Kouretas, who came to the United States from Olympia, Greece in 1970, worked as a bus boy in the cities of Salinas and Monterey before being able to save up enough money to buy his restaurant. John's XLNT foods opened in 1976.

While working in Salinas, Kouretas met his wife, Sophia, and has been "happily married for almost 34 years now."

"My family is my life," Kouretas said. "I am proud to have my family working with me every day. My son started working here when he was just 15 or 16 and is now the manager."

Sophia Kouretas and John's brother Pete both work in the restaurant each day.

"When you work together, the family tends to stay closer. You are all working for the same goal: to make the customers feel welcome and give them great food," Kouretas said.

What might be considered the house specialty at John's XLNT Foods is the avgolemono, a Greek soup consisting of chicken broth, chunks of fresh chicken, rice, lemon and egg.

"The soup is something that most Greeks eat a lot of, no matter where they are," Kouretas said.

"I think one of the reasons we have so many loyal customers who come in to the restaurant is because we serve dishes that can't be found anywhere else in this area," Kouretas said.

Another popular Greek dish served at John's is the moussaka, which is a casserole.

"We like to serve Greek food here. It's what we have learned, and it is our heritage. It is like sharing a small piece of our Greek history with the Willow Glen people," Kouretas said.

Some of the other dishes that have the flavor of Greece are the dolmathes—grape leaves stuffed with rice, lamb and a secret mix of spices made fresh by Kouretas.

Another item that Kouretas is proud of is the lamb shank, kapama, which is pieces of tender lamb served with pasta.

"When you go to the store do you buy fresh ground beef or do you buy the frozen? You buy fresh, so why would you want to eat anything that has been frozen when you go out for a meal?" Kouretas says about the fresh versus frozen debate.

"Each day we get fresh lamb, beef, fish and chicken. Customers may not think that they can taste the difference between ours and frozen, but I know they can," Kouretas said.

Friday is fish day at John's XLNT Foods.

"We have lots of fish dishes. Sometimes we run them as a special during the week, but Friday is the day people come from all over for our sole, Cajun catfish and swordfish. We do excellent things with fish for our customers," Kouretas said.

"You have to love what you do," he added. "You have to love being a chef and creating meals for people to enjoy, seeing their faces light up as they take a bite of tender lamb for the first time or hearing how much they enjoyed a dish that they have never tried before."

Other daily specials that run at John's XLNT Foods are Kouretas' own meatloaf and the baked chicken oreganati.

"All of these dishes are made with my customers in mind. I ask myself what I would enjoy eating and then I make it for them," Kouretas said.

John's XLNT Foods, 1238 Lincoln Ave., is open Monday through Wednesday from 7 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday the restaurant is open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. There is an American breakfast menu available in the morning hours. Call 408.998.1440 for more information.