March 2012 Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine

FOREVER YOUNGFOREVER YOUNGLifestyle Magazine Celebra t ing the 50-Plus Communi ty o f the Pa lm Beaches

A Town-Crier Publication

March 2012Lifestyle Magazine

InsideDr. Ron Peterson’s Lifelong Journey

Dr. Kathleen Minnick On Breast Health

Chris Papas, Owner Of I’m Greek Today

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Dr. Ron Peterson’s Lifelong Journey

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March 2012 • Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine • Page 3

Page 4 • Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine • March 2012


CONTENTSYOUR GUIDE TO THIS MONTH’S ISSUE

MARCH 2012Published as a supplement to the

March 2, 2012 edition of the Town-Crier

PublisherBarry S. Manning

Executive EditorJoshua I. Manning

Associate PublisherDawn Rivera

Project EditorChris Felker

Senior EditorsJason Budjinski

Ron Bukley

Art & Production ManagerStephanie Rodriguez

BookkeepingCarol Lieberman

Account ManagersBetty Buglio

Evie EdwardsWanda Glockson

ContributorsDenise Fleischman

Jessica GregoireLauren MiróJoe Nasuti

Abner PedrazaDeborah Welky

Forever Young Lifestyle Magazineis published by

Newspaper Publishers Inc.12794 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 31

Wellington, FL 33414Phone: (561) 793-7606

Fax: (561) 793-1470www.foreveryounglifestylemagazine.com

Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine is publishedmonthly as a supplement to the Town-Crier news-paper. Copyright 2012, all rights reserved byNewspaper Publishers Inc. Contents may not bereproduced in any form without the written con-sent of the publisher. The publisher reserves theright to refuse advertising. The publisher acceptsno responsibility for advertisement errors beyondthe cost of the portion of the advertisement oc-cupied by the error within the advertisement it-self. The publisher accepts no responsibility forsubmitted materials. All submitted materials sub-ject to editing.

6Dr. Ron Peterson’s Lifetime Of JourneysDr. Ron Peterson, originally of Trinidad and theformer director of rehabilitation at the Royal Manornursing home in Royal Palm Beach, has a new postafter a lifetime of travels, adventures and teaching:He's now director of the physical therapy assistingprogram at South University. BY JESSICA GREGOIRE

10Dr. Minnick Helps Patients Lower Cancer RisksBreast surgeon Dr. Kathleen Minnick uses her skillsnot only to help patients survive breast cancer shouldthey develop the disease, but also to help those whomay be at heightened risk do what they can to avoidbecoming a cancer statistic. BY JESSICA GREGOIRE

14‘One Call Does It All’ At PMI RemodelingPaul Tonks and his son Phil of PMI Remodeling &Repairs have been in business in Wellington for 20years, and their reputation for conscientious work iswidespread, garnering them a long list of loyal cus-tomers. BY RON BUKLEY

18Restaurateur Chris Papas Has Found His NicheChris Papas has found the business niche he was des-tined for, and the customers of his Royal Palm Beachrestaurant I'm Greek Today are the richer for it. Heblends a lifetime of restaurant experience with favoritefamily recipes, and the combination has cooked up suc-cess. BY CHRIS FELKER

On The CoverCathy & Frank DiTullio enjoy a night out on the town. PHOTO BY JORDAN BROWN

‘Celebrating the 50-PlusCommunity of the Palm Beaches’

ColumnsSenior Dining Specials All Started In The 1960s With ‘Smorgasbord’

MEMORY LANE BY JOE NASUTI, PAGE 25

Getting Old Would Be Easier If Music Hadn’t Gone Downhill!SENIOR MOMENTS BY DEBORAH WELKY, PAGE 26


SITTING AT HIS DESK, in his officeat South University, Dr. Ron Petersonreminisces on a life filled with uniqueexperiences. From his childhood grow-ing up on the small Caribbean islandof Trinidad to his recent appointmentas director of the physical therapy as-sisting program at South University,Peterson has most certainly led an ex-citing life.

As a published author of two books,Baa Baa Black Sheep and Journeys ofMy Life, he has written stories abouthis life experiences, from his travelsin the British Royal Army to living inNorthern Ireland.

Peterson’s journey began when heleft his homeland for the internationalcity of London. “As Trinidad is aformer British colony, after highschool, I went off to London to pursuemy studies,” Peterson said. “Whilethere, I was attracted by the militaryand joined the British army.”

Peterson joined the Royal ArmyMedical Corps as a dispenser. DuringPeterson’s time in the army, he spenttime in Germany, Malaysia and Sin-gapore. But he was not satisfied as adispenser and wanted a more hands-on profession. “So I went back toschool in London and trained as aphysiotherapist,” Peterson recalled.“After graduation, I had to give thearmy back some service, so I went toBelfast, Northern Ireland.”

After his service, Peterson obtainedhis teaching degree from Ewell Tech-nical College in Surrey, England.Armed with his degree and extensivetraining from a top English physicaltherapist, he moved to Jamaica, wherehe became the head of the physicaltherapy training program at the Uni-versity of the West Indies. “Back in

years of experience in physical thera-py,” he said. “I realized that I had somuch to offer in terms of experience,knowledge and teaching.”

To share his knowledge with others,he decided to apply for a teaching job.Luckily, in January 2011, Peterson re-ceived his opportunity to teach, as thenew program director for the physicaltherapy assisting program at SouthUniversity. “The university opened itsnew campus in Royal Palm Beach, andas fate would have it, there was a va-cancy for program director,” he said.“So I applied for the position and wasaccepted.”

