Lost Tables: The Greek Gourmet

The Greek Gourmet

Pauline Fields was born on November 7, 1938. She was the second oldest of six children, five girls and one boy, all born in the small Southeast Missouri city of Fisk.

I was always called "Paul" by my family and friends, so I used Paula later in my life.

Paula's parents, Alfred and Sarah Elizabeth Fields, were sharecroppers. They picked cotton. Their children picked cotton. Paula started picking at the age of five, and by twelve she was picking 325 pounds a day.

We didn't have running water. We didn't have a bathroom. We didn't have anything. We were just poor sharecroppers.
We moved about 7 miles south of Fisk on a dirt and gravel road. It was four rooms. Like a box, no hallways at all ― a living room where dad put a wood stove for heat, a kitchen with a wood cook stove, two small bedrooms and one closet for the whole family.

The Fields Home, Fisk

Until we were older, we really didn't know that we were poor. We lived off the land. We hunted game, fished, picked blackberries, raised pigs ― and were so sad when they had to be butchered.
We went to town twice a year. My mother would get flour and she would use the sacks to make our clothes. My brother said he didn't know pants zipped in the front until he was twelve because we were all girls.

When there wasn't enough cotton on their land in Fisk, Paula and her family would "follow the cotton" and pick in Hayti or Parma or Kennett.

We traveled with the cotton a lot. We would be in one shack ― mom, dad, the six kids and our dog. Always our dog, Brownie. What a phenomenal way to grow up and learn what it truly takes to survive, so that no matter what mountains you may have to climb in your future, they seem like small hills or bumps in the road.

When there wasn't enough cotton to pick, Paula's father would move the family to St. Louis to find work. At one point, they lived at 2438 South Third Street, where Paula remembered the rats in the ash pits were as big as cats.

You know what? There was a cookie factory. They made cookies and we could take our bags and say, do you have any broken ones? And we'd hang our feet in the Mississippi River. It was good.

Paula attended McKinley High School in St. Louis for 11th grade, but returned to Fisk for her senior year. She graduated from Fisk High School in May of 1956.

I had a great little high school. We were 42 in my graduating class. I played basketball and cheerleading and I was an actress and a singer in that little school. I was always in something.


Paula Fields (right) with siblings 2438 South 3rd Street, circa 1950	Paula Fields Fisk, Missouri, 1956

After graduating high school, Paula moved to St. Louis.

I only had five dollars when I got off that Trailways bus and a paper box with a few clothes in it. You had to leave your home to find work in the city or marry and keep chopping and picking cotton.

Paula found a job with S.G. Adams, but she was harassed by her boss and forced to quit. Her next job was with the Missouri Insurance Company.

By the time I was nineteen years old, I was the manager with nine women, and there were 63 agents working out of the office. I was good when I got going.

At age 26, Paula was still single; people thought she would never marry. By the days standards, she was considered an old maid.

One night, Paula was ready to go out with friends when she developed severe abdominal pain. Her roommates convinced her to go to the hospital.

She was seen by an internist at the old Missouri Baptist Hospital on North Taylor, who diagnosed her with appendicitis and recommended surgery. However, she was then seen by a second physician, a surgical resident by the name of Klearhos Exarhou, who saw no sign of appendicitis and diagnosed Paula with acute gastritis. He admitted her to the hospital for observation.

The following day, Dr. Exarhou told Paula she could go home.

I just thought he was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen. Thank God, he thought I was too. He said, "I see that you work for an insurance company. I need some insurance, so could I call you?" I said, "Oh, sure."

The minute I walked through the door, the phone was ringing. That was the end of that story. We were married shortly after that.

Klearhos "Klark" Exarhou was born on August 22, 1933 in Kavala, Greece. After graduating from the University of Athens, he moved to St. Louis to pursue his medical career.

Shortly after meeting Paula Fields, Klark Exarhou returned to Greece and was conscripted into the Greek army for two years of mandatory service. He wrote Paula, asking her to join him. She did, and the two were married in Kavala on July 12, 1963.

Klark and Paula Exarhou, with his sisters in the background
Kavala, Greece, July 12, 1963

Klark's parents had recently died, and the newlyweds were living with his two sisters in his family home in Kavala, a beautiful city in Northern Greece overlooking the Aegean Sea.

So now I'm living with his two sisters and they did not care for me. They were hoping that he, being a doctor, would marry someone with a lot of money. Of course, I had nothing.
So it was a tough time, but I stayed. I remember saying to his older sister, "I came here for one thing, and that's your brother. And when I leave, he'll be coming with me. Whether or not our children ever call you 'aunt' will be up to me. You remember that."

As the years passed, they grew to have a mutual love and respect for each other.

During her two-year stay in Greece, Paula threw herself into learning everything she could about Greek cuisine. She wanted to prove she could cook as well as her husband's sisters.

I learned that I loved that food. I would watch everything and look how it was made, and then I knew I could do it.

