Background: When I was growing up in Istanbul, my mother worked, so I helped with cooking. After high school, I trained in culinary arts in Turkey.
Ownership Opportunity: My family knew Mustafa and Sibel (recently retired owners of Nil’s) in Turkey. I call him Uncle Mustafa, and I’m grateful he sold the restaurant to me.
New Food Items: With the food truck, I wanted to create high-quality, modern Mediterranean food that can be featured in the restaurant.
The chicken salad recipe is the same. We added chef ’s choices like falafel with smoked eggplant, roasted cauliflower with goat cheese and red pepper vinaigrette, and a gyritto, which is a fusion burrito with beef, lamb, turco de gallo and a medi sauce based on my mom’s recipe.
Splurgeworthy: We have baklava, carrot cake, peanut butter chocolate cake and our most popular dessert, a 10-layer honey cake (editor’s tip: get this in your life ASAP).
Future Plans: My goal is to offer affordable fine dining in a casual style. On Friday evenings, we plan for reservation-only four-course dinners.
Fine-Tuning: We adjusted to five days a week and are now closed Sunday and Monday. This gives us time to recharge and be with family. We want to be involved in the community however we can, because we plan to be here for a long time.
Nil’s Cafe Mediterranean Cuisine
513 Broad St., Fuquay-Varina
(919) 567-0887
medibites.net
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