Revered for world-class tennis and peaceful island living, Daniel Island has a less than stellar restaurant track record, the now past-tense Sienna excluded from the brief list of previous players. Many so-so restaurants have fallen by the wayside over the years, and the relative few remaining don’t offer sufficiently compelling culinary reasons to visit unless you are hungry and happen to be in the immediate area. (Note: I should add that I have not yet visited Eddie’s Bistro and have heard good things about it. More on that another day).
The recent opening of Ali Baba Mediterranean Deli has changed DI’s fairly bleak restaurant history, hopefully for good. I happened to be out there last week to enjoy some of said world- class tennis. I arrived early for a mid-day match, and decided to by-pass the pricey food court to sample Ali Baba’s goods. My stomach was already rumbling as I entered the spacious restaurant/deli. This sensation intensified as I spied the seemingly endless deli case, replete with baba gahnnoug, jasmin chicken salad, tzatziki, tabouli, and much more. A busy band of notably attractive cooks and servers worked the open kitchen space just beyond, which relentlessly bombarded my senses with wafts of exotic spices and visions of roasting gyro meats.
It seems I’m not the only one that’s taken notice. At barely 11:30 a.m., the place was filling up faster than a filling station during a 70’s era fuel shortage. After a short wait, I placed my order at the counter and was handed a number to post at my table, which would later and correctly identify me as the recipient. Decision making was difficult, to say the least. The menu is expansive, including warm platters, samplers, specialty dishes, kebobs and paninis, and each one looks and sounds as good as the next. I settled for the shawerma hummus ($7.99) and was glad I did.
It was an absolute taste bud stunner, redolent with the sprite flavors of the Middle East. It, like seemingly everything here, is backed with the authenticity delivered to the table and the kitchen through Jordan natives and owners Samir and Yasmin Elzabidi. A generous pool of silky, slightly pungent hummus formed a most appetizing bed for a nest of shredded beef (chicken is also available) shrouded in the tangy bite of lemon, kiss of cardamon and “Lebanese” spices. An ample dose of fresh parsley and tiny diced fresh onions brought additional gustatory life to a dish already bursting with it.
This dish alone is worth returning for again and again, and I assure you, I will, tennis or no. It will be difficult to break out of the delicious mold of the shawerma hummus and sample some of Ali Baba’s many more options, but based upon the visual and olfactory impressiveness of the many dishes I saw delivered to neighboring tables, I will have to force myself to do it.
Ali Baba also offers an extensive catering menu for those interested in having the restaurant’s goodness delivered.
Ali Baba Mediterranean Deli
186 Seven Farms Drive, Suite 500
Daniel Island
(843) 377-8666
http://www.alibabacharleston.com/