South University is a multi-campusuniversity with nine campuses acrossthe nation and classes online. The uni-versity offers master’s, bachelor’s andassociate’s degree programs in fieldsfrom physical therapy to informationtechnology.

Peterson is excited to be working atSouth University and is confidentabout its future. “We have just gonethrough our 10-year accreditation vis-it, and I feel very optimistic that wewill have no problems in reaccredita-tion,” he said. “We offer a very highquality of physical therapy teaching.”

Peterson wants to bring the school’sphysical therapy program to the nextlevel of excellence and is looking for-ward to helping students succeed intheir careers. “The program has beenongoing now for over 10 years, and Ihave just taken over the reins, and I’mhopefully leading it in a good direc-tion,” he said.

Peterson said his top goal is to bringout the best in South University’s stu-dents. “I think that I inspire them anddemand very high standards, and theyare excited by the challenge,” he said.

Author, Doctor, Teacher And Traveler:Dr. Ron Peterson’s Lifetime Of Journeys

1975, I graduated the first physicaltherapy training program in the Carib-bean,” he said.

After years of teaching in Jamaica,Peterson returned to his native Trin-idad and opened a private practice, buthe didn’t stay put for long. “The min-ister of health for Trinidad asked me ifI could go to Tobago to start the first-ever physical therapy service for theisland,” he said.

Peterson spent eight years in Toba-go, where he met his wife of 30 years,Carmen, and started his family. But theneed for new experiences called onceagain. “The lure of professional life gotme up and running, so I put my résuméout there,” he said. “The next thing youknow, I’m in Louisiana.”

Peterson became the head of reha-bilitation services at Slidell MemorialHospital in Slidell, La. “That was a tre-mendous position because I was incharge of eight different departments,”he explained.

For Peterson, the job was a dreamcome true. But life in Louisiana left abit to be desired. “It didn’t have thebeaches and casual lifestyle that ap-pealed to us,” he said. “My wife want-ed us to move to Florida, so we did.”

Peterson and his family left Louisi-ana for sunny South Florida, where hebecame the director of rehabilitationat the Royal Manor nursing home andskilled nursing facility in Royal PalmBeach. “I spent three years there be-fore opening my own private practice,”he said.

Peterson is now owner of PetersonRehabilitation, at 5912 OkeechobeeBlvd. in West Palm Beach across fromCentury Village, and has become awell-respected expert in the field ofphysical therapy. “I’ve had close to 40

BY JESSICA GREGOIRE | Forever Young Staff Report

FOREVER YOUNG PROFILE


A lifetime of travels aroundthe world under his belt,Dr. Ron Peterson is nowdirector of the physicaltherapy assisting programat South University.

PHOTO BY JESSICA GREGOIRE/FYLM STAFF


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FOREVER YOUNG PROFILE“Since I have come onboard, I have revised ouradmissions standards so that

only the top students can getinto this program, which isa very intense program,

where in 15 months theygraduate with a degree inphysical therapy assisting.”

Peterson enjoys teaching,and he believes his studentscan sense his passion for thefield of physical therapy. “Idon’t just stand there andlecture; I try to capture thestudents’ attention by keep-ing them engaged,” he said.“Nowadays, teaching is nolonger talking at students,it’s more of an interactiveprocess.”

Students themselves areable to identify areas wherethey need further instructionand concentration. The in-structor then assists them indeveloping and understand-ing those particular areas. “Ilook at myself not as a teach-er but as a facilitator of stu-

dent education,” Petersonsaid. “It’s a long way fromteaching physical therapy inthe Caribbean. In those daysI taught it, and now I facili-tate it.”

Peterson has been teach-ing since 1974 and has seenmany dramatic changes inthe area of education. “Thewhole process of educationhas shifted almost 180 de-grees,” he said. “I’ve had along history of education,and this is why I wanted tobe teaching full-time.”

Although Peterson hasbeen on a long, eventfuljourney throughout his life,he ultimately enjoys the lit-tle things that make livingworthwhile. He spends freetime writing books, garden-ing and playing music.

Dr. Ron Peterson with one of theskeletal models he uses with hisstudents.

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AS PEOPLE GET OLDER, cancer riskincreases. That’s why Dr. KathleenMinnick, a board-certified breast sur-geon, emphasizes the issue of routineexaminations with all her patients, es-pecially seniors. Minnick advises pa-tients to make lifestyle changes to re-duce their risks of cancer.

Women who have gone throughmenopause are particularly at a higherrisk for cancer and of high concern.“The risks for perimenopausal wom-en are higher than for younger womenof having a malignancy,” Minnick said.“I advise my patients to start screen-ing early and to take precautions.”

A 1992 medical school graduatefrom Penn State Hershey Medical Cen-ter in Hershey, Penn., Minnick’s train-ing and extensive surgical expertise atsome of the top hospitals in the arealed her to open her own practice in2010, Advanced Breast Care of thePalm Beaches. Most of Minnick’s pa-tients don’t have breast cancer, but sheexamines them to ensure that they areon a healthy and cancer-free path.

Minnick gives each client personal-ized, one-on-one attention. She spendsher time speaking with them and lis-tening to them, informing them dur-ing her highly critical risk-reductiontalk. “I give this talk to all of my pa-tients. It’s an important part of my ex-amination,” Minnick said.

