Ali Baba’s Fusion

So I’ll be honest and tell you that the only thing I’ve ever ordered from this cart is the veggie platter. With that said I have to say I’m a convert. The veggie platter consists of rice, (or you could choose couscous) topped with the most delectable and tender stewed (or curried?) veggies, like eggplant, potatoes, peas, carrots, green beans, and chickpeas (y’all, I don’t even like vegetables but they do them right!). And of course I always get their famous white sauce all over my dish, with hot sauce on the side, as I’m slightly spice averse. But seriously what is that white sauce made of? It’s cool yet smokey perfection… Oh and there’s generally enough in my carton to eat twice.
Basically if you like cumin, cinnamon, clove and all kind of other brown people spices melded with creamy, melt-​in-​your-​mouth veggies, I recommend the veggie platter from Ali Baba’s Fusion Cart. Good old reliable cart with friendly service that’s out there even in the rain. I thank them for their delicious comfort food!

my review from their old location still stands. You can’t go wrong with either the lemon chicken or the couscous.
Location is now out of the way, but a much nicer spot. You can still get their crazy addictive food in the city by visiting one of many food carts.

I went with the chicken couscous platter at the food cart on Cedar street today. Honestly, felt the spice was overwhelming (I had asked for the non-​spicy option, so can’t imagine what the spicy chicken couscous tasted like). I also felt the amount of onions mixed in with the chicken was more than I had wanted.
A weak 3 Star rating, IMO.

So after reading/​hearing about the lemon chicken for awhile, I finally got to try it a few months ago. I’ve been back a few times since.
It’s good — the combination of ingredients and seasonings works nicely. However, for me, all this talk about «crack chicken» created expectations of something even better… and I was not blown away by the dish.
I would add that there appear to be like 3 Ali Baba carts on this one block, and though they may all have the same owner, it seems what they serve can vary a bit from one cart to the next. My most recent experience for example was downright disappointing — far too little lettuce and it was part of a bagged salad mix that was wrong for this use (not crispy iceberg/​romaine, and shredded carrots that don’t seem to fit the dish). Also, sometimes you get chick peas, and sometimes you don’t. They make a difference, so why leave them off?
My last visit notwithstanding, overall I’m a fan, but I can’t say I’m addicted.

I was very happy with my Gyro wrap. It was tasty and full of diced meat. Clearly one of the better carts in a large collection of excellent carts.

Lemon chicken– yum yum yum.
This is one of my favorite carts on the Cedar st. I prefer to have the chicken on salad but I have seen it with cous-​cous and it looks amazing. The food is always consistent and delicious.
The guy closest to the hospital is my favorite because he seems to have his food cooked and ready much quicker than the 2 others down the street. He is always friendly and helpful.

Every city seems to have a regional spin on shawarma or mediterranean flavored chicken and rice. You could literally have a professional league of chicken and rice: Mediterranean Chicken and Rice Association (MCRA). Cali and DC have a few decent trucks and stops, but the real powerhouses are in Chicago and NYC. If you’ve ever been to 56^th and 6^th in Manhattan, then you know how competitive the scene is there. Despite New Haven being a much smaller city, the competition on Cedar street is stiff and its certainly driven the quality of the food upwards. But, if you’re as obsessed with chicken and rice as I am, I have the following thought exercise. Is it better to grab something from Cedar st for $ 6 or travel to the Shawarma Mecca of the world for $ 35 roundtrip (Metro North) and pay $ 6 for the iconic metal pie tin filled with meaty goodness?
Ali Baba calls their iteration of chicken and rice «Lemon Chicken», and rightly so. Its definitely a bit tangier, zestier, and simply more lemony. At the end of the day its still chicken and rice with white and red sauce, both of which are also done quite differently. For me, the white sauce had no notes of garlic or mayo properties that are so often associated with the Manhattan sauces. Instead, it was a bit more herbal, but still not as strong as the prototypical NYC sauces. Its different, but in a good way, and it complements the chicken perfectly. The red sauce is definitely a bit disappointing though, its just a bit too underwhelming and lacks any of the heat you would be used to if you lived in Shawarma Mecca. If you like your food spicy, ask for some more.
As for the texture of both the chicken and rice, I’ll have to say that I like Ali Baba’s a bit more. Since they aren’t making ridiculously huge batches of chicken, they are able to brown up the chicken a little more which adds a really awesome, slightly-​crunchy texture. If you manage to get some sauce, that perfect piece of chicken, a bit of rice, and some salad, you’ll have the absolute most heavenly bite ever. The rice was definitely a bit stickier than others in MCRA, and it made it slightly difficult to finish my tray of food, but nothing too major. Of significant importance is the fact that Ali Baba’s rice doesn’t glow orange. It also packs a little less flavor, but I’ll take my rice without radioactivity and grease.
If you haven’t discovered shawarma, your life is incomplete. But, always remember, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. New Haven knows how to do shawarma.

I miss the lemon chicken platter… that sauce! This is my favorite food truck and he’s always very attentive and nice when I stop by. Highly recommended! :)

I am addicted to the lemon chicken (the spicy version of course). This wonderfully marinated chicken comes on top of rice (or couscous I believe), with lettuce, and this amazing sauce on it. I have no idea what this magic sauce is, but it is phenomenal! As with any cart on Cedar Street in New Haven, you get a lot of food for a small price! The food is prepped pretty fast too in case you are limited on your work escape time… I mean lunch break.

