Great News! Goes Out..... Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant
This month we decided to get a taste of the Mediterranean and venture up to Clairemont to try Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant and a week later we are STILL talking about how fantastic the food was. The menu is packed with traditional Mediterranean specialties that neither of us had tried before; we were up for the adventure! Our server was not only attentive but extremely helpful when it came to picking our entrees. We joked about wanting a little taste of everything and that is almost exactly what we got.
We started with the Borak appetizers seen below. There are three different types you can choose from; vegetarian, cheese and lamb (pictured in that order) or you can get all three like we did. They were all tasty, with a delightful homemade dough but unique in their own way. The Vegetarian Borak was made of spinach, onions, walnuts, sumac and other vegetables and spices. The Cheese Borak had a blend of French Feta and Halumi and had fresh mint inside. This one could even be eaten after dinner because it had a pleasant sweet taste to it. The Lamb Borak was filled with ground lamb, vegetables, nuts, spices and pomegranate. All of the Boraks were baked in a wood fired oven.
Our first platter was the Shish Kabob Mix with three skewers of Chicken, Koufta (a mixture of ground lamb, beef and spices) and Lamb Tika. These flavorful kabobs were served with basmati rice, hummus, tahini and pita bread. Neither of us could pick a favorite, they were all so delicious.
Next up on our order was the Aladdin Meza Platter; we did say we wanted to try a little bit of everything. This platter came with (left to right, top to bottom); Chicken Shawerma, Pickled Beets and Peppers, Lamb Shawerma, Kebeh, Baba Ghanouj, Hummus, Falafels, Dolma and Tabouleh. The Shawermas were extremely flavorful as they were both marinated and slow roasted. The Kebeh was a deep fried mixture of seasoned veal and crushed wheat, stuffed with spiced ground beef, onions and pine nuts. The Dolmas were some of the best we have ever had; you could tell that they were made with love. Tabouleh was a nice way to cleanse the palate after having all of these different flavors. This platter really hit every flavor and texture profile.
We thought we couldn't eat anymore until our wonderful server thought we could use a little dessert. We got the Baklava and Turkish coffee. The Baklava was a perfect way to end the meal. The coffee came in beautiful Turkish pourers and probably would have kept us up all night if we had room to finish them.
We will be visiting Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant soon since we can't stop talking about the food and service. Everything was reasonably priced and by the time we left the entire place was packed with happy faces and full stomachs.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT ALADDIN'S WEBSITE
