Houston's 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Say "Opa!" at The Original Greek Festival

Brooke Viggiano October 4, 2019 4:00AM

Photo by Mark Herman Reyes

The Original Greek Festival has all the souvlaki, gyros and baklava you could want.

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Here’s a look at this weekend's best culinary happenings:

The Original Greek Festival at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
3511 Yoakum

The Original Greek Festival returns to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral for its 53rd year. Hit it to enjoy cultural music, arts and entertainment alongside Greek eats including gyros, souvlaki, keftedes, tiropita and spanakopita, baklava and loukamades, Hellenic beers and wines and more. Admission is $5 at the gate.

King’s Oktoberfest at King’s Biergarten (Pearland)

Friday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon to midnight; Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.
1329 East Broadway

Father-son duo Hans and Philipp Sitter are lacing up their lederhosen and kicking off their eighth annual Oktoberfest celebration at King’s Biergarten this weekend (to be followed by the third annual Oktoberfest celebration at King’s BierHaus, 2044 East T.C. Jester, on October 18-20). Guests can expect fun stuff like the Ceremonial Keg Tapping, Bavarian Strongman Competition, Oktoberfest photo booth, live music and a bier pong tournament, plus a variety of biers and wursts, eight-hour roast turkey legs, German chocolate cake and more. This year, new Pearland offerings including an Oktoberfest Kids Sunday Funday and a prize giveaway with two grand prizes, a new Harley Davidson motorcycle (valued at $15,000) and an all-inclusive trip for two (valued at $10,000) to Oktoberfest 2020 in Munich, Germany. General admission tickets start at $12 while VIP tickets range from $55 to $99.

Oktoberfest 2019 at Saint Arnold Brewery

Friday, 6 to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday regular hours
2000 Lyons

Saint Arnold Brewing Company is kicking off its Oktoberfest celebrations with a Friday night party and feast in its Beer Hall. Tickets are $65 and include beer, dinner and a special commemorative Oktoberfest mug. On Saturday and Sunday (free admission), the Bavarian-style festivities continue at the Beer Garden & Restaurant, with food, beer, music, games and contests, local artists and makers, special glassware and skyline views all day long.

Taste of New Orleans at Jones Plaza

Saturday, 3 to 10 p.m.
600 Louisiana

Get a taste of Bourbon Street via live music, New Orleans-inspired food and drink and local art at the 2019 Taste of New Orleans festival. Discounted general admission tickets are available for $5 online.

Southern Smoke at Georgia James

Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m.
1018 Westheimer, 1100 Westheimer and 1415 California

The highly-anticipated Southern Smoke Festival is going down in the area around Blacksmith, Georgia James and The Hay Merchant. Helmed by chef Chris Shepherd, the fifth annual fundraising event brings together some of the best chefs and pitmasters in the country, including James Beard Award winners Ashley Christensen, Aaron Franklin, Donald Link, Sarah Grueneberg and TV star Matty Matheson, plus more Houston chefs than ever before — Hugo Ortega, Manabu Horiuchi Erin Smith, Patrick Feges, Jonny Rhodes and Justin Yu are just a few. Tickets are $200 for general admission, including food, drink and a $100 donation to the Southern Smoke Foundation, providing funds to people in the food and beverage industry in need.