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ELV would be remiss in his duties as an Official 50% Person of Greek Extraction if he did not thoroughly endorse, promote, cheer about, give a shout out to and generally give a big hip, hip, hooray! to the Las Vegas Greek Food Festival which began last night and runs through Sunday night at the St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, at south Jones at El Camino.

Or, as we like to say in Greek: Yasou! (pronounced YA-sue, “health to you”) and Kali Orexi! (Pronounced CA-lee Or-IX-ee, “may you have a good appetite,” or, essentially, “bon appetit”).

See, you are speaking Greek already! Those two phrases are all you will need during your meal of superior Greek eats and to feel like one of the tribe.

ELV has maintained for most of his adult life that the best Greek food in America is found in Greek homes — specifically the homes of the Georgis and Dalacas clans in our humble burg — and the handmade food at this festival gives you a good idea how Greek Americans eat (and why most of them shun most Greek restaurants).

The food here is made by the church members themselves, and is seriously good and a serious bargain to boot.

It’s also a great, fun picnic atmosphere with plenty of bouzouki music and dancing for those ouzo-fueled among you who are so inclined.

Here are the hours:

• Thursday, September 23rd 5pm to 10pm
• Friday, September 24th 3pm to 11pm
• Saturday, September 25th Noon to 11pm
• Sunday, September 26th Noon to 10pm
• And here is a map:
  

And here is some music to put you in the mood and make you hungry. Take it away, Bouzouki Boy: