As a countdown to the Dallas Observer's "Best of Dallas" 2010, City of Ate is serving up 100 of the favorite dishes we crave, savor and hope to scarf down again soon. These dishes are in no particular order. Some are little known, others celebrated. Some are pricey, others can be eaten on the cheap, but all are delicious to the extreme. Don't hesitate to share your own nominations in the comments. More of the dish's tasty details are after the jump.
No. 6: Kibbi at Ali Baba Cafe
Everyone loves a good plate of Mediterranean food, but when you love hummus, falafel, gyros and all the rest as much as we do, it can become difficult to play favorites come ordering time. Ali Baba's small footballs of heaven, aka, kibbi, are the perfect solution. The cracked wheat and beef prolate spheroids (not that we're getting specific or anything) stuffed with pine nuts and onions and then fried to a lovely nutty brown solve the dilemma of menu confusion by offering an ideal combination of protein and carb. It's like a falafel burger ball that's never greasy and always comes with the perfect ratio of sides for leftovers (very important).
Ali Baba serves up a huge platter of three kibbi with a bowl of tabouli, an ample offering of yogurt sauce, several of their outstanding tart pickles, pita bread and a huge portion of their patented savory rice. We recommend severing an oval, placing a piece of the kibbi with the pickle on the pita and dressing as you desire. Afterward, and during the meal, various bits of ground beef and wheat and nuts will fall apart and those are perfect for mixing into the rice (provided you're not one of those tragic food separatists) for a totally different texture that's equally as pleasing.
Oh, and if you're looking for an appetizer, do yourself an enormous favor and order the cheese pie. Feta, parsley, lemon, olive oil. So simple yet so incredible.
Ali Baba Cafe
1901 Abrams Road
214-823-8235
Want to see the full list? Click through to our 100 favorites on City of Ate.