For seniors, Minnick understandsthat they sometimes need an extra earto comprehend what she is saying. “Weoffer a special service here, where we

of cancer, Minnick stressed. Fromhealthy nutrition to routine examina-tions, Minnick discusses ideas with herpatients. “A woman who is not on cal-cium with vitamin D, she needs to geton it, and talk to her medical doctorabout the appropriate dosage, becausekidney, diabetes and thyroid diseasewill affect how much is needed,” shesaid.

According to Minnick, anyone over50 needs a screening colonoscopy,which checks for colon cancer. “If youhaven’t done it, go and get it done assoon as possible,” she said. “There re-ally isn’t a better substitution for it, andit isn’t really that bad; you sleepthrough the whole thing.”

Something as simple as getting ayearly physical can have an impact onreducing the risk of cancer. “It’s im-portant to get one every year to screenfor diseases like high cholesterol, dia-betes, heart disease and stroke risk,”Minnick said.

Seniors should be doing some formof physical activity in order to reducetheir risk of cancer. From taking walksto exercising, these measures make adifference in not only cancer reductionbut in a better overall health.

“Everybody should be exercising atleast five days a week for more than45 minutes,” Minnick said. “You don’thave to be Lance Armstrong, but do-ing that will reduce your risk of breastcancer over 40 percent.”

Exercising is a crucial part of main-taining a healthy weight and physical

Breast Surgeon Dr. Kathleen MinnickHelps Patients Lower Cancer Risks

can have their child telephone in, andlisten to what I’m saying,” she said.“Their child, or whoever, could be upin Pittsburgh, Chicago or at their job,and can close the door and be on speak-erphone, and participate in the visithere — especially since that supportis so critical.”

Minnick takes extra care with olderpatients. She understands that meetingwith a surgeon can be difficult for peo-ple of any age, but particularly hardon the elderly. “We help them thinkabout planning for after they come outof the operation,” she said. “We tellthem that they need transportation, andask them if someone is going to bethere. That’s why it’s good when theirchildren phone in so they can be in-volved in the decision-making.”

Having that extra ear is extremelybeneficial. “We ask the children to callin during the appointment, so they canlisten in during the whole thing, thehistory, physical exam and the wholediscussion,” Minnick said.

Since the process of meeting with asurgeon can be difficult, Minnick ad-vises seniors so come in with some-one as a support during their visit. “Iwould encourage anybody who is go-ing to the doctor and who is over 45 tobring someone,” she said. “If it’s animportant visit and you’re talkingabout heart disease or cancer, and howyou’re going to manage it, it’s alwaysgood to have a second set of ears.”

Seniors must take proper care ofthemselves in order to reduce their risk

BY JESSICA GREGOIRE | Forever Young Staff Report

FOREVER YOUNG FEATURE

Many breast cancer risks are out of your control, but by taking proper care of yourself, you candecrease your overall risk. ‘We can’t control our genetics like who our mother was and what

genes she passed on to us,’ Dr. Kathleen Minnick said. ‘But we can control what we eat, howmuch we weigh, how often we exercise and whether or not we take hormone replacements.’


Dr. Kathleen Minnick with thebiophotonic scanner byPharmanex she uses to check apatient’s carotenoid skin levels.

PHOTO BY JESSICA GREGOIRE/FYLM STAFF


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FOREVER YOUNG FEATUREhealth. “A post-menopausal womanwho loses 22 pounds will decrease herrisk of breast cancer by over 57 per-cent,” Minnick noted.

Eating a healthy diet and having theproper nutrition is another importantaspect of risk reduction. “Everybodyshould be taking a multivitamin andeating all the colorful fruits and vege-tables as fresh as they can get them,”Minnick said. “That is critical to pre-

vent all sorts of diseases, particularlymalignant ones.”

During physical examinations, alongwith checking a patient’s vital signsand weight, Minnick tests carotenoidskin levels using a biophotonic scan-ner by Pharmanex. With the scanner,Minnick is able to determine whetherher patients are eating enough fruitsand vegetables.

“I scan my patients when they comein for a visit to tell them whattheir skin carotenoid score is,”Minnick explained. “This waythey can see if their multivi-tamins are working or if theyactually are eating enoughfruits and vegetables.”

With the recent trend of hor-mone replacements, Minnickurges seniors to monitor theirdosage. “You should checkhow long you should be on itwith your medical doctor,” she

said. “You don’t want to be on it toolong because your risk of breast can-cer will go up.”

These are all reasonable measuresthat can make a major difference incancer risk. “We can’t prevent breastcancer yet,” Minnick said. “What wecan do is reduce our risk by taking thefactors that we can control.”

Many breast cancer risks are out ofyour control, but by taking proper careof yourself, you can decrease youroverall risk. “We can’t control our ge-netics like who our mother was andwhat genes she passed on to us,” Min-nick said. “But we can control whatwe eat, how much we weigh, how of-ten we exercise and whether or not wetake hormone replacements.”

Advanced Breast Care of the PalmBeaches is located at 12160 SouthShore Blvd., Suite 103, Wellington. Formore information, visit www.breastabc.com or call (561) 798-7494.

Dr. Kathleen Minnick and her husband BrianGrosso with their three therapy dogs.

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PAUL TONKS AND HIS SON PHILof PMI Remodeling & Repairs havebeen in business in Wellington for 20years, and their reputation for consci-entious work is widespread, garneringthem a long list of loyal customers.

Phil, a state-certified building con-tractor, started out in real estate andjoined his father’s company 15 yearsago. “The business was growing andneeded somebody, so I decided tocome on over,” Phil recalled.

