Ali Baba

Joys in the 'hood

by Margaret LeRoux

Ali Baba 2 Richmond Ave. Worcester (508) 752-8361 Lunch Sun.-Fri. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat. 4-10 p.m. Cash only Handicap accessible

I'm so envious of the people who live in the Richmond Avenue/Pleasant Street area -- with two perfect little cafes, a coffee house with homemade desserts, a pottery studio, and a wine store all within a few feet of each other. Downtown Worcester should be so lucky!

I started out to review Ali Baba, the new Middle Eastern restaurant in the tiny space at the corner of Richmond and Pleasant that formerly housed a skateboard shop. But, during a couple of visits there, I couldn't help noticing all the activity on this West Side corner, so bear with me, as I review the neighborhood.

Since the beginning of the year, several spots have joined the popular Corner Grille (reviewed September 24, 1998). On a typical weekend night, take-out orders fly out of the restaurants, the House Blend Café coffee house is buzzing (I recommend the fabulous Valentine's Day Massacre chocolate-raspberry cake for $3.50) and Clay Time is filled with would-be artists painting plates and pots.

"It's exciting to see this area come alive," says Clay Time proprietor Laurel Knox. Her paint-it-yourself studio is welcoming, with shelves of clay figurines, mugs, picture frames, and light-switch plates. Visiting artists sit at tables stocked with paints and paper towels, and they're encouraged to bring in food and drink and make a party of their painting projects. Knox notes that the small businesses in the area enjoy a collaborative, even symbiotic relationship.

"People get take-out from Ali Baba or Corner Grille to eat while they paint," she says." And they're welcome to BYOB in the evening." Clay Time is open till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

House Blend Café owner John Dean welcomes patrons from neighboring restaurants to use his outdoor tables and says "We're happy to provide coffee and dessert for people to take along to the pottery studio."

Everybody's getting along, including Anas Albizreh and his brother Nofual, co-owners of Ali Baba, who say they've been welcomed to this tight-knit business community. The brothers grew up in Syria where their father owned a restaurant.

"I learned to cook from my father," says Anas, "and I ran a restaurant in Montreal before moving to Worcester."

Syrian cuisine, he points out, is both similar to and subtly different from food served at Worcester's other Middle Eastern restaurants. Many of the dishes have the same names, but Ali Baba's preparation and presentation are unique.

Schwarma ($9.95 dinner/$5.50 sandwich) at Ali Baba, for example, means marinated chicken, beef, or lamb, roasted on a spit and shaved off in thin slices like gyros.

Another of the house specialties is ouzzee ($8.70), layers of crisp phyllo dough stuffed with meat, rice, green peas, and pine nuts.

Falafel here are little fried patties that look like slightly flattened doughnuts made from chickpea flour, spices, and herbs. They're offered as a dinner with hummus, salad, and Syrian bread ($8.95), as an appetizer ($4.99), and in Syrian bread as a sandwich ($3.75).

Ali Baba's hummus ($4.50) is thick and rich with tahini and not overpowered with garlic. The baba ghannoouj ($4.95) is puréed smoked eggplant, also seasoned with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. These two delicious dips nearly caused me to forget about the main courses.

Another appetizer that could make a meal for light eaters is kibbee ($4.99), tapered cylinders made from a mixture of bulgur (cracked wheat), ground beef, sautéed onion, chopped walnuts, herbs, and spices. The mixture is fried, so the outside is crispy. Dip these in some hummus and add a fattoush salad ($5.75), a mixture of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, radishes, and toasted pita chips, for a memorable meal.

On two visits, friends and I sampled several of Ali Baba's specialties. The restaurant itself, though spotless and well lit, is spartan, with only a few tables, so take-out represents most of the business. The Albizreh brothers man the grill. Nofual's wife does the baking.

On one of our visits, the schwarma offered was chicken. The plate was heaped with thin slices tasting faintly of lemon and spices, and side dishes of tossed salad and a superior version of sticky rice pilaf studded with crispy threads of toasted vermicelli made it a complete meal.

We also tried kofta shish kebab ($9.95), a plate heaped with sausage-like cylinders of ground beef, onion, and herbs -- I tasted parsley, mint, and coriander. Kofta is served with rice and salad.

Beef shish kebab ($11.95 dinner/$5.50 sandwich) is several large pieces of grilled marinated meat, tomato, and onion served with rice and salad. As with the chicken schwarma, the marinating here was subtle, allowing the meaty flavor to dominate.

Ali Baba offers vegetarians several options, including grape leaves ($5.50), tightly rolled and stuffed with rice, tomatoes, and garlic and seasoned with parsley and mint. Fassoulia ($5.50) is a mixture of sautéed green beans with garlic, tomato, and onions. There's lentil soup ($2.99) with carrots and onions, as well as chicken soup ($3.50) with vegetables.

Save room for dessert. The baklava ($1.25) is outstanding and a bargain. Here, the filling of chopped walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon is coarse rather than finely chopped, so you get more of the walnut flavor. The layers of phyllo, though drenched in sugar syrup, are still crispy.

Ali Baba doesn't have a liquor license, so you're welcome to an assortment of soft drinks and juices. For a feast that included hummus, falafel, shwarma, kofta, and beef shish kebabs, plus baklava, the bill totaled $42.59.