Genie on My Dinner Plate

Post written by Bridget Strub.

I love junk food. In fact, I eat junk food so much that it might as well be an added food group in my regular diet. I can’t seem to get enough of it. Inevitably I try to stop eating junk food on the very day that there are donuts left for us at the teacher’s lounge or Pete has a craving for ice cream. I can’t seem to get away from it, and I’m ok with that. I have a fall back plan on the nights when my hand has spent a little too much time in the cookie jar. That plan is Aladdin’s Natural Eatery.

Friday night I felt like a stuffed cannoli, so when Pete asked me where we should go for date night, I immediately thought of my feel healthy fall back. Aladdin’s is a “natural eatery” that serves a large variety of Mediterranean style foods. They offer a vast menu equipped with salads, pastas, pitas, and the many interesting to pronounce foods like spanakopita, souvlaki, and falafel. I developed a craving for Aladdin’s early on in my Rochester experience when my roommates and I stumbled upon it in the infamous Schoen Place along the canal in Pittsford. I’ve spent many memorable meals on warm summer evenings dining in their outdoor terrace, and always come away feeling refreshed by the experience. Pete feels like the inside is a little too crowded, and you often have to wait for awhile on busy nights, so we typically avoid that location. That’s right; there is more than one of these little gifts to the Rochester dining scene.

The second location, on Monroe Ave, is exactly .9 miles away from my house. It’s the best set up in the world. At first it took some time to get Pete to agree to go to Aladdin’s for our date nights. He thought the idea of eating naturally meant that he would leave our meal both hungry and broke. That’s where the magic of Aladdin’s comes in. I don’t know if they have a genie in a bottle or what, but for some reason their prices are ridiculously low, and their portions are impressively large. One of the most expensive items on the menu (A combo of chicken, beef and caramelized onions rolled into a pita) is eleven dollars. The rest of the items on the menu average in the five to six dollar range. With that, I was able to get Pete through the door, but I distinctly remember the vibe of skepticism that radiated from him the first time we ate together at Aladdin’s. I felt the same pressure for him to like the restaurant that most people feel when they introduce their significant other to their family to the first time. I desperately wanted him to like it. I wanted to fuse my Aladdin’s world and Pete world together in seamless bliss. The real test came when he ordered his meal. He ordered something with meat in it, surprise surprise; it was either moussaka (the Greek version of shepherd’s pie) or pastitsio (basically a steak salad). As he dug in I could tell not only were his taste buds happy, but so were his wallet and tummy. I had him hooked. Needless to say, Aladdin’s has been a part of our regular date night repertoire ever since, and that makes me a very happy girl.

So, when Pete agreed to go to Aladdin’s Friday night, I jumped at the chance. The last few times I’ve been there I’ve ordered the chicken salad pita. It’s a beautiful blend of chicken, apples, walnuts and mayonnaise atop a bed of mixed greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes stuffed inside pita pocket bread. The thing that pulls this whole dish together for me is the Greek dressing served on the side. I don’t know what they do to make that stuff, but it’s like heaven in my mouth. It may not sound like much, but I always leave feeling perfectly full. I’ve never left with the “I’m so overstuffed I’m sick” feeling, but at the same time I’ve never had the “I just paid money to eat one leaf of lettuce and a baby carrot” thought either.

If you’ve never been to Aladdin’s you need to try it. It’s one of the Rochester gems that I keep coming back to. Very few things on their menu will break your bank (Our bill with tax and tip came to just over $17) or your scale. I recommend it at any time of year, in whatever mood you’re in, no matter what you’ve eaten that day. Somehow it magically resets your body and sends you on the right path again.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!