Yuba-Sutter Greek Food & Wine Festival

Normally I’d be «Opa! Opa!» all over this festival but the festival was misadvertised as a Greek food and wine festival when in reality it should either be called Fotine’s Greek Festival or Yuba Sutter Greek Festival. When one thinks of food and wine festival, one thinks of many choices and variety. But Fotine’s was the only food vendor there and wine choices was limited and expensive, $ 5 for about 4 – 5 oz. Even more disappointing was that the food was ok at best while being expensive too.
The $ 5 entrance fee probably goes to a local non profit organization. I don’t mind paying good money for good food but this was a pure miss. I don’t doubt Fotine’s food at the restaurant is devine based on overall Unilocal stars and photos but unfortunately the chicken skewers made for this event was incredibly dry and salty.
Chicken on a skewer $ 5– I was one of the unlucky bunch who had the first batch of food that was likely prepared the day before or at least 6+ hours prior because it was the driest piece of meat, even drier than jerky. So dry in fact, this hungry person couldn’t take a second bite. Pretty awful.
Spanokopita $ 3 each– ok, spinach filled phyllo dough. Basic.
Dolmas $ 3 for 3– ok, rice stuffed grape leaves. Basic.
Braised lamb $ 9 for 5 oz– VERY oily and tasted no better than if you threw it in the oven yourself without seasonings. Basic.
Entertainment– Mediterranean Soul started playing at 4:35pm. The music started late because there was a wedding ceremony next door. They were great and really created the festival atmosphere. Without them there would be no «festival»
Greek Dancers — St Anthony’s dancers from Reno, NV. A basic but traditional dance group made up of young folks.
Belly dancer — Niiiiiiiice! See my video. She also did a sword balancing on top of her head dance. She was lovely and encouraged men and women to dance with her even though the MC had told the audience beforehand not to. That was strange.
Overall this festival was ok for a small city like Yuba and considering there probably is only Fotine’s for Greek food. I just wished they didn’t rip me off for mostly average food. If it was better than average I wouldn’t have minded so much. So here are three stars for what Unilocal says means average.
If they could bring down the prices and if Fotine herself could sample each of her food before serving next year, I think that should help. If she knew how bad that chicken was I doubt she would serve it.

Ya’sou! I learned a new Greek word today. It means hello, but it can be a term for goodbye according to a lady sitting across from me. If I’m wrong, please correct me.
This is my first time to attend a Greek festival, and it was a nice and fun event learning Greek culture. It was a slow start, but it became lively after the music started.
There were booths for Greek products to be sold, but none captured my interest except the wine. To get a sampling of the wine, you’ll need to purchase five tickets for $ 5.00 at the entrance. I bought 10 tickets and ended up drinking only red wine. I didn’t get the name of it, but it was good. Bad Unilocaler! I didn’t get the name of the wine or even take a picture of the bottle.
For food, I had the Vegetarian Dinner. It was good and about 3 stars overall for me. It’s a bit expensive eating at the event, especially if you get it ala carte. Make sure you have enough cash or have your credit card with you. You pay for your food after it’s plated.
The best part of the event for me was the entertainment from the band, belly dancer and the group of Greek dancers.
Will I attend the event again? Sure! Overall, I’ll give my experience 4 stars. It was a fun event!