Mecca in downtown Raleigh has a spectacular spaghetti sauce. Would they part with the recipe? -- J.K., Raleigh
Founded in 1930 by Nick Dombales, Mecca (13 E. Martin St.; 832-5714) is Raleigh's oldest restaurant. Floye Dombales, Nick's daughter-in-law, shares the recipe, noting that it was given to the family by an army officer who had picked it up in Italy, where he had completed a tour of duty during World War II. The Dombales family has adapted the recipe over the years, but they have kept it true to the spirit of the original. "Customers tell us it's not like their mother's spaghetti sauce," Floye Dombales says, "it's like their grandmother's."
