Write an Assignment on `Ethnography of an Unfamiliar Cuisine`

Ethnography of an Unfamiliar Cuisine

I have always enjoyed learning about different cultures . It 's fascinating to see how certain aspects of a region 's culture tie together . Everything from food to religion to music seems to be interrelated . In the restaurant that I chose to explore , I found that familial ties are literally what hold the entire restaurant together Often times , one can learn a great deal about a particular culture simply by partaking in an authentic dinner at an ethnic restaurant . For this particular project , I chose to experience the

cultural traditions associated with Greek dining

Luckily , I was able to visit the restaurant at an off-time , where there were not too many people in the restaurant . This also allowed the wait staff to be able to direct their attention towards me better than they would have been able to at , say noon on a Saturday afternoon . Once I entered the establishment , it became suddenly clear to me that the entire restaurant was actually family owned however , this is not in the same way that many restaurants claim to be family owned ' where perhaps a married couple own the establishment and they hire high school kids as wait staff . No-everyone here seemed to intimately know one another . I asked the waiter if he was related to the owners , and he replied that he and his sister worked there , which I can only imply meant that the restaurant is , in fact , family owned . Immediately after I was seated , the waiter left to obtain my drink . As he came back out with my water , an elderly gentleman came out with a folder full of work , and sat down at one of the empty booths . I asked my waiter if he was the owner . He said that he was , and that he was the waiter 's father

This in itself seems very different from many other cultures . Often times , it seems as thought there is one person owning a business Perhaps one of his children may help out , but it is the owner 's primary responsibility to find workers . In this situation , it seems quite the opposite-that it is the owner 's family 's responsibility to help out and work at the place of business

Once the waiter came back with my drink , I was having a difficult time deciding what to . After informing my waiter that I was a vegetarian , he suggested that I try the Greek salad-a favorite of many regulars . I agreed , and the waiter scurried off back into the kitchen to place my . As soon as the door shut behind him , the man at the booth yelled something that I could not quite understand . A few seconds passed without his return , and the old man yelled once again . This greatly surprised me , as I have never been to an establishment where the workers actually yell at one another in the front of the house . I simply chalked this up to the restaurant actually being...