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At Aladdin's Mediterranean Grill & Deli, counter service must be the modern-day equivalent of a magic lamp.

No puff of smoke, no genie. But our wish for a large yet snappy meal materializes in a matter of a few minutes. Stuffed pitas overflowing with ingredients, a plate of dolmas, baba ghanouj, the whole shebang.

Bob Andres/AJc (ENLARGE)
Stuffed grape leaves, or dolmas (front) carry hints of olive oil and lemon juice. A plate of olives and pickles with pita bread is in the rear.
Bob Andres/AJc (ENLARGE)
Side orders of hummus are among the many items on the menu.
Bob Andres/AJC (ENLARGE)
Aladdin's kabob sampler includes shish kabob, shish tawook and kofta kabob and is accompanied by rice, Jerusalem salad, hummus and pita.
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Magical land

Booths and tables fill the sparkling and speckless dining room lit up with a vibrant mural of column-lined temples, pyramids and other Mediterranean imagery.

Guests pour Lebanese iced tea at a self-serve station. A small sign instructs us to fill up a glass with sweet or unsweetened tea. We add half a spoonful of pine nuts, a few drops of rose water, some orange blossom water, a few mint leaves and lemon slices. Brisk, flavorful and refreshing, it cleanses the palate for what's to come.

A nibble here ...

Since everything arrives at once, it's hard to plot a strategy. It begins as a sampling frenzy, a game of musical munchies.

Ooh, the stuffed grape leaves are nice, with hints of olive oil and lemon juice in every bite. But they're a little skimpy on the rice, tomato and onion stuffing.

The other four dolmas can wait. The falafel sandwich proves distracting. It takes two hands to hold the pita half that's packed to the hilt with pickles, lettuce, falafel and Jerusalem salad. The latter is a creamy mix of cucumbers, tomato, parsley and tahini sauce. It dribbles down the chin.

A lone olive wades in a bowl of baba ghanouj. We disrupt the presentation by scooping pita slices into the traditional eggplant and tahini dip.

A nibble there

We dive fork first into the shawarma plate. The shredded beef is immaculate — its tangy marinade tickles the tongue. And the chicken is equally engaging.

Lamb, chicken and beef make up the kabob sampler. The juicy lamb and herby chicken are heavenly. So are the kofta, meaty bullets of beef and lamb mixed together with parsley, onion, herbs and spices.

We add a little rhyme and reason to the feast by saving dessert for last. The menu promises that the mamoul is a "special recipe dough ... baked to golden brown, sprinkled with powdered sugar." Instead, it comes in a package. Tearing it open reveals a date-stuffed cookie, a bit dry but sweet enough. We trade bites with sips of Turkish coffee; the aromatic jolt of cardamom is more than striking.

Hookah up

No smoky genies, but they have hookahs. A gurgling pipe sounds tempting but maybe next time. After 2 p.m., guests fire them up on the patio. Smokers pack the decorative pipes with exotic flavored tobaccos including pomegranate, pineapple and kiwi strawberry.