Lentil kibbeh. Pupusas. Chicken shawarma. Gyros. Pakoda. Spanakopita and tiropita. Jerk rice. Stroopwafel. Mochi.
Well, I recognized a few of them.
Last Friday I joined my friends Rhonda and Kendra on an ethic food walking and sampling tour in downtown Lancaster City. The tour is named “Taste the World”, and a nonprofit community center organizes the tours several times every summer.
I had never gone on a Taste the World tour before, but it sounded like a fun way to spend a summer evening since I like trying ethic foods, even though I’m no expert.
We bought tickets beforehand online, then went to the community center to get our “passports” with a map and a description of the nine different foods we would try.
We met Rhonda’s friend, Barb, along with Barb’s daughter, Natalie, and Barb’s coworker, Eva, at the community center and started on the tour. The others knew the city better than I did, so I happily let them figure out where to go next while I took photos.
At each stop, volunteers greeted us and stamped our passports. A few restaurants had seating for us, but at other stops, we took our samples outside. We ate our lentil kibbeh from the Afrin Market, a vegan Kurdish dish meant to imitate a raw meat dish similar to steak tartar, at the Rotary Park.
We ate spanakopita and tiropita (savory Greek pastries) while standing on the sidewalk in front of H. Souvlaki Boys.
At Crazy Pupusas, we ate bean and cheese pupusas: handmade corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and beans. Rhonda said she’s tried making pupusas with a friend already. Rhonda has lived in several different countries, and has a degree in ESL.
The tour ended at eight o’clock, and we had to hurry to make it to all nine stops. At the last few stops, we just grabbed our food and carried it with us to eat after we finished the tour.
Our last stop was for mochi (rice candy) at the The Snack Stand.
Then we founded some seating near the library and sat down to enjoy the rest of our meal! We had made it to all nine stops.
On the way to our cars, we stopped at one of the street pianos. Kendra played the piano as we sang “Here We Are to Worship” as dusk fell on the city.
Sounds like a yummy evening !
Yes, it was a real treat!
That was such a fun evening!!
Yes, and I enjoyed meeting you and Natalie! She’s a sweetheart!
Never tasted any of them except Gyros. Sounds like a fun adventure!
They were all delicious! Thanks for commenting.