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| Plato as depicted by Raphael |
"This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are." Plato
So many of the highest attainments of the Western world have its roots in Ancient Greece; from the epic poems of Homer to the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides to the Philosophy of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. There is much we can still learn from these wise Ancients but perhaps we would be well advised to also learn a few lessons from the Modern Greeks here among us.
When I moved to Chicago in 1988, the first thing that I noticed about the people that grew up here was how they self-identified according to ethnicity first and then neighborhood. Of all Chicago's many ethnic groups, the one I feel the most at home with are the Greeks. They always seem to be so honorable, industrious, proud of their Greek heritage, and family focused. While they may have a reputation as stoic, I've always found them warm, friendly, and inviting..after you get to know them.
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| John Kass of The Chcago Tribune. This son of a South Side Greek grocer is Chicago's top newspaperman and radio host. |
This was even a surprise to me but Chicago has the 3rd largest Greek population of any city in the world. Even with such a sizable local population the Greeks still punch well above their weight.
According to one source over 2,200 Chicago area restaurants are owned and staffed by Greeks with many having several generations involved in every aspect of the day to day operation.
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| 97 year old WWII hero Pete Poulos featured last month |
One such Greek restaurant I frequent several times a week for my midday sustenance is Patio Beef up in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. It might more accurately be described as a 'hot dog stand' as it is primarily a burger, hot dog, gyros, and Italian beef lunch spot but it does have healthier fare that I usually partake in such as their Greek Salad or Greek Chicken which I find delish!
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| located in the 'Beautiful Edgewater' North Side neighborhood of Chicago at 6022 North Broadway |
Patio Beef has been in business for over 32 years and is owned and run by Leo Diantzikis, his charming wife Soula, and two daughters- Maria and Theodora aka 'Teri'. In this era when immigration is a very hot button political issue, Leo's story is one all sides can admire and learn from. Leo was born in the tiny village of Karyes, Greece near Sparta and his father died from tuberculosis when he was just a boy of 4 no doubt causing a lot of adversity for Leo's mother and her young family. Leo's mother eventually emigrated to Chicago joining her brothers and Leo followed her after a stint in the Greek Army arriving when he was a young man of 21 in 1968. Leo worked in a number of Chicago restaurants before going back to Greece where he met and soon married his very charming and beautiful wife Soula. They've been happily married for 43 years and have 3 daughters with all 3 pitching in at the restaurant over the years with now just Maria and Theodora assisting day to day.
"The greatest wealth is to live content with little" Plato
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| Leo Diantzikis with daughters Maria and Theodora aka 'Teri' In talking to Leo, he is all in favor of an immigration settlement being reached which he thought for those already here a number of years, paying a fine followed by a 5 year probationary period leading to citizenship would be reasonable which is essentially what the more moderate sides of both Republicans and Democrats favor to my understanding. Leo himself had to wait well over 5 years becoming a U.S citizen around 1978. |
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| Leo with his very charming wife of 43 years 'Soula' |
Leo says the neighborhood has undergone many transformations during his 32 years in business and he corrected me when I merely referred to it as 'Edgewater' and insisted it's "Beautiful Edgewater". Indeed it has been going through a renaissance of late and nothing attests to that better than a Whole Foods opening directly across the street in March.
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| An absolute staple of any self respecting Chicago Hot Dog stand is a wall with autographed pics (with personal note) from various 'celebrities'....I don't know about you but I won't go near a hot dog stand unless it has a ringing endorsement from the Channel 7 Weekend Weather Girl. BTW; lower left is that Turturro woman who played Tony Soprano's sister...I'll lay 5-1 she cleaned her plate! |
If you ever find yourself in the neighborhood of 'Beautiful Edgewater' on Chicago's North Side, stop in and say hello to the charming Soula, her daughters Theodora and Maria, and my new buddy Leo who will be either helping the cooks, Carlos and Lalo, or holding court with some regulars at a side table. I recommend the 1/2 Greek Chicken with rice (splash of gravy) and salad. If you're there early afternoon, GSL will likely be there as I walk an extra couple of blocks and pass about a dozen other restaurants in order to be greeted by Soula's lovely smile and see a shining example of the American Dream and a small pillar upon which great cities are built.
