Restaurant Highlight: Aladdin.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my new friend (Lisa) and I decided that we would get together every few weeks to try out new restaurants.

Several Wednesday's ago, we decided to try Nawab, an Indian restaurant. Nawab had great reviews so I figured it would be the best place to try. I love, love, love Indian food and the one in Albany was a special favorite. I was happy to learn that Lisa was also an Indian food lover. The food was good but not nearly as good as the one in Albany. They mixed up our orders. I ordered shrimp curry and Lisa ordered chicken madras but I ended up getting shrimp madras and Lisa ended up getting chicken curry. It wasn't the biggest issue since my meal was still tasty. I was starving so I didn't take any pictures. I know, what was I thinking?

This is becoming one of my most favorite hobbies. Wait, is trying new restaurants a hobby? I'm going to say yes.

Last Wednesday we went to Aladdin's, a Middle Eastern Restaurant. It was delicious and the cutest little spot.

We tried arnabit which is cauliflower, deep fried and drenched with tahini sauce. I thought it was tasty but definitely could have used less sauce. We tried their pie sampler as well which was kebbee (meat and bulgar pattie stuffed with ground beef onions and pine nuts and then grilled and dipped in butter sauce), semboske (baked homemade bread stuffed with spinach, onions and spices) and meat pies (baked homemade bread stuffed with ground beef, onions and pie nuts). I loved the semboske and the meat pie but was not a fan of the kebbee. I think it was too crunchy or maybe grainy for my taste.

We also tried their babaganoush dip (smoked eggplant blended with tahini sauce, lemon juice and garlic, drizzled with olive oil). This was delicious and we put it on the pies and the complimentary warm pita bread that was sent out. I did not take a picture. I need to get better at this but sometimes I just want to eat.

For our entree, I tried their Grilled Craydees and Scallops (grilled shrimp, scallops and mushrooms brushed with garlic and olive oil) which was so good.

Lisa tried their Aladdin Chicken Kabob (grilled pieces of chicken breasts and mushrooms brushed with garlic and served with a side of arnabit). I did not get a picture sadly but she raved about it and ordered the same thing to take home to her boyfriend.

It was our first time eating at an Middle Eastern Restaurant and it won't be our last. The service was great and once again we went during an earlier time so we basically had the restaurant to ourselves. We discussed whether we wanted to start going a little later and we both agreed that we like going at an earlier time. It's nice to be the only ones in a restaurant. Our waitress made a joke when she brought our check. She said, "there's an extra fee when you book the entire restaurant on a Wednesday night." She was pretty great and helped us newbies make our selections.

We also decided to rate the restaurants we have tried that we liked the most since we started (not including restaurants we've gone without each other).

1. Tapas
2. Aladdins
3. Nawab

Tapas is our favorite so far! We'll see if it stays on top ;).