“Souvlaki in Greek words
means the meat and the stick.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “We are the Souvlaki Ladies. Do you want pork or chicken? I need, like, 10 minutes. Ready, my friend. I’m here for the
last 30 years — Let me give you some napkin — At the same corner
with the same food.” “A staple in this community.” “Our Greek culture,
Greek food.” “She’s always here. She’s like a mother to us.” “Even if they’re not hungry,
they pass by to say hi And hello and how are you. I mean, it’s a long day. But we love our job. “Yes, yes.” “This is the place
that I want to be.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “See, wait. Yeah, 1, 2, 3, and turn,
and straight, straight.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Two, three years ago,
somebody came and took The whole generator. And since then, we
have it with a lock. My name is Elpida Vasiliadis. We start 11:30. Vicki that works with me
starts the preparation before Me.” “I’m starting 6:00,
6:30 in the morning. Garden tomatoes,
some garden lettuce. I make a soup.” [MUSIC PLAYING]
“The souvlaki has to be
cooked on four sides. And usually, the last piece
doesn’t cook very well. So you usually presses
the last piece.” “We put some spices,
which I cannot say. It’s a secret. I use the recipe that my
mother was using in Greece. We keep that same recipe
for the last 30 years. I work with local people. I know who wants it well
done, who wants it medium. So I try to give it to them
the way everybody likes. And you want a pita? You want bread? What do you want? Just lettuce and tomatoes,
not even lemon, yeah?” “Just put some
cucumbers and onions. “What does it get?” “That’s it, yeah.” “The classic sauce is the
tzatziki made out of yogurt And cucumber. Like Italian people
have pizza and pasta, We have souvlaki
and tzatziki.” “She makes her own dressing
— very important.” “And we have this new
Souvlaki Lady sauce. Vicki came out
with that recipe. It has this sweet taste that
goes very well with chicken.” “In Greece, we don’t put
lettuce in our sandwiches. We put French fries. That’s why it’s
called Greek pita. Hi, my friend.” “How are you?” “I’m O.K. This is one
of my neighbors too. [CHUCKLES]:” “I’ve been coming to visit
Elpida the Souvlaki Lady For 24 years.”
“Coming here? Oh, decades, I guess.” “My daughter goes
to school over here. I come here every day.” “I come here at least four or
five times a week to be honest With you. I love these.” “This is my first time. My friend got it.” “Mm-hm.” “And then he
recommended it to me. I’ve got a lamb gyro.” “Let’s see.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Her food is consistent.” “It’s been good
for a long time.” “The meat is tender. Everything is cooked
to perfection.” “The French fries are made
in extra virgin olive oil, Which is difficult
to find around here.” “Number one souvlaki
in Astoria.” “To die for.” – [CHUCKLES]: “It looks like — “How do you do it?” “It’s the simplest, Most efficient way of
eating in the world. “She’s a legend, man — a
staple in this community. And it’s just so nice to just
have this one souvlaki lady Here holding down this corner. Every time you walk by, you’re
getting hit with the smoke. And you’re like, oh.” “I mean, she’s always
here. rain, sleet, or snow. She’s like a mother to us.
You could come here
and not have any money. She’ll still give
you the food.” “I mean, it’s a long day. But we love our job. I love my neighbors. And of course, we like food. And we like cooking.” “She’s a symbol of what Greek
people and so many people come To this country to do.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “When I first moved to New
York, I lived in this block. When somebody was
selling this cart here, It was so convenient for us to
buy the cart because my kids At that time,
they were little. After school, they were
playing outside the street, So I could still work here. And I can watch them
playing outside, Which is very convenient
for a mother with two kids.” “My mom started this not
because food trucks are Trendy. My mom needed to raise us. She needed to put
food on the table. Well, she came here young
— the American dream, As you have it. My father was working. And my mother needed a job.” “30 years ago, all
the kids after school, They were outside at that
time when I first started. And whatever I have left over,
I was giving it to the kids. They were calling, the
souvlaki lady, finish this. So they were coming to me. And I loved that name. So I said, yes, I am the
souvlaki lady, actually. A lot of things
changed around here.
But it’s still a Greek
community around here. He was here when I
first moved to New York. And he’s still here. Him, then it’s me. That’s it.” “2026, I will be 50
years anniversary. Come in and get a
champagne and cookie.” “[CHUCKLES]: We never lived
anywhere else except Astoria. This is the place
that I want to be.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Pork or chicken?” “Pork?” “And I
have nothing ready. Everything is cooking. I had orders before for pork. And now I’m waiting
for the chicken. Less than five minutes
for the chicken. I know. I’m sorry. But the weather got colder. And I guess
everybody’s hungry.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Everything goes
wrong today — Everything. This is my husband for
the last 42 years.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “My husband — whoever can
help is helping around here. This is a family business. Surprise, another chicken. [LAUGHS]: It’s $12. And I’m so sorry
for waiting so long. “Bye.” “Bye-bye. Thank you so much.
Thank you. And sorry again.” “No problem.” “It was a little busy today.” “I’m sure, yeah.” “And –” “No coffee today, my friend.” “Yeah.” “No coffee? None of you girls
have coffee?” “No coffee.” “I had just a sip.” “Almost it’s 2 o’clock.” “It’s 2 o’clock now? No way.” “It’s 2 o’clock really?” “Almost.” “Yeah.” “Non-stop, my friend — Everybody.” “I’m tired. But I’m O.K. I eat very late. I have to be relaxed. And then I remember that
I haven’t eaten anything. [CHUCKLES] I know it’s not good. But that is what it is. It’s not easy. It’s not an easy job. You are on your feet all day
long because even if it’s no Customers, you have to do
something — cook, clean. It’s always something. When it’s in the summertime,
it’s really, really hot. In the winter time, it’s
really, really cold.
I remember me almost fainting
twice or three times because Of the heat. Just another day. Just another day.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Hi.” “Hi. “Yeah? Thank you.” “Her work ethic is like
no other, obviously. She puts everything into
everything she does. We don’t 50 percent anything. She’s actually transferred
that to myself.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Thank you.” “Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next time you give
us two dollar. It’s O.K.” “Lemon and salt on.” “What happened?” “The cart’s finished — No more gas. Somebody didn’t
pay the electric. [CHUCKLES]:” [MUSIC PLAYING] “I’m 60. I’m not young anymore. And things started hurting — Your feet, your hand. And sometime I have to retire. Vicki will continue this job. I will be happy if she wants
because I know she’s very
Good.” “I think the Souvlaki Lady
is my mom’s third child. Even if Mom says
she’s retiring, She will still be there. And she’s going to still
be doing her mom thing.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “I’m proud of myself, not that
I’m doing something special But just being there
all these years.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “| you want to
accomplish something, You have to work very hard. If you are nice with people,
people are nice with you.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “If you love your job,
you do it better.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “That’s it.”
Have you ever wondered why most of the Vinaigrettes in the grocery store are made with 10, 20, sometimes even almost 30 ingredients? I remember growing up in Provence watching my mother whipping vinaigrettes before every single dinner. She would mix in a giant bowl, delicious extra virgin olive oil, a robust aged vinegar (the flavor would depend on the main dish), sea salt and pepper and voila! I decided to do the same thing for my family and friends more than 20 years ago here in this beautiful country. And Provence Kitchen® was born. Stay tune for more articles and wonderful family recipes..
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