This is embarrassing. Lately I’ve been totally addicted to Bret Michael’s "reality" show, Rock of Love. Everybody else I know watches, too; they just don’t want to publicly admit to watching something so trashy.
Two other, (less embarrassing) things I can’t get enough of in recent weeks are chocolate banana cream pie and falafel. Not together, of course. The pie I make myself. The falafel? That has to be procured elsewhere.
One of my favorite places to secure good falafel and an excellent array of other tasty Middle Eastern food on-the-go is Aladdin – Tastes of the East deli, located inside the Public Market. I stopped in the other day after getting my hair cut at Yan (419 E. Menomonee Street), a hip new hair salon in the Third Ward. It’s amazing what an appetite you can work up while sitting in a chair, flipping through fashion magazines, and getting your ‘do done!
At Aladdin, you can get a variety of made-to-order combo plates that both meat eaters and vegetarians will find exciting. Items include chicken curry, chicken and Egyptian rice, kabobs, gyros, falafel plates, and for dessert, baklava. Should you find yourself in need of a single item, say some olives, baba ghannouj or hummus, those can be purchased as well.
Being in a hurry, I grabbed one of the pre-made platters offering a mix of falafel, creamy hummus, tabouleh, yalanjee (rice-filled grape leaves), and a pickle. It came with two warm slices of pita bread on the side. I also ordered some of the rosewater lemonade. The fragrance alone made it a wonderful thing to sip on a warm afternoon.
Now that our warm weather has taken flight, (Hello sweaters and boots!) I don’t know that I’ll be ordering any more rosewater lemonade. But I will be making frequent stops at Aladdin for falafel. That is for certain.
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