a half decent Yiros.  Then one day there seemed to be an abundance of places that served my favourite take away food, particularly in West End and this is where I first came into contact with the Little Greek Taverna.