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| - I really enjoyed this place. My wife and I were looking for vegetarian options in our neighborhood and we were favorably impressed. It was also past nine when we got there, and we weren't the only people. I like it when places are open late.
We each had a glass of the Lebanese table wine, and we tried both white and red. They were lighter tasting than, say, CA wine, but very flavorful and drinkable. They're not served in actual wine glasses and I'm embarassed to say I got some up my nose when I tried to smell the wine :)
We split a falafel salad plate and a mojadarah plate. Now, these are both things we can make at home (in the case of falafel, with considerable effort and bother), but I thought Aladdin's did a good job on these basic dishes. The baked onions on top of the mojadarah were a lot better than I can do, and the falafel didn't have any of the typical pitfalls (well cooked, neither dry nor greasy). The falafel is fried in peanut oil, which I liked. It tastes different from grapeseed (lighter) and I might switch over to that if I ever make falafel again at home.
We barely finished both plates. Portions were generous and if we hadn't been so hungry we might have taken some home. I wasn't crazy about the pita bread and we didn't eat more than a bite or two of that, but we finished off everything else. The garnishes were very good. In particular, the lebanese salad garnishing the mojadarah really improved the dish--it added a nice bit of acid, and we gobbled it up.
The atmosphere is diner-ish but there are tables where you can sit outside. We'll definitely be going back when we want a cheapish veggie meal and are too lazy to cook.
This would be a good place for groups--low stress environment to sit and chat a while with dinner.
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