The freshest pita you can find in NC and other freshly prepared Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes are just a stones throw for those in Chapel Hill. This is probably the healthiest place I eat in Chapel Hill, even still I find myself frequenting Med Deli all the time!
Med Deli is situated on the west end of Chapel Hill's Franklin Street. A street filled with bars and mediocre restaurants for the most part, Med Deli stands out as a beacon of palette saving light.
Cold Selections and Deserts
The best thing about this place is the fresh food of course. Add to that the fact that they do make an effort to be green and purchase locally and you've got a recipe for praise. There is so much variety here that I don't think you could ever try everything before the menu changes up on you. You will never leave hungry, and it'll always be crowded with local Chapel Hill folk.
Cold Bar Condiments
The all you can eat cold bar is more just condiments for your food but the olives are amazing and the spicy pepper sauce makes my mouth water. Don't take advantage of the bar though. No one likes it when you waste food!!!
Greek Salad
There's nothing wrong with a nice glistening Greek salad for lunch. It's usually enough to fill you up for a few hours but you really should eat a piece of desert with it. And Med Deli has a great selection of finger deserts. After all you should reward yourself for being good.
The Daily Special
If you're feeling like you could eat a horse or you've skipped a meal or you can just put back a lot of food you should consider getting the daily special. It's a hodgepodge of some sort of protein dish over some saffron rice with a side Greek salad and of course some pita bread on the side. I've never actually seen anyone finish it all but it's all very nice if you're really hungry. All of that can be yours for just 7 dollars.
Soujouk Fatayer
The fatayer are new to the Med Deli line up. If you've been coming to med deli for years, you know that it used to have half the size with a row of market goods along the left wall. Since the time of a over packed house, they've expanded to half their size and the famous pita machine that pumps out pita bread like mexican restaurants pump out fresh tortillas. Along with all of the renovations came the fatayer.
A fatayer is practically a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern pizza. The soujouk fatayer contains turkish sausage, a fresh egg, feta and mozzarella all wrapped in fresh dough and baked. When ordering though make sure you know that these take about 15 extra minutes because of the prep and baking time. But if you have the time, it's definitely worth the wait.
Falafel Pita
This brings us to the ever classic falafel. I've always enjoyed a good falafel sandwich and Med Deli does a great job and keeps it very affordable. This is probably my most frequent go to meal because it's not huge like the special or the fatayer, and it's portable! And with the cold bar you can customize it to your spicy/garlicy/tadziki-y flavor. Perfection in a pita!
Cheers,
--Joe Kwon
For Mediterranean Deli's website click here.