Paula was given two Greek cookbooks, one by her husband's aunt and the other by his first cousin. The latter, Greek Cookery by Nicholas Tselementes, would become her bible.


Greek Cookery, Nicholas Tselementes, 1963 (click image to enlarge)

Paula and Klark returned to St. Louis in December of 1965. Klark continued his surgical residency at Missouri Baptist Hospital. The couple lived in a small apartment a few blocks away.

Paula took a job at Midwest Consultants on DeKalb. When she wasn't working she was cooking.

I started cooking immediately, back in St. Louis. I was cooking Greek food from the cookbook and had to borrow pots and pans from my next door neighbor. I was making spanakopita; I was making tiropita, the little triangles; I was making everything.

In June of 1966, Paula and Klark Exarhou had lunch at the Alba, a Greek restaurant on Gravois.

* * * * *

Nickoletta "Nicky" Conis was born into the restaurant business on August 6, 1945 in Perry, Iowa. Her parents, Sam and Bessie Conis, operated Sam's Cafe in Perry. Sam Conis had been born in Greece.

Nicky lived in Perry with her seven siblings until 1960, when her family moved to Boulder, Colorado. She was the quintessential American teen ― a cheerleader and a member of the student council. She graduated from East High School in Denver in 1962.


Nicky Conis Perry, Iowa, circa 1955	Nicky Conis Boulder, Colorado, 1962

Nicky's maternal grandparents lived in Staunton, Illinois. While Nicky was visiting Staunton with her family in August of 1962, she met Christos Antoniou.

Christos "Chris" Antoniou was born in Karitsa, Greece on November 10, 1928. He received his medical degree from the University of Athens. He came to the United States in 1960 to train in pediatrics at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

In January of 1964, Nicky Conis and Chris Antoniou were married at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in St. Louis.


Nicky and Christos Antoniou, Jan 1964

Not long after the couple were married, they moved to Greece so Chris could fulfill his mandatory service in the Greek army. They settled in his hometown of Karista, a small village of about 200 people, without electricity and modern conveniences.

Nicky spent less than a year in Greece, with Chris returning to St. Louis after he had completed his military service.

* * * * *

The Alba Restaurant at 3619 Gravois had been there since 1927. It was owned by John and Nickoletta Kaperonis.

When Paula and Klark Exarhou had lunch at the Alba in June of 1966, Nickoletta Kaperonis told Paula that her niece, Nicky Antoniou, had also married a Greek doctor. She arranged for Paula and Nicky to meet.

Paula Exarhou and Nicky Antoniou became close friends. They were inseparable.

She took me shopping and when I said, "Nicky, I don't have any money," she said "Don't you have a charge card? That's all you need!" Later in our lives we would laugh about how she taught me to spend money.

Both women loved to cook and entertain. They regularly threw large dinner parties. Nicky orchestrated the annual Greek Festival at St. Nicholas Church and Paula did the cooking.

We started cooking together. And that’s when we started entertaining. We gave parties with lamb turning on the spit and the most incredible Greek food.
We might have a hundred people. Sit down dinner. And they'd say, "You girls should open a restaurant. You're so great." I thought, you know what? We really should.
At the Greek Festival, in three days, we could take in so much money. I said, look what we can do in three days. What could we do if we opened year-round? So we decided we would do that.

They built out a space in The Plaza Shops, at Ballas and Olive in Creve Coeur. It would be a cafeteria-style restaurant. They liked that people could see the food displayed and sample items that appealed to them. Also, since the space was relatively small, more people could be fed in a cafeteria setting.

Paula Exarhou and Nicky Antoniou opened their new restaurant in May of 1984. They named it The Greek Gourmet.

The Greek Gourmet, 721 North New Ballas Road

The 2,800-square-food space was a combination cafeteria, delicatessen and bakery. Customers moved through the cafeteria line into a small dining room that had the trappings of a Greek temple, with a peaked ceiling supported by wooden columns and a frieze with a Greek key design. Tables and chairs were wood; the carpeting was brown; Greek music was piped in softly. In warm weather, customers could sit outdoors on the patio.

Greek olives, peppers and other staples for cooking were available in the delicatessen. There was a gourmet section selling everything from Greek wines to grape leaves and olive oil. Traditional Greek desserts like Baklava, Kataifi, Kourabiedes, Koulouriaki and Melomacarona were also available in the deli.

Members of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church made the pastries sold at the restaurant’s bakery counter.

Paula Exarhou (left) and Nicky Antoniou, 1987

When the cafeteria opened its doors for lunch, there was often a long line. Nicky usually operated the cash register, while Paula stood behind the serving line, explaining the day's offerings to their customers.

Paula Exarhou behind the serving line at The Greek Gourmet

What they loved is when I was there at lunch. They would want to know is Paula going to be there? They wanted me to explain the menu.
"This is Imam Baildi. This is an eggplant, sliced and then each layer has the special dressing that we make. Then it's topped with this incredible sauce. It's called Imam Baildi, which means, 'It was so good, the Emperor fainted.'"
"These are Dolmathes. These are grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef and fresh vegetables. Then they are topped with this egg lemon sauce called Avgolemono. You can see how incredible they are. People love them."


