I have been going to Ali's for a few years--pretty much since it opened in our neighborhood. I was thrilled to see a Trinidadian eatery nearby.
Mostly we get the doubles (made with two baras--flat fried dough--and filled with curried chickpeas). You get spicy sauce or tamarind sauce in your doubles, I prefer tamarind on the side. Two doubles makes a meal! And at about $2.25 each, it's a good deal.
Recently I tried the chicken pelau (a one-pot dish with chicken, rice, pigeon peas, and seasonings). It was delicious.
So, last Saturday I decided to get some take out food for the family's dinner and to try a few more of their offerings. I ordered 4 doubles, 2 carimanolas (from Panama, it is a torpedo-shaped yuca dumpling stuffed with chopped meat and deep fried), 1 chicken pelau, 1 curried chicken with roti, and 1 chicken stew special that came with white rice and macaroni and cheese and callaloo (Caribbean spinach). Most chicken meals cost from $9.99 to $14.99. Be warned that the chicken usually is not boneless. Though some boneless meals are available at a higher price.
The doubles were delicious, as always. I adore their tamarind sauce. So, was the chicken pelau. It was my first time having the carimanolas (I grew up with a Panamanian godmother who would make them for me from scratch) and they were decent. I would have all three again.
The curried chicken was OK, but not a stand-out meal. And I had to eat my chicken wrapped in roti with a knife and fork for fear the wrapper would fall apart. The stewed chicken was a bit dry. Mac and cheese OK. I was turned off by the callaloo because it was pureed and poured into a Styrofoam cup. Yuck! I thought. But I made myself try it. And boy was I surprised at how deliciously flavorful and spicy it was. But I still didn't care to look at the green mush in my plate, so I rolled it in the white rice to eat it. :-)
There are two drawbacks to this place. Parking can be tough. The few spots in front of the store go quickly. I am told there is parking in back, but once you exit the lot, you have to do some major maneuvering to come around and get back to the lot behind the store. I usually park in the strip mall south of the restaurant and walk to the store.
The second negative is the slow service. The staff, especially the young man up front, is very nice. But, a woman ahead of me had phoned in her order and got there and still spent about 30 minutes waiting. After I had put in my order and paid for it, I watched at least 4 or 5 people come and go, mostly with orders of doubles. Fine. I had to wait for my meals. But then when it was time for me to head out, they had run out of the wrappers for the doubles, and I had to wait even longer for them to fry some more. Say what? Shouldn't my wrappers have been put aside and let the ones who walked in the door later wait their turn? The food manager was not on the ball. And it took about an hour for me to get my food. Don't go there expecting anything pronto! Now, I will point out that lots of the items (especially the breads and such) are made fresh. That's a plus. But waiting too long for your food is the norm here.
Because I prefer my own curried chicken and brown stew chicken, I won't be ordering either of those again. While I was there, I saw a few orders of curried goat go out the door, so I may give that a try. I am definitely sticking with the doubles, carimanolas, and chicken pelau.
Will I go back? Absolutely. But only when I have lots of time to spare! read more