Paul, 66, and Phil, 40, both live inWellington with their families. Phil’swife, Stacie, works at the 1,000-square-foot showroom at 3340 Fair-lane Farms Road, Suite 6. The compa-ny also operates a 2,000-square-footcabinetry shop there.

He’s in the age group that the 45-and-up people really like dealing with, anolder generation. Where I come in iswith the younger and more technolo-gy-savvy clients, so we pretty muchcover the whole scope.”

The company’s web site at www.pmi1call.com enumerates many of theservices they offer. “I’m actually intotechnology,” Phil said. “I’m co-founder of a company called myonlinetoolbox.com. We’re building a com-munity platform for contractors at anaffordable monthly fee.”

Using Phil’s software, contractorscan set up their company online over-night and get their first 15 transactionsfor free. “It has a free period, whichturns into a subscription once they see

‘One Call Does It All’ At The Father-SonTeam Of PMI Remodeling & Repairs

No job too large or too small forPMI. “We do everything,” Phil said.“We do building additions and com-plete renovations.”

However, they also repair smallitems, such as a damaged drawer thata customer brought in and they re-paired on site.

Trust is a key factor for PMI’s cus-tomer base. “A customer can call in andask for something to be done, they giveus the key, we go out and do it,” Philsaid.

Paul, originally from Great Britain,built the base for the company, estab-lishing the customer trust and servicethat has been a cornerstone of the firm.“We take care of them,” Phil said.“That’s what my dad has built it on.

BY RON BUKLEY | Forever Young Staff Report

FOREVER YOUNG FEATURE

Paul and PhilTonks, owners ofPMI Remodeling& Repairs, intheir Wellingtonshowroom.PHOTO BY RONBUKLEY/FYLM STAFF


if they’d like to use it,” he said. “Itshares leads between contractors. I’mmore into the technology, and my dad’smore into the hands-on side of the busi-ness.”

Phil said that the difference betweenPMI and other repair and remodelingcompanies is that it has a showroomwhere clients can browse through dif-ferent types of kitchen cabinetry,counters or bathroom styles. “We’re acontractor with a showroom,” he said,explaining that the recently remodeledshowroom is more for the customers’convenience than to make a sale.“We’re not selling a product. We don’thave walk-in customers typically.”

Rather, the showroom is for clientswho are trying to visualize how thingswill fit together. “You pick out a cabi-net, you pick out granite, the tile,” Philsaid. “You can build from A to Z withour showroom.”

While some showrooms sell cabin-

etry and counters and refer buyers toan installer, PMI coordinates the en-tire project. “A customer can deal withone place to get the job done,” Philsaid. “We control the electrician, theplumber, the cabinet installer, the tileguy, the countertop people — every-thing that’s going on.”

He contrasted their method with theapproach of large home outlet stores,where the customer comes in to selectmaterials, and the sales person givesthe customer an installer’s name. “Thecustomer has to deal with that install-er,” Phil said, pointing out that if thecustomer is not satisfied with the in-staller, he has little recourse.

On the other hand, “we’re here ev-ery day,” he said. “They have directaccess to the person who sold them thejob and follows it through to the end.The customer is not coming in here tobuy 500 square feet of tile. The show-room is here for the convenience of a

person to pick tile, pick the cabinetsand put the cabinets next to the tile,put the countertop next to the cabinet.It’s to make the process easier.”

PMI makes custom cabinetry in theirshop. “We have a custom cabinet shopin the back where, if you say you wanta cabinet 2 inches wide by 100 incheslong, we build it,” Phil said. “We havea spray booth back there where we canfinish it. We can match finishes. Wecan repair cabinetry and repair wood-work.”

This comes in very handy for cus-tomers needing repairs. “You can’t buya whole new kitchen because a draw-er’s damaged, and you can’t buy amatching drawer head for an old kitch-en,” Phil noted.

Paul said he is proud of the fact thatPMI always answers the phone direct-ly and stands behind their warranty. “Ifsomeone calls us two years later andsays something has gone wrong, if it’s


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FOREVER YOUNG FEATUREsomething we did or something we canfix easily without great expense ofmaterials, then we go back and do itand we don’t charge them,” Paul said.“That’s really what’s held this togeth-

er, is our total reliability, and the cus-tomer is always right.”

Paul said he has customers who havebeen with him for 20 years. “Some ofthe customers that I started out with,

most of them are still with us,” he said.“It’s hard to do.”

Happy customers are a great sourceof referrals, he noted, having just got-ten off the phone with a customer whohad referred him to someone else whoneeded two bathrooms remodeled. Heanticipates that PMI will get theproject. “If I don’t get a job, I need toknow why,” Paul said. “If it’s some-thing we did wrong, then I need toknow why. If our pricing is wrong, Ialso need to know.”

PMI Remodeling & Repairs will goout of its way to help someone find anunusual piece of hardware that needsto be replaced, or to fix a piece of bro-ken cabinetry that cannot be replaced.“We’re hoping people see value inthat,” Phil said, “where they come backwhen they need something.”

For more information about PMI,call (561) 798-5722 or visit www.pmi1call.com.PMI’s Paul and Phil Tonks with staff members.



CHRIS PAPAS HAS FOUND theniche that his life’s path has been guid-ing him toward, and he’s settling intoit comfortably as owner of a popularlocal restaurant.

