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ARMENIAN FESTIVAL FEATURES GRAPE CRUSH
By Joan Obra
Fresno Bee (subscription)
09/26/08 00:00:00
CA
Think of a grape crush, and visions of winemaking might come to
mind. But for Armenians, the grape crush means an annual party with
bubbling grape molasses.
The making of the molasses, or prpoor, is a celebration that marks
the end of another grape season.
"This symbolizes the harvest," says Leon Eskijian, a board member
of the Armenian Cultural Foundation. "Privately, we've done it in
our homes."
This weekend, the foundation is turning the tradition into the Grand
Armenian Festival, a three-day event with food, live music, theater
and folk dancing.
The star of the festival is the prpoor. From 5 a.m. to about 7
p.m. Saturday, the grapes will be crushed, strained and boiled. That
night, as the molasses starts to bubble, plates of the sweet foam will
be handed out to the public. Guests also can take home free jars of
the prpoor, Eskijian says.
Prpoor is just one type of food at the festival. Today through Sunday,
meals of beef kebabs, chicken kebabs and tri tip will be served,
Eskijian says. Other treats include hummus, rice pilaf, cheese boreg
(a puff-pastry turnover), sou-boreg (a layered dish of noodles,
butter, parsley and cheese) and baklava.
On Sunday, breakfast will feature foul (pronounced as "fool"), a dish
of fava beans cooked with garlic and lemon. Guests will scoop the
beans with pita bread and season them with minced tomato and onion,
Eskijian says.
The festival will be held at the California Armenian Home at
6720 E. Kings Canyon Road. On Friday, dinner is served 5:30
p.m.-midnight. On Saturday, food is served 10:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. On
Sunday, breakfast is 7-11 a.m., and lunch is 11 a.m.-2 p.m. For a
full schedule of events, go to prpoor.com. Call (559) 360-0852 for
more information.
Change at a chain Here's more evidence that Valley folks love their
chain restaurants. Last week, Marie Callender's started testing
new breakfast dishes at its eateries in Fresno, Merced, Visalia and
Austin, Texas.
Why test new plates here? All of these restaurants have "very strong
breakfast sales," says Marie Callender's mar- keting director Julee
Ferguson.
As befits a mainstream chain, none of the new dishes are particularly
unusual. They include the Blackstone eggs Benedict (topped with tomato
slices, bacon, eggs and Hollan- daise sauce), Wild Berry French Toast
(seasoned with vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon and served with wild berry
jam) and Marie's Magnificent Six (a blueberry-banana loaf with two
buttermilk pancakes, two eggs and two bacon strips or sausage links).
If the dishes do well, they'll expand to all Marie Callen-der's
140 restaurants.
The columnist can be reached at jobra@fresnobee. com or (559) 441-6365.
By Joan Obra
Fresno Bee (subscription)
09/26/08 00:00:00
CA
Think of a grape crush, and visions of winemaking might come to
mind. But for Armenians, the grape crush means an annual party with
bubbling grape molasses.
The making of the molasses, or prpoor, is a celebration that marks
the end of another grape season.
"This symbolizes the harvest," says Leon Eskijian, a board member
of the Armenian Cultural Foundation. "Privately, we've done it in
our homes."
This weekend, the foundation is turning the tradition into the Grand
Armenian Festival, a three-day event with food, live music, theater
and folk dancing.
The star of the festival is the prpoor. From 5 a.m. to about 7
p.m. Saturday, the grapes will be crushed, strained and boiled. That
night, as the molasses starts to bubble, plates of the sweet foam will
be handed out to the public. Guests also can take home free jars of
the prpoor, Eskijian says.
Prpoor is just one type of food at the festival. Today through Sunday,
meals of beef kebabs, chicken kebabs and tri tip will be served,
Eskijian says. Other treats include hummus, rice pilaf, cheese boreg
(a puff-pastry turnover), sou-boreg (a layered dish of noodles,
butter, parsley and cheese) and baklava.
On Sunday, breakfast will feature foul (pronounced as "fool"), a dish
of fava beans cooked with garlic and lemon. Guests will scoop the
beans with pita bread and season them with minced tomato and onion,
Eskijian says.
The festival will be held at the California Armenian Home at
6720 E. Kings Canyon Road. On Friday, dinner is served 5:30
p.m.-midnight. On Saturday, food is served 10:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. On
Sunday, breakfast is 7-11 a.m., and lunch is 11 a.m.-2 p.m. For a
full schedule of events, go to prpoor.com. Call (559) 360-0852 for
more information.
Change at a chain Here's more evidence that Valley folks love their
chain restaurants. Last week, Marie Callender's started testing
new breakfast dishes at its eateries in Fresno, Merced, Visalia and
Austin, Texas.
Why test new plates here? All of these restaurants have "very strong
breakfast sales," says Marie Callender's mar- keting director Julee
Ferguson.
As befits a mainstream chain, none of the new dishes are particularly
unusual. They include the Blackstone eggs Benedict (topped with tomato
slices, bacon, eggs and Hollan- daise sauce), Wild Berry French Toast
(seasoned with vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon and served with wild berry
jam) and Marie's Magnificent Six (a blueberry-banana loaf with two
buttermilk pancakes, two eggs and two bacon strips or sausage links).
If the dishes do well, they'll expand to all Marie Callen-der's
140 restaurants.
The columnist can be reached at jobra@fresnobee. com or (559) 441-6365.