Easy Copycat Olgas Snackers

If you are from Michigan, you probably know what an Olga's Snacker is.  If you are not from my state, let me give you a little bit of history about this yummy snack.  

Olga Loizon founded a popular chain of restaurants that serve recipes she was inspired by when she went to go visit family back in Greece in the 1960s.  While in Greece, her three young children tasted a souvlaki, which is a pita bread sandwich filled with meat and veggies.  They loved it so much, she was inspired to try and sell it when she went back home to Michigan. For two years she tested different recipes to improve the bread until it was perfect. (It is GOOD!)  She started making the sandwiches with her secret recipe bread and called them Olgas.  Her specialty called the Original Olga is made with seasoned beef, lamb, tomato, sweet onion, and homemade Olga sauce.   She needed to find a location to sell her Olgas.  She found a small 10 x 10 space in Birmingham, Michigan.  She needed to get a loan, which was not easy for a woman back in 1970. She was the first woman to receive a business loan at her local bank, and she was able to start her first restaurant.  She handed out free samples at first, because her food was not yet well known.  Her Olgas were a hit, and she quickly grew from one tiny location to a chain with over 25 locations.  In addition to her special bread, she started serving side dishes that would also become well loved items on the menu.  One of those side dishes were the Snackers.  

Olga Loizon died in 2019 at the age of 92. She was so well loved that a foundation was established in her honor and legacy.  It is called Olga, A Life Wrapped in Love.  It gives financial grants to women entrepreneurs in Michigan who show the same passion and ambition as it's namesake did. 

I just found out about the foundation while looking up something on the website. Pretty cool, huh.  Finding this out makes me like her food even more.  

I had dinner at Olga's Kitchen  last weekend.  I know there is a giant letter D made from two zucchini fries that stuck together, but it is the only picture I have.  I did not know I was going to write this post at the time.  I just thought it was funny finding my boyfriend's initial in my fries.  In this picture you can see my grilled chicken Olga, the special sauce, and what is left of my salad and fries. We had the snackers for our appetizer, and they were already in my belly. 

 

I recently found a tub of swiss almond cheese at Aldi, which is a very close dupe to the cheese served with the Snackers.  Mini Naan bread, while not exactly the same as Olga's specialty bread is a pretty good substitute.  I am pretty sure I bought the seasoning salt at the Dollar Tree. 

If you would like to see what Olga's original snackers and other items look like, I am linking the menu here.  This is not a sponsored post for Olgas, the menu just has really good pictures.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

 

Cut the Naan bread into triangles 

Brush olive oil on the bread, and sprinkle with the seasoning salt.  Olga's version of Snackers also have crushed red pepper, but we left it off our version.  

Bake for 5-7 minutes.  Turn the Snackers over, and add a little more olive oil and seasoning.  Put back in the oven and bake about 5 minutes more. 

Served warm with Aldi swiss almond cheese 

Enjoy!