I’m Greek Today, located in RoyalPalm Beach’s Southern Palm Crossingshopping plaza, is the product of ablending of Papas’ experience with hisfamily heritage. His long road towardrestaurant ownership started when, at8 years old, he began washing dishesand making deliveries for his father’seatery in Montreal. His family lineageis as true-blue Greek as it gets, andPapas has brought that into the mix byincorporating recipes handed downacross family generations.

Papas’ mother was born in Greece,and his father came to North Americaby way of Egypt, the descendant ofGreeks who went to Alexandria andCairo early in the 20th century to op-erate cotton factories. He was born inMontreal but holds dual citizenship inthe United States.

Now 55, he opened I’m Greek To-day in 2009, when he’d decided thetiming was right to introduce Greekcuisine in the area. “I wasn’t the pio-neer of Greek cuisine down here,” Pa-pas said, “but I was probably in thewestern communities.”

And he has seen the community’sembrace of this cooking style and cui-sine get warmer over the time I’mGreek Today has been open. “I canhonestly say I think Greek is the newMexican, or new Italian,” he said. “Alot of people are very receptive to the

Papas is particularly happy with hishead chef, who isn’t just the guy whobrings his family’s best dishes to cus-tomers — the chef is also a well-knownmusician back in his native Greece. Hisname is Panayote Bousoudoukis (pro-nounced booz-DOOK-iss).

“He’s also our bouzouki player onweekends, because he’s a famous bou-zouki player from Athens,” Papas said,referring to a Greek guitar, larger thana mandolin.

Ah, so there’s entertainment, too,besides the silent loop of Zorba theGreek playing on flat screens overheadand the lively Greek music heard overthe sound system.

“We have live music on Saturdayson occasion, and we have a belly danc-er on occasion, on Fridays,” Papassaid. “Panayote plays by himself. Hehas all the great music, because he’splayed for some of the biggest stars andall the big bands in Greece. He’s beendoing it for 50 years.”

As for the food, if you love any ofthe traditional Greek dishes, you’ll bein heaven at I’m Greek Today, wherethe aromas when you walk through thedoor start you salivating. The longmenu begins with the house specialty,souvlaki platters, made up of marinat-ed meats and seafood right off the grill.They range from $10 for single por-tions to $16 for the most expensivedouble, the lamb souvlaki.

All the skewers are served over aGreek salad, with Greek fries (basical-ly French fries sautéed with lemon, oiland oregano), olives, feta and tzatziki

Chris Papas Has Found His Niche AsOwner Of Restaurant I’m Greek Today

cuisine. Maybe they were a little bitapprehensive at first, not knowing whatGreek cuisine is, but when they final-ly come and eat, they realize it’s deli-cious.”

Papas is glad to be in a business soclose to his roots. “Both of my parentswere Greek, so I grew up with Greekfood. First, grandma used to make thefood, then mom took over,” he said.“My dad was a very good chef, too. Iguess I learned the Greek food frommy grandmother and mother, and Ilearned how to be a restaurateur frommy father.”

Now on his home turf as far as cui-sine goes, Papas got his start in SouthFlorida with partners in a restaurantchain back in the 1990s.

“I was part of a group that owned asmall chain out of California, calledKookooroo,” he recalled. “We had fiveof them, and then the company wasbought by the Chi Chi’s/El Toritochain, and they didn’t want to have fiverestaurants so far away from the WestCoast, so they bought us out and closedthem. We were disappointed becausewe thought we’d have up to 30 or 40of them by today.”

In today’s venture, he’s far morehands-on with the cuisine. “We’vebeen very fortunate,” he said. “We’vebeen considered the best restaurant inthe Royal Palm Beach area by tripad-viser. com and by urbanspoon.com.We’ve received a lot of accolades,which is very nice, but … as I say,we’re only as good as the last custom-er who walked out of the restaurant.”

BY CHRIS FELKER | Forever Young Staff Report

SENIORTOPIA: DINING OUT

‘I can honestly say I think Greek is the new Mexican, or new Italian,’ Chris Papas said. ‘A lot ofpeople are very receptive to the cuisine. Maybe they were a little bit apprehensive at first, notknowing what Greek cuisine is, but when they finally come and eat, they realize it’s delicious.’


dip (a delicious concoction of yogurt,cucumber and garlic).

Next up on the list is that great,healthful Greek lunch — the pita wrap,available with the standard variety offillings. Even the lamb used in the oldstandby gyro sandwich is lower-fatthan other cuts, Papas said. “It’s likehaving a burger — there is a certainpercentage of fat — but the thing that’shealthy about it is the fact that it cookson a spit in a vertical position, whichmeans the fat drains off, so you’re leftwith just the meat,” he explained.

The pita wraps can come with a sidegreen salad or the fries.

The Greek specialties and entreesinclude his Aunt Geri’s Moussaka,

“which is our version of eggplantparmesan,” he explained. “We put inthinly sliced baked potatoes, with egg-plant that we fry in a pan, lightly bread-ed, then we put the meat sauce, thenwe put another layer of eggplant, thenwe finish it with the béchamel sauce,and then we bake it in the oven until itbrowns.”

Among other dishes are Pastitsio, aGreek version of lasagna; Costa’s Mac-aronada, Greek pasta with meat saucetopped with feta cheese; and Paidakia,marinated lamb chops served on a bedof spinach sautéed in garlic and oliveoil.