Wonderful story of what seems to be a very hardworking and loving family. There is no harder work than running a restaurant. I have an uncle and aunt in England who have owned their eatery for over forty years and it truly is a family affair. They are there seven days a week, all of them, and only close for a brief period in the winter as the restaurant is located in a seaside town and not many in England would brave the foul weather for a stroll along the seafront during the winter. My cousins (four of them), are still very much involved in the business, and now their children are helping out too.
ReplyDeleteCD, your family does seem to have a rock solid work ethic along with being very close knit. Forty years is a very impressive run and when my travels next find me on the coast of England, I'll be contacting you for that eatery...and a reservation.
DeleteGSL, funny but I never considered the fact that a restaurant has been around that long as anything out of the blue, but I suppose it is, and yes, do plan a trip to Blighty and visit the Kentish coast although I hear the Cornish coast is magnificent.
DeleteLove this post for so many reasons. The second biggest city of Greeks in the world is Melbourne, Australia! So perhaps Melbourne has a lot in common with Chicago in terms of culture? The funny thing is that in Australia gyros are known as Yiros. So my first introduction to the term Gyro came via Seinfeld… and none of us could work out what Cramer was wanting to eat.
ReplyDeleteThere's also an interesting subculture in Australia that many Greek families settled in tiny country towns, where they opened Milk Bars (sort of like a Diner). Some of these places are still perfectly intact, with their 1950's decor and menu embracing both traditional Australian fare and strange cultural hybrid food that migrants adapted to local palettes. So it seems that wherever Greek families settled, they've traditionally embraced food (restaurants/ diners/ food stalls) and certainly enriched our local food scene in the process.
Thank you Heidi for solving that riddle on which city had the 2nd highest population of Greeks since where I got the Chicago designation curiously didn't mention it...I would never have guessed Melbourne but like you say Chicago and Melbourne may have other similarities and are thought of as the 2nd Cities in their own countries.
DeleteVery interesting regarding the Aussie Greeks and their 'Milk Bars'... if perhaps not a destination GSL would find himself in the wee smalls...
The Canberra Greek population isn't anything like the size or proportion of Melbourne, but the Canberra Greeks are probably the most successful people here from a non-ESB. They're now onto the new fourth generation. The first were like your friends and the ones Heidi wrote about: proprietors of milk bars, cafes and takeaways. The second generation tended to extend into large supermarket ownership, or commercial real estate and property development. Many of the third generation became lawyers and managed the property portfolios their parents built up - and extended them with large scale property development. They generally marry into other "old" Greek families. Who knows what the fourth will become! But most of them have never lost that hospitality and friendliness and love of having a good time. One of the families I know best live in a wonderful house and are driven about in a Roller, but the Mum still used to bake trays of baklava herself for my son (their son's friend) when he was a young boy, just because he loved it. So much better that the ones in shops - they sometimes sent trays home with him!
DeleteThe older Greeks on the islands, particularly Crete, still love Aussies because of WWII. When Greece fell, rather than surrender, a lot of soldiers from the Aussie army joined the Greek partisans in the hills, sabotaging the German army and fighting as guerrillas alongside the Greeks. Have in the past met one or two of the old Aussie veterans who loved to go back and reunite with old comrades, celebrating their war exploits with lots of Greek food, beer and ouzo. One had lost a leg but he was much loved and they'd do anything for him.
Once the old taverna owners knew we were from Oz they couldn't do enough for us. Lots of things we hadn't ordered would appear on the table - with their compliments. One time with the coffee came a jug of raki (the local firewater). We didn't realise quite how strong until we tried to get up at the end - we were almost legless! A far cry from the old milk bars! And nearly everyone we ever met had a close relative in Oz.
PS Also love the bouzouki music and dancing! Greek weddings are something else! Best wishes, Pammie
A very interesting piec of Aussie anthropological digging you have uncovered for us there Pammie. I like the generational upward progression that I suspect has as it's foundation a deep respect for the elders who toiled selflessly and willingly sacrificed so that later generations could have a leg up.
