OPA

Hello, my name is Peter Panagiotakos and I’m an expert at breaking plates. Before I tell you about myself, let me make it clear to you that I only use Windex on mirrors and windows. Ok, ok, enough of my dry Greek humor. On with the story.

I’m 35 years old and live at home with my dad Dimitri and my mom Litza. We immigrated to Halifax when I was 14 years old. To this day, my friends make fun of me because I still live with my parents. Plus, my dad has been trying to kick me out for years. But how can I leave? My mom treats me like gold. She cooks and cleans for me. Even makes my bed. And I don’t pay a thing. Jealous yet? I know my dad is.

Anyways, I also have two older brothers and one younger sister. They are all married and have children of their own. My brothers are named Dimitri and Peter. When we were younger, they always liked to pick on me. You see, I was Litza’s favorite son. They hated me for that, but mom would always protect me. I loved watching her chase my brothers around the house with the wooden spoon and hit them until they begged for mercy. I can’t count how many wooden spoons my mom broke on them. My sister is named Voula. She was raised to be a traditional Greek housewife. Growing up, she helped mom cook, clean and do laundry.

To help support the family when we immigrated to Halifax, my dad worked as a chef. He learned the trade from his dad Dimitri, who learned from his dad, also named Dimitri (surprise, surprise). My dad was working for a Greek fellow named Peter at his Greek restaurant. Seemed like an ideal job for him right? It wasn’t. Dad, like many Greek men, has a temper. He would constantly fight with his boss over how the food should be prepared—from the type of seasoning used on the souvlaki’s to the lettuce used for the Greek salad. After six months of that nightmare job, dad got fed up and decided that he wanted to be his own boss.

My dad opened his own authentic Greek restaurant in the south end of Halifax and has never looked back. You may have heard of it. It’s called The Broken Plate. My family has been successfully running the restaurant for the past 20 years. Mom handles the cash, while my sister is the hostess. My oldest brother Dimitri is the manager, while Peter and I work in the kitchen with dad. My nieces, Litza and Maria, and nephews, Dimitri, Peter and George are the servers. I don’t want to brag, but we have the best Greek food in town. It is often imitated, but never duplicated.

You’re probably wondering how I put up with my family when I spend pretty much every waking moment with them. Honestly, working with the family is great, but sometimes, they can drive me crazy. Mom and dad keep asking me when I’m going to get married. They wonder if there is something wrong with me. It’s gotten so bad that my mom tries to introduce me to the single women around my age at the Greek church every Sunday. How embarrassing. A 35 year old man getting introduced to women by his mom. Real attractive.

Things are looking up in the woman department though. I just started dating this great Greek girl, her name is Toula. She is amazing. I think she may be a better cook than mom. But I’d never tell her that.

Well, I’d love to keep the story going, but mom is yelling for me to go and help her bring in the groceries.

If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, feel free to pop into the restaurant. It’s right across from the main entrance of Point Pleasant Park. You can’t miss it. I can introduce you to the whole Panagiotakos family and share more stories over a bottle of ouzo.

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