History

1980, Nazim Alkan came to this country from Istanbul, bringing with him a treasure trove of family recipes and a skill for executing them. For 14 years, Alkan cooked in a restaurant belonging to somebody else, waiting for an opportunity to start a venture of his own. 

Now, with the opening of Chicken-Kebab, a small luncheonette-cafe in Roslyn Heights,Alkan is in business for himself. Not, however, by himself, since his wife Munevver helps withthe cooking (he describes her as “the best cook in Turkey”), and his son and daughter assist with serving customers. Chicken-Kebab is not a fancy place; there’s a Formica counter with stools, a few booths (but only one table suitable for a group larger than 4) and a selection of oil paintings on the wall that, well, I wouldn’t have chosen.