Delights [ Restaurant Profile ] Adventurous Delights December 2006

by Jacqueline Irwin
Photos by R. Byrne

Ali Baba’s Restaurant, owned by Becky Nazari and Helen Omeryar, serves Mediterranean cuisine in a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Spend time after your meal socializing and enjoying the newest craze, Hooka smoking.

Ali Baba’s Restaurant opened in September by sisters Helen Omeryar and Becky Nazari. The menu features mouthwatering treasures in a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern tradition. Their focus is Mediterranean Cuisine combined with a Persian flare. Customers will be delightfully surprised at the warm and inviting atmosphere that Helen and Becky have created. The sisters say they won’t make any dish they can’t prepare with a professional flare.

The sisters traveled a long and treacherous road from their childhood home in Cabul, Afghanistan to Brentwood where they opened their cozy and inviting restaurant. Helen and Becky have three sisters and one brother all of whom learned how to cook under the stern hand of their strict mother. All the recipes they learned, and now use in their restaurant, go back to their great grandparents.

Twenty-six years ago the family was uprooted during the war in Afghanistan. At that time their father worked in the import/export business for Persian rugs. He always loved America. When the war started he wanted to get the family out of danger. At night the girls recall hiding under their beds in an attempt to muffle the sounds of gunshots in the night.

In the morning the family regularly awoke to bodies strewn across the streets and blood soaked roads. Becky remembers one night in particular when she shook at the sounds of missiles screeching over their home. The impact of those explosives shook the earth. They were forced to sneak out under cover of darkness leaving everything behind except the clothes on their backs and a small amount of cash. They traveled by car across the border of Pakistan, then set off by plane, train, and on foot to the safety of India where they lived for 10 months before securing visas allowing them to move to America.

Maybe because of those harrowing times or in spite of them their family is a tight knit group who enjoys the tradition of cooking and celebrating life together. Through these gatherings they have had ample opportunities to practice their cooking skills. Their mother, who has a sharp tongue and discerning palate, is highly critical of their creations. Everyone, including their mother, agree that Helen and Becky have a magical touch when it comes to cooking. It was one of the determining factors when they saw that there weren’t any other restaurants in the area that served Mediterranean cuisine. As an added bonus, their commute time is mere minutes.

The sisters arrive at their restaurant early each morning since everything they make is from scratch. Their lunch buffet is prepped the night before, but even with three other helpers the team works the entire day preparing fresh, authentic appetizers, entrées, and desserts. Both Becky and Helen’s husbands help as buyers and running the restaurant, but the sisters laugh when they say that sometimes they make more work. When they send them out with a list of three items, for example, they come back with 10 — not including what they originally needed. If nothing else, the sisters revel in the support their husbands provide.

The menu at Ali Baba’s Restaurant is extensive including meat and vegetarian dishes. Begin your meal by whetting your appetite with appetizers such as borani bodinjon, a roasted eggplant dish topped with a creamy garlic sauce or aush, authentic dumpling-style noodles with ground beef and a special garlic sauce.

Their kabobs, which can be made with marinated beef, lamb, chicken, or Cornish game hen all have special seasonings and are served with vegetables and rice in an unbelievably pleasing presentation.

Helen says that their customers rave over the kabobs. In fact, they ask for the lamb kabobs more than anything else. She says that no meat can compare with the soft, juicy, and tender flavor of a well-cooked lamb.

Wrap-up your meal with dessert such as a flaky baklava topped with smooth, sweet honey or sheer yakh, a special creamy ice cream topped with pistachio.

Ali Baba’s may be the only restaurant in our area that stays open late. Customers are invited to hang-out and enjoy smoking the water pipe, which is called a Hooka. For many readers Hooka requires some explanation. Hooka is a unique smoking experience that is rapidly growing in popularity all over the world. Apparently, it is quickly catching on in Brentwood, as well, at Ali Baba’s.

Hooka smoking originated in the Middle East in Turkey over 500 years ago. Participants puff on flavored tobaccos in which smoke is cooled in the water pipe to produce a smooth, flavorful, and cool tasting treat. Ali Baba’s features seasonal flavors, but varieties available at any one time might include apple, pineapple, and grape.

Becky and Helen say that the best thing about owning their own restaurant is sharing their customers’ satisfaction when they experience a delicious, unique, and satisfying meal. Their goal is to expand, taking over the adjacent building so that one side can be designated as a dining area and the other the bar and Hooka smoking room.

The sisters beam as they report how many people say their food is the best. Try Ali Baba’s for burning days of bold adventure and wild nights of sheer delight!  °