 |
|
  |
TASTE: Middle East Eats
Ali Baba's Lebanese cuisine deserves
to be experienced By
Max Jacobson |
|
Ali Baba 8826 S. Eastern
Ave., 688-4182. Hours:
11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday;
until 1 a.m. Friday-Sunday. Suggested
dishes: makdous, $6;
shankleesh, $7; kibbeh balls,
$7; quail appetizer, $12; Sultan
Ibrahim, $18; mamoul, $6.
Photo by Iris Dumuk |
|
Ali
Baba is the most ambitious Lebanese restaurant
to open here since Leyla at the MGM Grand, and
here's hoping it experiences a better fate. Lebanese
cuisine, along with Turkish, is the pride of its
region. It's also vastly underappreciated in this
country, unless you happen to live in New York
or Los Angeles.
Leyla, run by a Lebanese company called Idarat,
served fancy dishes such as raw lamb mixed with
bulgur wheat, shrimp wrapped in shredded wheat
crusts, and delicious fish preparations. Unfortunately,
it was ahead of its time and eventually replaced
by Michael Mina's Seablue.
Ali Baba may be location-challenged as well. It's
next to Colonnade Cinemas, in a minimall on the
corner of Eastern and Pebble. This mall, incidentally,
is no stranger to good eating. A few choices here
are the Cuban café Havana Grill; Jun's, a Korean
lunch spot; and Vegas Diner, traditional American
fare in a retro setting.
But this newest addition is the mall's unquestioned
star, an alabaster and gold palace with gaudy
columns, dreamlike murals and tables draped in
red and gold. At least a dozen Tiffany lamps hang
suspended from the crimson-hued ceiling. Tables
are set with glass bottles topped with green spouts,
which hold the extra virgin olive oil that you
will mix with your complimentary dish of za-atar,
thyme and other herbs tossed with toasted sesame
seeds, which you eat smeared on rounds of puffy
pita bread.
I like to come here for a quiet lunch, when the
only sounds are soft Arabic-language music videos
playing on one of the restaurant's plasma-screens.
It's more rousing in the evening, thanks to a
live band that performs nightly, plus actual belly
dancers.
The glory of Lebanese cuisine is mezze, hot and
cold appetizers that fill the table when Lebanese
people have any say in the matter. Ali Baba serves
almost 30 of them, not just the usual hummus,
tabbouleh and baba ghannouj, but creative, delicious
dishes you won't find anywhere else in the city.
From the cold side, try makdous, pickled eggplant
stuffed with walnuts and garlic; or shankleesh,
aged white cheese mixed with oregano, sumac leaves,
sesame seeds, onions, tomatoes, parsley and olive
oil.
I love fattoush, a lemony salad of Romaine lettuce,
cucumber, tomato, mint and garlic, tossed with
crunchy pita croutons. Kibbeh nayya is made with
beef here, instead of the traditional lamb. It's
the Lebanese version of steak tartare, and irresistible.
The hot appetizers are even harder to resist.
Kibbeh are fried balls of cracked wheat mixed
with ground meat, filled with more ground meat
and pine nuts. There are more than a dozen other
choices, such as makanek, clove-scented sausages
sautéed with tomatoes and onions; or sojouk, a
spicier version; lahim bei ajin, little meat pies
studded with pine nuts (they're big on pine nuts
here); or broiled quail, a pair of whole birds
redolent of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and
cilantro, all quite Mediterranean.
I'm content just to make a meal of mezze, but
there are a slew of main dishes I like, too. All
the kabobs are marinated and taste it, and there
are a few stir-fries, made from spicy chicken,
lamb and salmon, all good with the rice and lentil
pilaf they are served with. Save room for Sultan
Ibrahim, deep-fried or char-grilled mullet served
with French fries and tartar sauce.
For lunch, try the shawarma sandwich, a combination
of lamb and beef seasoned and cooked on a vertical
broiler, two sandwiches wrapped in pita bread
and wax paper, each stuffed with tahini sauce,
onions, tomato and pickled vegetables. Served
with spiced fries and a dish of olives and beets,
this may be, at $6, the best deal in Henderson.
Let's not neglect the desserts, even if only a
few of them are made every day. If they have kuneifi,
don't miss it. It's a flaky pastry filled with
a hot, sweet cheese drenched with honeyed syrup,
one of the most sensual desserts in all of the
Middle East. Naturally there is baklava, a tender
version overflowing with minced pistachios and
walnuts, although I prefer mine without the rosewater
perfumes of these. I am, though, a sucker for
these homemade mamoul, rich, buttery cookies filled
with a choice of date, pistachio or walnut, the
perfect complement to a muddy java, Arab-style.
|
|
|
|
|
702.688.4182
Bookmark It
Email Friend
Print It