Doug Peruski: His Favorite Greek Foods

Doug Peruski is an aspiring actor who lives in Duluth, Georgia. He has a Theatre Arts degree from the University of Georgia, and is making plans to relocate to New York to try breaking into theatre. In the meantime, he is working as a waiter in a Greek restaurant called Achilles.

“When I first started working there, it was just a job, you know?” Doug Peruski says. He had previously been a systems analyst at NCR, but quit after three years to pursue acting. “NCR was just taking over my life. I don’t make nearly as much money now, but as a waiter I have a lot more free time.”

Doug Peruski says he didn’t care all that much for Greek food when he first started working at Achilles, but has grown to love it. “We have a flatbread machine that makes the most delicious flatbread – your basic Greek flatbread, we use it for gyros – fresh out of that machine? It’s to die for!”

For those “foodies” who aren’t yet familiar with Greek food, Doug Peruski has some recommendations. “Start out with Moussaka,” he says. “It’s probably the most widely recognized of all Greek dishes. It’s an oven-baked casserole, with layered eggplant and spiced meat filling, and it’s topped with a creamy bechamel. The one we make at Achilles is outstanding.”

He also recommends a dish called pastitsio. “Pastitsio is similar to moussaka,” he says. “There are three main parts to it – pasta, meat filling, and a creamy bechamel sauce. They’re layered in a pan and baked to golden perfection.”

No Greek meal would be complete, Doug Peruski says, without baklava. “Baklava is a classic Greek pastry. It’s made with a flaky filo dough. It gets layered with a cinnamon-spiced nut mix, and covered in syrup. It’s the perfect finish to a Greek meal!”

These and other classic Greek dishes may be enough to turn anyone into a Greek food enthusiast, the way it did Doug Peruski.