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 Ali Baba
There are No 40 Thieves in
Sight
As hit HBO shows, “The Sopranos” and
“6 Feet Under” tell us every week, life is full of paradoxes. Some are
major and some are minor. Begrudgingly I must admit that cuisine is
certainly in the minor category.
However, while my more recent ethnicity (well over a century
ago) stems from such varied areas as Hungary (a culinary plus) as well as
Poland and England (definite minuses), my true roots go back more than 2,500
years directly to the heart of the current and sad Palestinian- Israeli
conflict.
Yet, paradoxically, I have for some unknown and
perhaps compulsive reason NEVER, EVER dined at what could be
called a true Middle Eastern restaurant with the oblique exception of trips to Greece
and Turkey which are really thought of today as part of Europe rather than the heart of the
Middle East.
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In another paradox, my favorite food from early
childhood has been and still is Chinese food. I can eat it every day
including leftovers for breakfast. That is not as surprising as it sounds
because Chinese food actually has become the foster ethnic food of
most non-orthodox Jews of the United States. In fact, there is a Chinese legend
that says that when the mothers of Canton, Szechuan and Hunan send their chef-sons
forth to
the United States to open restaurants, the last advice they give, in
Chinese, of course is: "Seek
a location in a nice Jewish neighborhood". Thus, in Los Angeles, the
first place after Chinatown that was sought was Pico-Fairfax soon followed
by that secondary pseudo ghetto of Tarzana- Encino.
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This is really the remarkable paradox since Chinese food may be
the most non- Kosher food in the world with heavy emphasis on pork and
shellfish which in Yiddish are called “Traif” or dirty. These
scavengers of sea and earth are also banned
in the Muslim world since their food restrictions are derived
from ancient Hebraic and at the time logical dietary laws.
Thus, the next obvious paradox is that while Jews and Arabs
currently agree on little else, they seem almost completely in
agreement about food. The food is similar in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon,
Gaza
and Israel with input from Greece and Armenia.
Subconsciously however, I guess I always knew that my resistance to Middle
Eastern food was a form of Phillip Roth reverse bigotry since the heavy cholesterol laden
European Jewish food of ethnic delicatessens never appealed to
me.
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Maybe because it was also because all
that pastrami, corned beef and chopped chicken liver gave me an upset
stomach. I only enjoyed chicken in the pot with matzoh balls and dumpings
called "kreplach"
But then, a very lean and very
competent doctor who
was also a fine friend and a great tennis player with a superior
palate for food and wine plus an Egyptian birthplace told me about
Ali- Baba. I immediately knew it was much more than a win-win situation. It could be an
exponential one. I had to try it.
He told me it was small, casual, hidden, value priced, and most important to me, different. Just the kind of place
that FrankAboutFood.com should be exploring. But of course, I had to
discover for myself whether the food and service measured up. It did.
| Ali Baba is ensconced in a tiny, spare but immaculate room
with an interesting mural on the right wall
depicting ancient Jerusalem, another paradox. A survey of the very clean kitchen made it
clear that all the vegetables offered that day were fresh and the
food was cooked to order. There were eclectic dining groups from India, the Phillipines, England,
and the Middle East along with two
blonde haired families from Newbury Park. They all seemed to be enjoying
the food. It's great for kids. |
Dining Room is Small But Very Pleasant
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Ali Baba Starters are Different,
Flavorful and Varied. |
Appetizers of stuffed grape leaves ($0.69 each and
falafel (vegetarian chickpea croquettes $0.59) are total crossovers.
Tabouleh, a summer salad ( $4.59) of cracked wheat, chopped parsley,
tomato, cucumber and mint is common to all menus in the middle east.
Baba’s Salad ($4.29 ) consists of chopped romaine, tomato, cucumber and
green pepper dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. It
becomes a beef or chicken Shawarma salad ($9.99) when either of those
shredded meats is added. There is also a Horiataki Greek salad with kalamata
olives and feta cheese. |
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Main courses include chicken ($9.99) and lamb curry ($10.99) as well as
chicken and beef kufteh which are ground, broiled, and seasoned
with onion and Mediterranean spices at $9.99. A whole oven-roasted chicken
basted with garlic and herbs is $12.95. All main courses are served with
rice, vegetables and Baba’s salad.
There are beef, chicken and salmon shawarma and
classic kebabs at similar prices served with rice, hummus or vegetables
and Baba’s salad. |
Main Courses Offer Many Taste Combinations.
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Pita sandwiches featuring many of the above choices are
also served and topped with Baba’s salad for about $5.99.
Desserts are classic offerings of wonderful cross ethnic harisa,
a sweet cake of coconut and semolina wheat and baklava, traditional
layers of flaky pastry with nuts, spices and honey. They both are
delicious.
Family combos that give you a taste of almost
everything and serve two easily are $19.99. I think it is the way to go on
your first trip. We opted for a super combo made specially for us and tasted it all.
Or if you go with a group of 4 or more, order to share as in a Chinese
restaurant. It works very well. As
you now know, we
had never before tasted authentic and serious Middle Eastern food and we
were stunned by the freshness, different flavors and interest created by
this rarely seen ethnic food. It was all wonderful. As is traditional in the
Muslim world, no alcohol is served. We finished off with strong Turkish coffee and found it to
be much more satisfying than most of the mediocre and luke-warm
espressos we have had recently. Finally the extremely competent,
amiable and very hardworking owner and often server, Khalil Salah is......... Palestinian. Life
is just full of those ubiquitous paradoxes.
Ali Baba
2405-A Michael Drive, Newbury
Park Wall Street Shopping
Center
Most Credit
Cards
Easy
Parking
Reservations Not
Needed
Open for Lunch and Dinner 7 Days a Week
805-480-0324
Separate final note: We have been hit by many requests re two new
upscale restaurants that recently opened: One on Thousand Oaks Blvd near
the D0-It Center and the other on Agoura Road in the old Coco's. We have
them on the list ....... along with many others. But... we have found that
reviewing a new restaurant immediately is unfair to the to the restaurant
and the reader. We prefer to wait 90 days to let the restaurant to settle
in .
A perhaps less professional reviewer from our local paper who really
should know much better, recently reviewed one of the two, but apparently does
not understand or care how unfair is an instantaneous review. Her review
was, as usual, totally lacking in any real perceptions and thus a
disservice to all. It did, however, fill and waste 12,500 full-size pages of
paper. A few more trees gone for naught.
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