Papas prides himself on the goodfood he provides, and trains staff per-

(Above) I’m Greek Today owner Chris Papas with his head chef, PanayoteBousoudoukis. (Right) The front of the Royal Palm Beach restaurant.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS FELKER/FYLM STAFF


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SENIORTOPIA: DINING OUTsonally when introducing family reci-pes. “I am a cook; I do on occasioncook here. [The menu is] all my reci-pes, so I introduce them to my kitchenstaff so they can duplicate what I want,the way I want it,” he said. “We have aquality group of individuals.”

Another point of pride is the freshand healthful, sometimes organic, in-

gredients that go into the lovingly pre-pared dishes.

“Our food is fresh every day. I gobuy the fish fresh every single day,because to me, it’s the key. This is nota party restaurant, it’s not a huge res-taurant, it’s not a restaurant that has ahuge bar crowd. So for us, it’s reallyall about the food,” Papas said.

His customers and their wide gamutof desires are the focus. “We have cus-tomers who eat here five days a weekand are on diets and have lost 30pounds eating our food,” he said.“Then we have other customers whojust love to enjoy and try all the differ-ent things that we have.”

Greece being the land of a thousandislands, Papas buys lots of fresh fish,mostly Florida species, but also somefish that come in from Greece. He im-ports Pacific sea bass and wild Alas-kan and Pacific salmon, in season. Andthe restaurant has yellowtail snapper

and swordfish, fresh every day. FromGreece, he’ll bring in bronzini, alsodorado and, whenever we can get it,baby smelt. “We’re one of the fewplaces that offer fresh fish on a dailybasis. So people expect that,” he said.

However, he doesn’t go crazy withexpensive seafood. “Our goal is to of-fer simple, quality food, and reason-ably priced — accessible to every-body,” Papas said.

Soon, customers will be able to placeorders online for catering; that’s of-fered starting at $19 per person forgroups of at least 10, and 24 hours’notice is required. For that cateringprice, a party or event host gets achoice of two appetizers to offerguests, a Greek salad first course, achoice of two entrees and one dessert.

I’m Greek Today is located at 11051Southern Blvd., Suite 210, near SteinMart. For info., call (561) 333-4233or visit www.imgreektoday.com.Chris Papas with waitress Shari Coombs.



“EARLY BIRD SPECIAL” conjuresup visions of senior citizens swarm-ing restaurants just before workingfolks’ dinner hour with their canes andto-go satchels. However, today, manyrestaurants offer far more upscale din-ing options, catering to the ForeverYoung crowd, but providing less re-strictive, value-orienting dining. Westopped by a few local restaurants tolearn how they are serving today’s se-nior generation.

CENTANNI RESTAURANT

Owner and head chef Fidel Alvarezof the charming Centanni Italian Res-taurant on State Road 7 at SouthernBlvd. in Royal Palm Beach doesn’toffer a traditional early bird concept— he offers his entire menu with aspecial added bonus for early eaters.

His restaurant, which has been opennearly seven years, used to offer anearly discount menu with about 15choices, even though its all-inclusive

shrimp marinara or fra diavolo on a bedof spaghetti.

The dinner menu is also reasonablypriced. The specialties include ninechicken dishes ranging from $14.99 to16.99; seven veal courses from $16.99to $18.99; three eggplant dishes at$14.99; and three steak preparations,all at $19.99. The fresh seafood menuis even longer and includes baked filetof sole for $14.99; shrimp scampi,marinara, fra diavolo or francese at$17.99; up to a broiled seafood platteror zuppa di pesce for $21.99.

Alvarez, 41, has been working inrestaurants since he was in high school,but his background is unique. He’soriginally from San Miguel, El Salva-dor, and came to the United States atage 13.

“During the 1980s, there was a bigwar going on back in El Salvador, andI didn’t want to be part of either theright or the left, so I got out of the coun-try and came to New Jersey,” he ex-plained.

Without relatives or direction here,he took the first job he could find,which was washing dishes in a mom-and-pop pizzeria. Within two years hehad moved up through various jobsuntil he was running the kitchen.

With a little advice from a friendlyschool counselor, he went on to studyculinary arts and restaurant manage-ment while still working at the pizze-ria.

“From high school into college, Itook that, and I was still working inthe pizzeria, and learning all about Ital-ian cooking,” he said. “That’s all Iknow how to cook. All Italian. This ismy menu; this is what I do.”

Alvarez said he never learned howto cook native Salvadoran dishes be-cause he was small and his family was

‘Early Bird’ No More: Restaurants CaterTo A New Generation Of Senior Citizens

menu already features very reasonableprices.

Alvarez noted that if customersdidn’t see exactly what they wanted onit, they would insist on substituting adish from the regular menu, for thelesser price.

“I got tired of that,” he recalled, “andso I opened the whole menu up. So, ifyou come in before 5:30 p.m., you or-der what you want, and you get yourcoffee and your dessert on me.”

That menu is a fully stocked Italianlineup, with a complete starter list ofappetizers ranging from tomato brus-chetta, meatball bites or freshly mademozzarella sticks for $5.99 on up tobaked clams for $7.99, seafood saladfor $9.99 or hot antipasto for $10.99.

There are the traditional soups andsalads, bread and sides. The lunchmenu includes salads, subs, pasta, adozen specialties and fresh seafooddishes and omelets, in a range of $5.99to $10.99, which will buy you a 10 oz.steak marsala served with spaghetti or

BY CHRIS FELKER | Forever Young Staff Report

SENIORTOPIA: DINING OUT

Centanni’s FidelAlvarez makesfresh mozzarella.PHOTO BY CHRISFELKER/FYLM STAFF


too focused on survival. “It was reallytough; we were very poor,” he said.

