E2 = Excellent Eats

Submitted by Jonathan Nassar

Prince Ali, Fabulous He, Ali Ababwa

My kids are great, but I can tell you one thing for certain: whatever they want to eat right now, they are not going to want to eat in five minutes. It is not that they are indecisive—to the contrary, they are certain of what they want to eat within each five-minute increment, and it is never something they already have on their plate.

I am exaggerating (they are going through a phase), but it is nonetheless useful to go to a restaurant with a plethora of options. Just what the genie ordered: Aladdin on 34th, west of Ella, can save the day. With about a half dozen varieties of hummus and baba ganoush, several salads, a variety of vegetables and meats, there is something for everyone.

On our most recent trip, we got a bunch of sides and a few meats—we really just picked out a selection of items that looked good. As it turned out, each kid ate a different variety of sides and meats, and miraculously ended up with pretty well-balanced but completely different meals. My kids actually ate roasted cauliflower! The remainder went to us parents (such is the life of a parent), but we did not mind one bit. The food was good regardless of what we were left with.

As a bonus, Aladdin has items you don’t see everywhere. Lamb shank is a nice entree example. Aladdin also had a variety of fresh fruit juices that my daughter loved—especially the strawberry-mango blend. Variety is always welcome from me. This area around Ella and 34th is growing and changing a lot—we are excited by what has come so far (can you believe there are three ice cream places within a block) and eager to see what further changes will be coming.