I’ve been doing drive-bys past the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in south Oshawa, Ontario for several weeks now. No, I’m not converting. It’s because they have a big sign out front advertising homemade Greek food for sale every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I adore Greek food but, sadly, in my neck of the woods its, well, sadly lacking, in anything that resembles good taste. (See my “Eater Beware” rant). After umpteen miserable attempts to source a good Greek food joint in Durham Region I’d resided myself to trekking into Toronto’s east end Greektown on the Danforth to get my fix.

You can imagine my utter delight as the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary kitchen brigade — headed by Thomas Chryssovergis and flanked by servers Koula and Bessie (click on the photo to see Bessie complete) — uncovered the chafers and let me peek ‘n sniff at what they’d created from scratch just hours before I’d arrived. Real Greek food! All handmade with loads of love. And quality ingredients (this nose knows) like pork tenderloin for the kebabs and real lemons and hand rolled pastries and layers of thickly sliced Yukon Golds between the meatily layered mousaka.

All offerings can be purchased al a carte or you can opt for the mixed plate which, of course, I did.

It was love at first bite.

Succulent pork souvlaki sided by a dollop of garlicy tzatziki sauce; a Greek salad they dressed after I’d placed my order. A hardy salad laced with creamy sheep’s milk feta and earthy kalamatas; two huge juicy all-beef meatball covered in a rich tomato sauce spiked with subtle hits of oregano; lemon-herb rice; a spinach spanakopita roll; and the best darn mousaka I’ve ever tasted in my life (including mine!). What did all this amazing food cost? Try $7.50 including tax and all the free smiles you want.

Annunciation Of The Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church
hosted by The Hellenic Orthodox Community of Oshawa in the church hall,
261 Bloor Street East, Oshawa, ON L1H 3M3
(905) 728-5969 eat in or take out
Catering for all occasions call (905) 725-3083‎