Durham Introduces Nomads Kitchen

Find global flavors at this new college town spot

Photo courtesy of Julie Cote

Julie Cote and Lee Rashkin, two self-proclaimed foodies, are bringing together world cuisines at Durham’s new fast-casual restaurant, Nomads Kitchen.

Inspired by a family of chefs, Rashkin has always respected that food can be an experience. Along with Cote, the two are able to combine their love for food and travel, crafting a menu with what they call global flavors.

Rashkin and Cote both attended college in New Hampshire, Rashkin at Plymouth State University and Cote right down the road at UNH. Today, they both also work at Presby Environmental, where Rashkin is CEO and Cote is the marketing director. “We travel throughout the states for our work, and Lee often travels internationally to places such as Singapore, Australia, France, Puerto Rico and Ireland,” says Cote. “In our travels, we tasted foods from street vendors, food trucks, host families, high-end restaurants and local mom-and-pop restaurants. We want to bring those flavors to a diverse college environment where young adults are becoming more global.” Their slogan, “Bowls Without Borders,” reflects their diverse mix of cultures that make up their menu.

With a build-it-yourself menu, Nomads offers a selection of kitchen favorite pre-designed bowls, where you select your own base and protein. If you decide you want to “Go Rogue,” you’re given the option to start from scratch, choosing the base, protein, toppings, sauces and the crunch.

“When I was in Budapest, there were many street carts selling gyros. That’s where we came up with the idea for the MED Head.” says Cote. “The bowl comes with a Tzatziki Halal fusion white sauce and a spicy honey Sriracha red sauce. The toppings include quinoa, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, pickled red onions, harissa chickpeas, feta cheese and baked pita crisps.” A couple other popular dishes include the SOKO, a Korean barbeque-style bowl made with spicy gochujang, mung bean sprouts, Asian apple slaw, red peppers, snap peas, carrots and fried wontons. Crossing continents comes the MADre, a bowl with adobo chipotle sauce with cilantro and garlic. The toppings include pico de gallo, black beans, jicama (a Latin American root), corn and cherry tomatoes. These are just a few of Nomads’ creations.

While their ingredients are inspired by foreign recipes, their tap selection is local. Stretching from Southern New Hampshire to Maine, Nomads offers Great North Aleworks, Stoneface Brewing, Citizens Cider, Switchback and Maine Brewing Co. They also serve Nobl Coffee’s cold brewed hot and iced nitro coffee and Aqua ViTea Kombucha on tap.

As befitting the name, Nomads also has a Seacoast-area food truck, which is available for catering events, food truck festivals, weddings and fairs. They also give back to the community in a number of ways, including donating 10 percent of their daily proceeds to the organization of the day. On top of that, they hold team dinners and lunches for UNH club sports and other UNH organizations. “Fundraising allows us to not only to give back, but keep us engaged with Durham and UNH community,” says Cote.

Be sure to check out their restaurant on Madbury Road in Durham as they host live music and events throughout the fall, spring and summer. For more information, check out the website here.