One thing you’ll notice about the Shelby Co./Birmingham area is that there’s a lot of fine dining to enjoy. On the outside, some of the places serving some of the greatest meals you could want may not be obvious.
Ali Baba, in the Centre at Riverchase in Hoover, is a good case in point. On the outside, the big red neon lights advertising Persian cuisine in a strip mall don’t suggest much. But step inside, and you are positioning yourself for a fabulous dining experience.
After being convinced by a business associate to give this place a try, my wife and I have seen the light. Ali Baba has rapidly climbed the hit list to being one of our favorite places to eat.
Frankly, the thought of Persian food wasn’t very appealing to me to begin with. The friend’s insistence finally convinced us to try it.
After sampling Ali Baba’s menu offerings, we emerged from our first visit about ready to kick ourselves for not having visited here sooner.
It’s not for any single reason that we think so much of Ali Baba. Rather, it’s the consistent combination of factors that make for a great dining experience.
First, we’ve never had a meal that even slightly disappointed. Ali Baba’s management must have a pretty simple philosophy about the ingredients used in their offerings: If it isn’t fresh, it doesn’t get served. You really notice and taste this commitment, whether it’s the spices, the greens in the salad, or the main entree. Everything is nicely served, waiting for you to dive into. That’s true whether it’s the grilled chicken kabobs or the beef kabobs or lamb. Haven’t tried the tilapia yet, but from one table away, it looked very good.
Entree offerings include beef tenderloin, lamb, chicken, and even quail and Cornish game hen, along with salmon and shrimp and vegetarian options, as well. Dessert options mention chocolate suicide cake, white chocolate macademia nut cheesecake, baklava and a Persian homemade ice cream called Akbar Mashti.
But even before the entree shows up, you’ll be impressed with the hot, freshly baked bread served with nuts, cheese, greenery, onions and butter. I have to admit I considered this a pretty strange combination the first time I saw it. But that was before trying it, and now we’re hooked.
Speaking of hooked, the Mixed Grill does it for me. Touted on the menu as a “symphony of lamb chops, beef kabob, boneless breast of chicken and large shrimp, broiled over an open fire,” served with basmati rice and grilled tomato and green pepper, it’s so delicious you’ll want to clean the plate. At $22.99, it’s a huge, filling meal, and one I quickly judged worth every dime.
Second is the service. We’ve consistently had top-notch service—as good as we could expect anywhere. Our servers have always been friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, happy to answer questions or make recommendations, and check on us frequently to make sure all’s well. It may be a small point, but it’s really nice for a server to notice that your water glass is getting low and refills it without your even having to ask. I say that only because we have to ask at a number of restaurants, but not here.
Third would be the atmosphere. This is a small restaurant providing intimate settings where your dining experience is enhanced by the surroundings. If you’d like a change of pace from busy chains with so much noise and mayhem that you almost have to yell for your dining partner to hear you, Ali Baba is definitely the ticket. It can be very popular at times, though — on one recent Saturday night, the wait was more than an hour. Fortunately, reservations are accepted and recommended (823-2222).
Unlike many restaurants, Ali Baba is open Sundays, both for an afternoon buffet and evenings for full dinner.
For me, Ali Baba was taking a chance, given that Persian cuisine was just not something I was initially interested in trying. For some reason, I suspected it meant a foray into bizarre foods with heavy spices. I emerged from my first meal at Ali Baba realizing that I had basically been missing out on meals that were not only delicious, but pretty healthy, as well.
I felt foolish for having judged Ali Baba in advance, without ever having given it a try. Here’s hoping you don’t make the same mistake, because if you do, it’s your loss.
