Ali Baba

Occasion: Low-key birthday dinner for my brother
Location: Ali Baba on 34th betweeen 2nd and 3rd (alibabaturkishcuisine.com)
Edibles: small mixed appetizer; I had the doner kebab; he had the Mediterranean salad with chicken (though he ordered it with lamb)

Musings: My brother didn't feel like a night out, so instead we ate takeout at home and watched the new episode of House. As he said, simple pleasures. It occurs to me he's actually pretty smart for a young'un. Happy 21st, kid!

Despite its cringe-worthy name, Ali Baba serves some pretty awesome food. I love their mixed appetitzer. I get it all the time - it's the perfect warm weather dinner. It's got hummus, patlican salatast (a smoked eggplant dip), another eggplant concoction with tomatoes, ispanak (sauteed spinach) and lebni (yogurt with walnuts and dill). It comes with half a wheel of bread for dipping, and there's usually enough food to last me for two meals. They do have a heavy hand with the garlic, so be forewarned.

If eating with a friend, it's nice to get one of the meat dishes to round out the meal. The doner kebab is a classic, of course. I also like the iskender kebab, which is the shaved lamb over a bed of fried bread, doused with tomato sauce and yogurt. It's sloppy and hearty and wonderful - a little lasagne-like even. Their adana is decent too, if sometimes a tad dry.