#11: Aladdin's Eatery - Dessert Heaven

Best Place for Lebanese in Squirrel Hill

When we arrived at Aladdin's Eatery we were greeted by a display of delicatible treats. Cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, and white cakes starred at us from their glass prison begging for us to set them free. Our next stop was Razzy Fresh, so a slice of cake was out of the question. Disappointment set it.

Aladdin's was fairly crowded with a diverse group of patrons varying from families with children to couples on dates. We openly browsed neighboring diners' plates for ideas of what to order. The giant salad pockets grabbed Emily's attention and I was hoping to order mezze but neither were on our list.

LivingSocial recommended the Pita Pitza, so Emily ordered the Aladdin's Chicken Pitza and I ordered the Greek Pitza. We placed an order of hummos to start. Our waiter brought us a basket of pita bread and we immediately began tearing at the bread as if it were our last meal. Our waiter soon returned with hummos and with a surprised look on his face asked if we wanted more pita bread when he realized the basket was empty.

The neighboring couple had just finished their salads and the waiter asked if they would like to order dessert. They ordered a slice of cheesecake to share and I immediately realized that we were doomed. Emily asked the couple if the cheesecake was good and they responded with "Yes, we always order a lighter meal in order to have room for dessert." That was not what Emily wanted to hear. We agreed that we would split a slice of cake and go to Razzy Fresh another day.

Our food later arrived and Emily wasn't exactly impressed with the chicken pitza. She immediately remembered that she wasn't the biggest fan of honey mustard and prefered more honey than mustard. I enjoyed the Greek Pitza especially the feta cheese. I could have done without the olives though. Not really a big fan.

After we finished our meal our waiter asked if we wanted to order dessert and would like a tour of the cakes. Of course. The options seemed endless (ok, there were only three rows of cakes). Our waiter identified each of the cakes and asked if we had any questions. We asked what he would recommend and he suggested the Oreo cake with the white cream filling or the Oreo cheesecake with a layer of chocolate. We agreed on the Oreo cake.

We returned to our table and were served a slice of cake. Unfortunately the cake was dry and we tried to mask the texture with the cream filling. We agreed that we would order the Oreo cheesecake next time.

- Michelle

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