When I was growing up, my family had a tradition around the holidays. My grandmother, who we call Mimi, would make pita, but I'm not talking about the fluffy flatbread that is probably coming to mind.

Tom Metlovski, who comes from the tiny village of Brusnik in Macedonia, a former republic of Yugoslavia, didn't know how to cook a thing when he and his wife, Vicky, opened Village Gardens Restaurant ...