Greensburg Y after-school students begin downtown field trips with Mediterranean meal

A trip next door to sample unfamiliar cuisine was an unexpected treat for some students attending an after-school program at the Greensburg YMCA.

Digging into his bowl of chicken kebabs and rice Tuesday at Sittay’s Mediterranean Kitchen, Aiden Jackson noted, “I’m not used to eating spicy stuff, but this is good.”

Jackson is one of nine eighth grade students at Greensburg Salem Middle School who are enrolled in the pilot after-school program. He was joined by six classmates on the visit to the restaurant on Greensburg’s East Pittsburgh Street that specializes in Syrian cuisine.

He gave the kebab dish a thumbs-up and a ranking of 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Like many of the students, he took some of his generous serving home in a take-out box.

“I’ll share it with my little brother,” he said.

Aaliyah Smith dipped her kebabs in a garlic sauce that had too strong of an aroma for the girls seated next to her but had her giving her meal a 7 out of 10 rating.

“I’ll give it a solid 7½ or 8,” Mason Walker said of his flatbread stuffed with chicken and cheese.

“They’ve been brave in trying new things,” Matt Ambrose, director of sports and wellness at the YMCA, said of the after-school participants.

One of two Y staffers who accompanied the students, Ambrose has become a regular at Sittay’s for lunch, favoring the falafel wrap with vegetables and tahini sauce.

“It’s a great value,” he said.

The meal at Sittay’s was the featured activity on the program’s second day. On Monday, he noted, the students explored the activities at the Y and tried out some of the fitness equipment there.

Supported by a grant from the local Lulu A. Pool Trust, the after-school program is being offered to a small number of students three days per week over eight weeks. It’s meant to provide them the opportunity to sample new experiences in a safe environment.

The Y is hoping to expand the program next fall.

The restaurant outing was the first in a series of seven planned excursions that are intended to expose the students to a variety of experiences and resources close by in downtown Greensburg.

Upcoming destinations include the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, the Westmoreland County Courthouse and a martial arts studio.

Sittay’s owner and head chef Radah Ghasah noted the students were quiet and well-behaved during their meal. She said the menu options she offered had some ingredients that weren’t dissimilar to what they may have encountered in Mexican cuisine.

Still, the stuffed vegetarian grape leaves were too much of a change of pace for many of the students, and those who tried the appetizers didn’t particularly cotton to them.

“It’s the first time any of them are trying this,” said Lauren Ruokonen, the Y’s school-age child care director.

It’s not the first time Ghasah, who features offerings for kids, has hosted a group of young diners.

She previously welcomed a local day care group for a meal.

“I saw them going by on their way to the park,” she said.