Chef Spotlight: Culinary Globetrotting with Samy Sabil of North Fork Shack in Southold

I would burn an egg when I was in college,” says Samy Sabil, the good-humored chef-owner of the equally fun North Fork Shack in Southold.

It wasn’t until the native Moroccan took a job at the North Fork Table & Inn in his 20s that he realized his future might be in hospitality.

“I got a good vibe from the owners, I started bussing tables and in two weeks I was waiting tables,” says Sabil. “Within a month I got into wine, so I started commuting into the city to get my sommelier license, and within a year I was managing and helping put the wine list together.”

Then, in 2015, he and a fellow foodie at the long-time Southold fine-dining staple took a chance and opened a catering business called Creative Courses.

“We would just cook for friends for fun on our days off, and when the restaurant closed for the winter, we’d take these food trips. We’d go to Morocco or Spain or France and eat and drink our way through it and slowly the interest (in our food) started building up,” says Sabil. “We started doing bigger and bigger (catering) events and needed a bigger kitchen and this place was up for lease. It was a machine shop, so we had to build it up into a restaurant.”

Originally, the structure was supposed to house just the catering business, but they ended up creating enough space to accommodate an eat-in dining crowd. The Shack was officially born.

“We figured, let’s do a 20-seat shack, good food and we change it all the time … everything from sandwiches to high-end plates and we have fun with it … I’ll put together specials, something more creative, more thoughtful; that’s how this product came along.”

Sabil, 40, says he’s made up for his lack of classic training with an abundance of natural curiosity — and an ability to learn from his mistakes. “I have no problem failing … I play around with things and I have fun with it,” he says. “Building a menu is a tricky thing. We were lucky that we built what we wanted and there was a good reception to it.”

Eight years later, Sabil’s still having fun. The menu at the shack is as globally inspired and rangy as ever. There are starters like a Thai coconut curry bowl, cod croquettes and clam chowder, while mains like a super-crispy buttermilk fried chicken sandwich strike the perfect comfort note. The S.L.T. — crispy shiitake mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, avocado and garlic-lemon aioli — was sold out, while a grilled halibut sandwich with Old Bay tartar, and pulled lamb on a pita with cucumber yogurt sauce and pickled veggies, were packed with clean flavor.

He does Moroccan-style carrots as a side dish and the occasional tagine, but the ever-changing list of specials is his favorite thing to put together. Depending on the day of the week, or where Chef Sabil’s travels have led him recently, you might get anything from Korean-style short ribs to Irish shepherd’s pies to arroz con pollo, Cuban-style.

“Traveling has always been my therapy,” he says. “During COVID, I started doing these themed dinners. I’d pick a country on Monday and I’d come up with five dishes from that country, and we’d blast it out (on social media) and take orders on Wednesday and Thursday. It gets great feedback.

“But we have things on the menu we can’t take off, too … the fried chicken, I can’t take off, the lamb I can’t take off, the fish sandwich. The specials are when I get to have fun and try new things.”

The Shack also does wine dinners, pairing Sabil’s dishes with selections from local vineyards, while Sabil is also creating a line of spiced honey called Samys Sauces that’s now on sale in store.

Recently married, Sabil says his wife requested a Moroccan menu for their wedding.

“I ended up catering my own wedding because I thought, I can’t really outsource this,” he adds. “I’m the only Moroccan chef around.”

North Fork Shack is located at 41150 Route 48, Southold. For more info, visit thenorthforkshack.com.