St. Mary and ArchAngel Gabriel Coptic Orthodox Church located at 309 Beauregard St. in Charleston. The parish was founded in 2015. It is part of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Pennsylvania and its affiliated regions, which includes the Charleston parish among its churches. “Coptic” refers to the ancient Christian tradition of Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church traces its history in Egypt back to St. Mark the Evangelist, and its liturgy, iconography, music and traditions are distinct from both Roman Catholicism and the various Eastern Orthodox churches. The Egyptian Festival is essentially their big annual open-house/cultural celebration of Egyptian heritage, with food being a major draw. The Egyptian Macarona Béchamel is essentially a baked pasta casserole. It was a ziti pasta layered with seasoned ground beef and a thick, creamy béchamel sauce, then baked until the top is golden. The béchamel makes it creamy and rich, while the beef gives it a savory layer; the browned top was the best part. Egyptian kofta is seasoned ground meat that’s formed around a skewer or into an elongated kebab and grilled. They're made with ground beef, onion, parsley and spices. It was browned, slightly charred edges and had a juicy, highly seasoned interior. The final meat entree is grilled chicken. Simple, moist and a delightfully savory seasoning.

Koshari is the vegetarian entree - rice, lentils, pasta and chickpeas topped with crispy fried onions. This is probably the quintessential Egyptian street-food dish.

Sides included a simple salad and wara’ enab, which are Egyptian stuffed grape leaves. They’re grape leaves wrapped around a filling of rice seasoned with herbs, onion, tomato and spices. They’re similar to dolma at Greek or Middle Eastern restaurants, but the Egyptian version was less sour and had its own seasoning and preparation. Dessert included: Basbusa is a traditional Egyptian semolina cake made with sugar and butter, baked until golden and then soaked in a sweet syrup that gives it a moist, dense texture. The piece I tried was tender and slightly grainy from the semolina, with a buttery flavor and a sweetness that lingered without the flaky texture of baklava, while a nut on top added a little crunch. The other option was listed as baklava, but I received a sort of date roll, which was tasty.