Persian is pull at Aladdin’s

LITTLE ROCK — Does a Persian-Mexican grill qualify as “Asian fusion”?

Aladdin’s is certainly an unusual, if not completely unique, hybrid.

Though we dabbled a little in the Mexican side of the menu, were reasonably pleased, and someday hope to explore it a little more deeply, we found the Persian portion more fascinating. (There are plenty of Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood, but there hasn’t been a Persian place around here since Ali Baba’s, a fine but unsuccessful kebab establishment located just a few blocks west, came and went in the mid’90s.)

Aladdin’s is in the Ashley Square Shopping Center, right next to a Subway, which does a lot more business at night; we’re guessing a lot of people either don’t know Aladdin’s exists, or perhaps they’re not sure what it serves, or when.

The interior layout is pretty much similar to the previous occupant, the Masala Tea Room, which offered Pakistani cuisine.

There’s nothing particularly Persian or Mexican in the tidy decor. There’s a nice set of framed seashells on one wall; the others have framed and unframed artwork with Mediterranean landscapes, a couple of tall cityscapes (one of New York and another of the Eiffel Tower) and a stylized antique map of the world.

The color scheme is mostly shades of brown, the color of the vinyl in the booths, the surfaces of tables and the two kinds of tiling on the floor (what had been the Masala Tea Room buffet area is sort of cork-like).

We normally notice but don’t often cavil at the background music, but Aladdin’s tunes, loudly, into a top-popof-the-moment radio station, which several times raised our hackles and/or the hair on the back of our necks.

For the most part, though, the food is worth a few raised hackles.

We recommend starting with the hummus (spelled humos on the menu, $5), a smallish bowl of excellently seasoned chickpea dip with a nice, smooth consistency, liberally garnished with paprika and served charmingly in a basket on top of a full pita subdivided in eight sections.

We were a little less thrilled with the Persian version of baba ghanouj (menuspelled babaganouj, $5.50), served in like manner, in part because it was unusually mild, the toasted onion garnish notwithstanding. But also because after the Iranian chef lady described its preparation to us — roasted eggplant blended with roasted tomatoes, onions, mint and kashk, a Persian commercial condensed whey product (she even brought out the kashk jar with a smiling cow on the label) — it sounded almost exactly like the Kashk & Bademjan ($5) higher up the menu: eggplant dip with blended tomatoes, onions, mint and kashk. (If we’d wanted that, we would have ordered it.)

Under “salads,” we can recommend the Shrazi ($5.49), a particularly Persian mix of cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and mint partly pickled in vinegar and lemon juice. We’re used to getting Tabouli (sometimes spelled tabbouleh, $5.49), a salad of minced garlic, chopped onions, parsley and mint leaves and cracked wheat, chilled, and this wasn’t; we didn’t taste much garlic or mint, but we did experience a slightly bitter, off flavor that kept us from finishing it.

On the Mexican side, the kitchen-made salsa in our Cheese Dip & Salsa ($5.95) was tangy, with a nice bite to it. The white cheese dip wasn’t either. There were plenty of crisp, unsalted chips to dip with.

If you try nothing else Persian, the top two kebabs on the menu — chicken ($10.99) and Kubeideh ($11.49), a composite of ground beef and ground lamb — are absolutely tops. Can’t make a choice? Try the Mixed Kebab ($11.99), one skewer of each.

The portions are large — two “skewers” each (although the meat has been removed from the skewers for your convenience). The chicken is moist and nicely spiced; the Kubeideh is even better spiced (the spice blend includes some kind of dried, ground berries; there’s a shaker of the stuff on the table in case you want to add more to your kebab or to something else — in retrospect we probably should have added some to our eggplant dip).

The plates come with half a roasted pear tomato and a chunk of lemon (squeezing it on the Kubeideh did somewhat enhance the flavor of the spice blend), plus a choice of fries or basmati rice. You might pick the fries if you’re eating this for lunch, but don’t miss the long-grained, delicately flavored yet delicious rice, especially since the top layer is infused with bright yellow saffron.

Also on the kebab list: Baktiari ($12.49), boneless chicken and beef, and Kofte ($13.55), six “Turkish-spiced” groundmeat patties. Vegetarians can opt for the Vegetarian Plate ($9.49), zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes, presumably skewered, or Falafel ($6.75), four crisp vegetable patties (made with chickpeas, green peppers, herbs, grains and maybe, because the menu is a little unclear, eggplant).

Don’t pass up the lambbeef Gyros ($8.70), because it’s listed under the “Aladdin’s Classics” (along with a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a hot dog, an $8.49 Philly Cheese Steak and a $9.49 two-piece Catfish Dinner). This the kitchen does absolutely right, grilling it after shaving it off the vertical rotisserie; it comes in a pita with onions, tomatoes and a tangy cucumber sauce. This time the plentiful portion of crisp, skin-on, well-seasoned fries was the right choice, but you can also opt for the rice instead.

We can also recommend Aladdin’s fajitas (beef or chicken or mixed beef and chicken, $10.70). The well marinated beef and chicken taste distinctly different (not always the case), and part of our party thought they were both a little salty.

They come sizzling atop a bed of charred and caramelized onions and green peppers, with three flour tortillas, a side of vivid red-orange and actually tasty Mexican rice (that’s pretty unusual, too) and refried beans (actual whole beans are suspended in the slightly soupy slurry), plus lettuce, a little sour cream and pico de gallo.

Other Mexican options include beef, chicken or steak quesadillas; an enchilada plate; beef, chicken or California burritos; choice of hard or soft tacos; and a taco salad.

We enjoyed our slightly citric Mexican punch ($2.25); if they’re out of it, as they were on one visit, don’t fall prey to the commercial Hi-C punch they’ll offer as an alternative. Soft drinks, coffee and Turkish tea and coffee are other beverage options. No wine, beer or booze.

On our first visit we were too full to order dessert, which might have been a mistake. The next time we really wanted to try the Baklava ($3.75), but they were out of it, so we went with the Fried Ice Cream ($3.20), a generous scoop of vanilla with a somewhat gummy coating, gussied up with whipped cream and maraschino and chocolate syrups. The most entertaining thing about the dessert was the crisp, cinnamon-sugar-kissed tostada shell underneath.

Service was generally good, but we did have to ask for drink refills and convenience items such as side plates.

Aladdin’s Persian and Mexican Grill

Address: Ashley Square Shopping Center, 9108 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: Persian, Mexican, American

Credit cards: V, MC, D

Alcoholic beverages: No

Reservations: No

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

Carryout: Yes

(501) 219-8787