He’s very happy doing what he’sdoing. “I always cook like I’m cook-ing for myself,” Alvarez said. “Mything in cooking is always to try toplease the customer and to make it asfresh as possible. We cook everythingto order.”

Centanni features outdoor dining andromantic niches inside, and the menuis vegan-friendly.

Alvarez noted that he’s starting to getcalls for a traditional early bird menuagain, so he’s thinking of adjusting hishours and starting an aggressive pushin that direction. In the meantime, he’sopen at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinnerevery day except Sunday, when thehours are 4 to 10 p.m.

Centanni is located at 10107 South-ern Blvd. in the Village Shoppes pla-za. It actually faces State Road 7 rightnear the northwest intersection of the

southbound lanes of SR 7 and the west-bound lanes of the Southern entranceramp. Call (561) 792-7677 or visitwww.centanniflorida.com for info.

FRANCO BISTRO

Franco Italian Bistro is tucked awayin one of the outparcels surroundingthe Mall at Wellington Green. Its ad-dress is 10160 W. Forest Hill Blvd.,Suite 130, in the Pointe at WellingtonGreen. Victor DiVivo. 68, owns therestaurant, which just opened fourmonths ago.

Describing himself as “one hundredten percent Italian,” DiVivo takes pridein his traditional Italian menu and es-pecially the flavorful, light, fresh styleof cooking he has his staff employ. Hehas an enticing early dining menu,which at Franco is called the “SunsetMenu.”

The Sunset Menu is available from

4 to 5:30 p.m. daily all year round. Itconsists of a three-course dinner for$22 per person. The choices start offwith one of two salads (Insalatina Mis-ta Di Stagione or Insalata Cesare) orone of two soups (Pasta E Fagioli AllaToscana or the Zuppa Del Giorno).

Then the patron can choose from oneof five pasta dishes, two fresh fishchoices (almond-crusted wild salmonor Florida red snapper in light tomatogarlic sauce) or three chicken prepa-rations. Dessert is a choice of Tiramisuor Strawberry Napoleon. The deal alsoincludes a starch and vegetable of theday, plus a choice of soft drink or cof-fee.

DiVivo said his Sunset Menu is verypopular and that most people can’tbelieve the deal for the price. Normal-ly the combination of the three wouldbe $30 and up. He said Wednesday,Friday, Saturday and Sunday are thebusiest nights.


FY

SENIORTOPIA: DINING OUTDiVivo used to own 85 restaurants

in the northeast that he sold many yearsago. “They were inside shoppingmalls, from South Jersey, all the wayto Maryland, Pennsylvania and Dela-ware,” he recalled. “Then I had one big

one in downtown Baltimore in the har-bor district, called Victor’s Cafe. Weused to serve 200 people on our busynights, and the Food Network choseus as the best in Baltimore. We werevery famous for our crab cakes, which

we now serve here, too.”When he came to Palm

Beach County, DiVivoopened Victor’s Cafe onWorth Avenue. “It was alittle coffee shop. I sold itlast year ... and then I cameover here because I lookedaround here, and all therestaurants I saw werethese big chains. Therewas nothing personal.”

DiVivo employs a chefwho, like himself, is fromItaly. “We cook the prop-er way, like we cook in It-aly,” he said. “We use lit-tle cherry tomatoes; they

come from Naples. Everything is donewith fresh tomatoes; everything is doneto order. The fish comes every dayfresh; it doesn’t matter what it is.Sometimes we get Alaskan (salmon),but it depends.”

Mediterranean branzino is a big sell-er, but the fish offerings depend uponwhat’s in season. “We cook [in] a sim-ple way, with fresh tomatoes, we bake[entrees] in the oven, and they’re very,very light,” DiVivo said, adding thatthey use fresh herbs and organic in-gredients. “We try to keep our pricesin line; they’re not cheap, but they’renot too expensive, they’re in between.But we give top, top quality,”

Franco is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.for lunch, and serves dinner until 10p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. Fri-day and Saturday.

For more about Franco Italian Bis-tro, call (561) 615-1551 or visit www.francoitalianbistro.com.Franco Italian Bistro owner Victor DiVivo.


EARLY BIRD DINING ofthe 1960s and ’70s was thefamous “All You Can EatSmorgasbords” with break-fast for 99 cents, lunch $1.99and dinner $3.99, and theywere on just about everystreet corner throughout theU.S.A. Everybody from kidsto seniors were out everynight. At those prices, whycook?

The smorgasbords for themost part have disappearedand have been replaced bythe “All You Can Eat Buf-fets” … isn’t that the samething? The prices have in-creased, but $9.99 is stillcheaper than cooking, andthere is no cleanup!

However, today’s earlybird rules the dining circuituntil the next phase of af-fordable dining emerges …same thing, different name!Nevertheless, early bird isjust not a seniors’ exclusive,although we make up themajority and crash through

wild Wildwood Days!In the 1960s, I was in my

20s, and my parents weresnowbirds every winter inMiami Beach (79th & Col-lins), the city of “All YouCan Eat.” Mom had doneher due diligence, and wehad our “where to dine to-night” schedule down to ascience; it was multiplechoice every night. Youwould walk along CollinsAvenue, and there weresigns everywhere. Yes, myfriends, the foods wars wereon, and they were out for ourbusiness!

Now, let us not forget theentertainment. As an added

Senior Dining Specials All StartedIn The 1960s With ‘Smorgasbord’

the doors at 4 p.m. (beforethe food runs out … neverdoes … but who knows, itmay happen someday). Theyounger generations arenow taking advantage of thebargains and arriving justunder the deadline as we areheading out the door.