Dolmathes Recipe, Greek Cookery, 1963 (click image to enlarge)

I'd go down the whole line, explaining the Pastitsio and the Moussaka – whatever we had that day. We would have either Pastitsio or Moussaka, every day.


Moussaka Recipe, Greek Cookery, 1963 (click image to enlarge)


Pastitsio Recipe, Greek Cookery, 1963 (click image to enlarge)

Lentil Soup, Avgolemono – we always had two soups. We had a bean soup called Fasoulada that was incredible.
I would explain the Spanakopita, the Tiropita.
The Lamb Shanks. The shanks would be marinating . . . We would put those shanks in a huge pan in that old Franklin stove. And they would just stay in that sauce. They were just falling off the bone. How good could anything be, right?

We had Baklava. I made Creme Caramel. That was something I did all the time. It was incredible.

Paula's mother served incredible chicken and dumplings when she was growing up. In her honor, The Greek Gourmet served the dish every Thursday.

My Jewish customers would say, "Paula, what are these?" I said, "Southeast Missouri matzoh balls." They said, "We never had a matzoh ball like this." But they loved the chicken and dumplings, so every Thursday we had to have that.

There were no menus for those who went through the cafeteria line. People would look at the food – listen to Paula talk about the food – and make choices.

However, there was a carry-out menu. The Greek Gourmet did a booming take-out trade.


The Greek Gourmet Carry-Out Menu (click image to enlarge)

Paula not only described the food to her customers – she also cooked some of it.

I cooked. Oh, my god, I cooked. I used to start with over a thousand pounds of ground beef. I had to make at least sixty gallons of Bechamel. Sharp cheddar, Romano and Parmesan were the cheeses in my Bechamel sauce. This was for the pastitsio and the moussaka.
We would slice all the eggplant. I'm talking about cases of eggplant. We had to bake them in the oven until they were just perfect. Then you had to layer them like shingles on a house. And you can imagine how much macaroni. Maybe a hundred pounds of macaroni.
I had to have a crew come in at 2:00 in the morning to make this because you couldn't do it during the day. It was too busy.
I had to make one hundred pans every time. We would make them, date them and freeze them. We took out about three pans every day. So every two or three weeks, we had to make it again.

The Greek Gourmet was a family affair. Nicky's mother, Bessie Conis, and her aunts, Nickoletta Kaperonis and Tess Parr, worked in the deli every day. Nicky's four children, Vanessa, Tom, Bessie and Pamela, and Paula's two children, Elizabeth and Laura, all worked at the restaurant.

Jerald Lucas was the manager in charge of the steam table and cafeteria line. He was loved by customers. He knew all of their names and the names of their children.

From left, Paula Exarhou, Bessie Conis, Nickoletta Kaperonis and Nicky Antoniou, 1995


Jerald Lucas	Nicky's son, Tom Antoniou

Many of The Greek Gourmet's staff were from St. Mary's Honor Center, a halfway house on Papin Street, operated by the Missouri Department of Corrections and Human Resources.

They were the sweetest people. And Miss Ruthie, she was the star. She was the cook with me in the back.
One time I said, "Nicky, Miss Ruthie is heating her little house with a gas stove. And she's got all those grandbabies there. Do you agree we need to put heat and air in that house?" We did.
We had no restrictions on the amount of food anyone could eat. We had no restrictions on what they could take home. We would make banana cream pies just for the employees. If they wanted breakfast, they made breakfast. We just had no rules.
But, when we needed them to go that extra mile, they never let us down.

* * * * *

Chris Antoniou died of a heart attack on August 31, 1992 at the age of 63.

Chris and Nicky Antoniou

Paula Exarhou parted ways with Nicky Antoniou in 1998 to pursue a career in real estate. Nicky continued operating The Greek Gourmet until 2002, when Oishi Sushi took over the space.

Nicky Antoniou died on July 29, 2017 at the age of 71 of pancreatic cancer.

Klark Exarhou passed away peacefully at home on March 16, 2021 at the age of 87.

Klark and Paula Exarhou

At the age of 83, Paula Exarhou lives in her home in Chesterfield. She misses her own cooking. Her daughter Laura owns the Orzo Mediterranean Grill in Creve Coeur with her husband. Paula plans to add pastitsio and the famous Greek Gourmet spinach to their menu.

My mother was the most incredible woman. I was 5 years old. They were picking cotton, she and my dad, and she said, "Honey, you know you're out here in the field with us, so you might as well pick."
So she puts this little tow sack on me. I’m picking, they’re ahead of me, and I said, "Mama, I don’t think I like to do this very much." She came back and cupped my face in her hands and said, "Honey, you do the best you can."
And that’s what I have done every day of my life. The best I can.

Harley Hammerman and Paula Exarhou, 2022

You can hear Paula Exarhou tell the story of her life and the Greek Gourmet in the Lost Tables Podcast Series.