I didn’t realize that they had two Unilocal listings (actually there are 3 if you count their birck & mortar Unilocal page), so I’m re-​posting to the appropriate Cedar St one because that’s the one that I frequent. I just polished off a lemon chicken platter and I must reiterate, this crack chicken is DAMN TASTY!!! Here is my original review re-​posted to it’s appropriate home:
Crack Chicken. That’s what Abli Baba’s lemon chicken platter is endearingly referred to by its numerous loyal fans. Why you may ask? Because it’s addictive as hell. Oh and it has crack sprinkled in to give it that extra zip. Haha, just kidding. Maybe? Probably? Who knows?!
Even if they do sneak a crack rock or two in their insanely delicious middle eastern spice blend, I doubt any of their patrons would complain. Their food is consistently so full of flavor and satisfying that it keeps people coming back for more and more and more. These type of halal carts remind me of those drunken 3am food binges when I lived in the city, and if you’re a flavor-​whore like me you ask for extra white sauce and extra hot sauce. Thankfully the hot sauce here isn’t as 5-​alarm intense as you find at Mamoun’s, so you can go nuts and still not scorch your insides.
There are 3 middle eastern cuisine carts on Cedar, and the Ali Baba one is the one closest to the hospital, a couple carts down from my girl Maggie at Peking Edo. Order up and down their menu and I assure you this will give you your halal cart food fix.

Amazing good !! The lemon chicken is fantastic !!! The guy working there is very nice. I always call him «king of chicken». I think they put something addictive in the food because I always come back for more! Overall … The best good cart in town !!!

Love this food cart! I always get the lemon chicken. Comes with basmati rice, lettuce and a white sauce. Will add hot sauce if you would like. IDK why they call it lemon chicken because it doesn’t taste anything close to lemon. They should rename it crack chicken cause it’s so addicting. It’s a little spicy but not bad. Try it it’s only six bucks and they give u a lot! Owner is nice… quiet but nice.

I walked up to Thai Kitchen Cart in the mood for some flavorful Thai food. They have a good assortment of options, you can order 1, 2, or 3 veggie or meat sides with a carb (rice, drunken noodes, peanut noodles), among other items.
I ended up getting the 3 options for $ 5 deal and ordered the tofu, fish, and masamaan chicken curry with a side of drunken noodles. After walking happily back to my sitting area in excitement for my meal I opened my container (which was styrofoam btw booo!) and saw a hot mess of colors and food items! It resembled a Kandinsky painting. My tofu was mixed with my masamaan curry which was mixed with my drunken noodles and the fish was no where to be found. «No big deal» I told myself but then I tasted it… the drunken noodles tasted like it was doused with peanut sauce (which had no reason to be in there) and was also mixed with the sauce from the tofu and curry. The mixing of sauces caused way too many overpowering conflicting flavors and it didn’t taste the greatest because of it. They could benefit from containers with separate compartments.
The cook was a super sweet guy though and has regulars. Perhaps I’ll give them a second chance when i’m in the mood for Thai again.

The Lemon Chicken platter was excellent. Not greasy. You can ask for very hot or not.

I’ve been eating here for the past week while studying in the Yale Medical School library. The food is fresh, spicy, and delicious! Be advised they do run out of food fast due to its popularity. Every time I went there they never had chicken kebab (I was sad). But the alternative, the shami kebab (ground chicken), is just as good! To kick it up a notch I like to add extra white and red sauce.

The lemon chicken was absolutely delish! Must try!

After the Thai Awful (oops…I meant «Awesome») debacle, I decided I’d give New Haven thai food another chance. So I walked right past the «Thai Awesome» cart and up to this cart.
The deal is any three options for $ 5. I had the garlic chicken, pineapple rice, and coconut curry vegetables. It was OK, not to be confused for great or good, just OK. It was filling and edible but definitely left something to be desired. The guy working at the cart was super friendly, which was nice.

The carbs are good. I’m told the lemon chicken is too. However, the shami kebab is a shame. Could’ve been less… soggy?
Anyways, as far the carts on science hill go, one of the better ones if only for the big pimped out cart they have compared to everyone else!

So my goal of rating the entire row of food carts on Cedar St. begins before I graduate.
Ali Baba is a Mediterranean/​Middle-​Eastern food cart usually located on the Winchester side of Cedar St. The guy who runs it has an unapologetic unibrow, which basically means your food is authentic. Prices have been hovering around $ 5.50 as of late, which is still considerably less than the monopolistic prices Marigolds cafeteria charges for their food. The menu is your standard fare: gyros, veggie cous cous ($ 5 cheapest thing on there), lemon chicken platter, and chicken kebab.
Quality of Food — (⁵⁄₅)
I got the lemon chicken platter. Though it took a while to make it, the dish was really well made. Chicken was marinated very throughly and garnished with carmelized onions with a hint of lemony taste at the end. It came with rice
Service - (³⁄₅)
You shouldn’t really expect all that much from a food cart, but it was standard. I was his only customer at the end and I kinda wished he could have cooked my food a bit faster. But I do feel that his extra time really did translate to an excellent lunch.
Uniqueness — (³⁄₅)
There are 3 different Middle-​eastern food carts on Cedar St. So it was a bit dime-​a-​dozen.
Variety — (⁴⁄₅)
— Lamb, Beef, Chicken: It’s a good mix plus the cous cous. You’ll find yourself here wanting something different every day.
Would I recommend it?
For a cheap meal that you want on the go, absolutely!
Final Verdict — 4.36 out of 5