Meanwhile, back in the’60s and ’70s … for years, Iwent with my Italian family(22 aunts and uncles) tomany a fine smorgasbordthroughout Philadelphia andSouth Jersey. My favoritewas the peel and eat shrimp,so while I was filling a bowlwith shrimp, the person nextto me was filling her plasticbag-lined handbag (that wasmy Aunt Eleanor). My momhad a schedule of where togo each night, either Italiannight, Chinese night or, ofcourse, the Friday night sea-food extravaganza. Thosewere the days — those wild,

MEMORY LANE BY JOE NASUTI

FY

Joe Nasuti is an entertain-ment columnist for theTown-Crier newspaper. Hismonthly Memory Lane col-umns feature memories frombygone days.

incentive, many restaurantsoffered live entertainment,dancing and bargain-priceddrinks. Actually, that also isstill going on … so why notlook through the Town-Cri-er, choose from the manyrestaurant promotions, andenjoy a night out? I look for-ward to seeing you there!

Well, that takes care of thismonth’s stroll down Memo-ry Lane. I hope it joggedyour memory and broughtsome smiles to your faces.’Til next time, remember:We can’t help growing old-er, but we don’t have togrow up … so stay ForeverYoung!

For years, I went withmy Italian familyto many a finesmorgasbordthroughout

Philadelphia andSouth Jersey. My

favorite was the peeland eat shrimp, sowhile I was filling a

bowl with shrimp, theperson next to me

was filling her plasticbag-lined handbag.

SENIOR MOMENTS BY DEBORAH WELKY

Getting Old Is No Fun, But It Would BeEasier If Music Hadn’t Gone Downhill!


Deborah Welky’s humor column The Sonic Boomer ispublished weekly in the Town-Crier. Follow her on Twitterat www.twitter.com/TheSonicBoomer and visit The SonicBoomer page on Facebook. FY

WHEN I WAS about 25, my grandmother told me, “Get-ting old is no fun, Debbie.” The flip answer for that wouldhave been “it beats the alternative,” but I didn’t use thatretort on Grandma because I loved her and trusted her andbelieved everything she told me.

And, of course, she was right.Now, it’s easy for those of us — shall we say, “well out

of high school”? — to moan and groan that everything’sworse these days. Our energy level may be down; our gen-eral health may be questionable; and the economy may bemaking us gloomy, but we need to keep in mind that wefaced challenges at every stage ofour lives. They were just differ-ent challenges.

I mean, when was the last timeyou gave yourself stomach painsover the next day’s exam? Orworried that you wouldn’t havea date for the prom? Or had todrag yourself in to work at 7 a.m.even though you’d been up allnight with a sick baby?

Those days were no picnic, ei-ther, but we survived. And our re-ward is that we already have ourdiplomas; we found our true love;and if the baby so much ascoughs, we immediately hand itback to its parents, our children.

Here’s what has changed forthe worse since our youth — themusic.

Oh, not all of it, of course, butI choose to blame the natural andnecessary evolution of music forall my crankiness. Whatever hap-pened to the “High Hopes” songsung by Frank Sinatra? I foundmyself singing this little ditty theother day and marveled at howcorny it was. Lest you forget, itsriveting lyrics detail the efforts of

a tiny little ant to move a rubber tree plant. No one thinkshe can do it, but he has “high hopes.” And pretty soon,according to songwriters Jimmy Van Heusen and SammyCahn, “Oops!” another rubber tree plant is missing.

So the ant moved more than one! You go, little insect!A few decades later, the rock group Pink Floyd came out

with another song entitled “High Hopes” written by DavidGilmour and Polly Samson, and it spoke about remember-ing the grass as greener, the light as brighter and the tasteas sweeter. But there were still “high hopes.”

Today, there is a group named “Debauchery” with its ownlittle ditty (which you may saveas your cell’s ringtone if desired),and the ditty is titled, “Kill MaimBurn.” Debauchery providestheir lyrics online for “education-al” use only, but, paraphrasing,the singers promise to chop upthe listener’s skull using variouswoodcutter’s implements, fash-ion its remaining pieces into atrophy of sorts and wrap thewhole interesting collectible inthe music lover’s own entrails.

I’m depressed.Is this where artistry has taken

us? Is this a masterpiece of thefuture? Has Beethoven “rolledover” yet in his grave?

Sinatra’s “High Hopes” songwent on to tell us to keep ourchins up, that problems are likeballoons — they fly away, theypop. I think the word “kerplop”is used.

If Debauchery used “kerplop”in its lyrics (quite unlikely), thesound would probably merelysignal that the listener’s liver hadhit the floor.

But I now consider myself “ed-ucated.” If I hadn’t gone online,

I never in my wildest dreams would’ve envisioned a tro-phy like the one described. Now, I can’t seem to get it outof my mind.

Where’s that little ant when I need him? I’d like to helphim haul a couple of rubber tree plants to the car.

Here’s what has changed for the worsesince our youth — the music ... I choose

to blame the natural and necessaryevolution of music for all my crankiness.

Dr. Manoj Patel,DDS & Dr. Sunita Sirivolu, DMD

Royal Palm Beach

561-795-766811903 Soutern Blvd. Ste #116

Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411

Lake Worth

561-582-1911225 S. Federal Highway

Lake Worth, FL 33460

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March 2012 Forever Young Lifestyle Magazine

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