DeleteI'm sure it's a nice enough little eatery, GSL - but Greek cuisine wouldn't be my first thought on seeing Polish/Italian sausage/hot dogs advertised. Now, where are these Confessions of Mossy Kade you've been promising us? That's something I really want to get my teeth into! Claire
ReplyDeleteMy dear Claire,
DeleteI didn't really present it as a Greek eatery did I but rather as a fine example of one of the the many smaller entities that when grouped together help make for a great city. You are quite justified in expressing impatience in the 'Confessions' and that will roll out next week. I promise.
Yours,
~G
I love these little eateries - they are the backbone of their communities and the best food. We have a wonderful small Greek resto that Barry and I have frequented for almost 30 years. Such a delight!
ReplyDeleteRight you are my dear Wendy; once again you get it !!!
DeleteThanks for introducing us to this wonderful family! We were out at our local Greek restaurant last night with Little Rascal, getting caught up on our week, eating delicious fresh Greek food and enjoying the boisterous family atmosphere. There are always babies in the restaurant being passed around, everyone yelling and laughing, so fun and full of life, like the Greeks?
ReplyDeleteLove that you visit this place for lunch on a regular basis, such a nice routine.
Dani, I also like seeing the various crowds cycle through. They come in waves: Streets and Sanitation work crews around lunch, high school kids noisily (but well behaved) on their way home stop in for a shared nibble, night shift beat cops towards closing time, and the longtime regulars, many of them Greek, come through all day stopping in as much for a visit as a quick bite.
DeleteFunny bc i used to live in Melbourne where as Heidi mentioned it is the second largest greek city in the world. I never was particularly fond of greeks to be blunt. Don't like the food and that arid climate seemed so dull and yet I ended up marrying one!!! His family remind me pepper is a spice and they freak out when I put tabasco on anything. And if we go to a restaurant and something is good my husband insists it tastes like a Greek dish - even when we are at a Korean restaurant...But I did hear that the greek diners in Chicago are something else and I hope I get a chance to visit that eatery some day!
ReplyDeleteNaomi,
DeleteI had no idea your hubs was Greek! I do love Greek restaurants and Chicago has it's own Greek town just West of the 'Loop' (center of downtown) that do huge business and they are also scattered all over the city and suburbs. Patio Beef is really a hot dog stand with a more homey Greek atmosphere and a few Greek dishes on the menu that I usually order.
I'll happily escort you and hubs past the long lines and tuck you into the 'GSL Booth' directly under that Channel 7 Weekend Weather Girl's 'Celebrity' selfie..
You should definately be some sort of Chicago ambassador. You make the city seem very interesting and liveable and should absolutely be rewarded when we all come flooding in as tourists in the summer!
ReplyDeleteJen, let the tourists flood Navy Pier but the Ambassador will want to see you at The Red Lion.
DeleteMany of my favourite restaurants; such as The Octagon, are either owned by Greeks,or serve Greek cuisine.
ReplyDeleteWe have a huge Greek population in Toronto and the GTA.
I practically live on tzatziki. I eat it almost daily, on toasted tomato, or thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches. I also make salad dressing with it; just whipping it together with some balsamic vinegar.
I buy several large containers (it keeps for many weeks) from a few restaurants, depending on which neighbourhood I'm in; and steer clear of the supermarket stuff.
And who can resist saganaki cheese? Opa!
If I'm ever in your neck of the woods, I'll be sure to visit Beautiful Edgewater
Duchess you are quite fluent in Greek cuisine and I like your idea of expanding the tzatziki repertoire since it is quite tasty now that you tell me it keeps so well.
DeleteWe would love to have you join us in Beautiful Edgewater.
So thats how you came to be chevalier to a restaurant maiden. Very glad to hear you make healthier menu choices these days. Does that guy still bang your bins around in the early morning? Though you're windows are probably shut now
ReplyDeleteHa! I nearly forgot about that Bebe...that pre-dawn visit was apparently a 1-off, likely just to send GSL 'a message' and I imagine our alderman who lives just down the lane wasn't amused either.
DeleteI'm so late on this, but loved the post. Makes me want to jump on a plane to Greece or Chicago, or both. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThank you my dear MaiTai; we'd always love to have you join us in Chicago!
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