Aladdin Express, Richmond

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Aladdin Express is a Middle Eastern and Italian restaurant with lots of character and atmosphere. From the outside, it doesn't look like much, but on the inside you feel like you walked into the Middle East. They play Middle Eastern music and there is an elabourate fountain in the middle of the dining area. The service was a little slow, but overall the great food plus the atmosphere made this a special place. Warning: They charge a 10% service fee that isn't placed on the bill, but is listed in fine print on the Please Wait To Be Seated sign. WWBT 12 did an investigative report on this hidden charge. The Better Business Bureau says this is legal, but barely so. Go in there prepared to pay the 10%.

Favorite Dish: They offer a wide range of food from pizza and Italian food to Greek and Middle Eastern. Lee and I both had the combination plate with meat which consists of hummus, baba ghannouj, with salad and shish kebab (or chicken) with 3 falafel balls (rather like Middle Eastern hush puppies- they would even go well with North or South Carolina barbecue), and sesame sauce. I wasn't too keen on the baba ghannouj or the sesame sauce, but that was a learning experience and not the restaurant's fault. Lee and I had essentially the same thing only I had the lamb kebab and he opted for chicken. I made my first go of Turkish coffee in a demi-tasse. The strength of the coffee wasn't what threw me for a loop, but the spices thrown in there tended to dominate it. Therefore, I prefer Brazilian coffee's strength without spice.