Nick the Greek has dinner plans for you.

“You ready for a menu?” the stocky, tanned barker asks passersby along Dodecanese Boulevard in Tarpon Springs, across the street from the world-famous Sponge Docks. He looks 40, but has the energy of an ADD-driven teenager.

With a simple “No thank you,” the woman walking by thinks the encounter is over.

“How about a foot massage? Oil change? Winning lottery numbers? I’m single! I’m single! How you doin’???”

This story was originally published in Creative Loafing Tampa June of 2006.